The semester is progressing along decently (suddenly we have less than a month left of classes... didn't see that one coming) and I've managed to make good on my first goal of this semester: Take drumming lessons.
I found out about the lessons through my neighbour and bizarro-Mr. Obruni, Jessee. For over a month now, I've been taking private lessons from a Rasta (of course!) named Harrison who basically builds African drums and teaches white kids how to play them for a living. He's quite an odd duck sometimes (ladies, you know why), but he's full of positive energy and has the patience of a saint - especially with me.
I get the benefit of having a mix of group and solo lessons and it's become a great way to blow off steam and get funky doing it too. West African drumming is pretty awesome and it's almost too bad that I'm only scratching the surface.
Last week, Habib Koité, one of West Africa's top artists, came to town and played a fantastic show. He combines Malian traditional music with blues and pop - his live band could have taught Dave Matthews a thing or two. And his percussion section was out of this world. Definitely recommended.
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