Master Drums of Dagbon
Elee Adams | Tamale, Ghana, West Africa | 08/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Master drums of Dagbon is just a tip of the iceberg of Dagbon music. I happened to have lived and grown up in Dagbon. Every indigenous profession in dagbon have their drum beat and dance and each is unique. The drums are accompanied by songs which are mostly proverbs or wise sayings.
Some of the drums are played on very special occasions and others are played on social occasions like funerals, weddings and the installation of a new chief.
For example if a butcher is dancing to to the Nakoha waa (meaning butcher's dance) and raises his right hand, he is sending a message that he is related to the butchers from his or her paternal side and if the left hand is raised it means the relationship with butchers is maternal. If both hands are raised, the message is that he is a burcher from both parents.
I wish that more of such recordings could be done.
It is rather unfortunate that the Dagombas (that is the people of Dagbon) have a rich culture, but ts people have still not come to terms with reality, that is the world has moved from the primitive stage several centuries go."
Just as fantastic as Volume 2!
Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 04/30/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have had Master Drummers Of Dagbon Volume 2 for ten years or so, and Volume 1 for far shorter a time. This lapse in judgement was due to nothing more than some sort of brain-cramp. Had I had any sense, I would have made sure to get this disc, Volume 1, right after I bought Volume 2.If you have Volume 2 then this cd is more of the same, just different. The same inspired playing, excellent recording quality, great spirit and it gives off a real feel for the culture and people from whom this music was spawned. It's different just in that it's different songs, different beats and rhythms, etc... Both discs are fantastic documents of this regional drumming style.In a perfect world (with a modern cd-buying public that places more value on the spiritual and artistic contributions of other cultures) this music would have been able to generate enough interest to be released just as one excellent 2-disc set, but being that that's not the world we live in, this music had to be split into 2 discs. No matter. It's a small price to pay for music as perfect as this. I feel that I wrote a pretty complete and satisfying review of Volume 2. My review of Volume 2 could be interchangeable with a review of Volume 1, if you'd like to read that as well. If you have one of these, get the other. If you have none, get either or. Although my ultimate advice would be for you to get this, Volume 2, and also the excellent Master Fiddlers Of Dagbon cd. I just absolutely love all three of these discs!! The only flaw in this little series of Masters Of Dagbon discs is that there aren't 10 discs. Hopefully there will be more to come."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1
