WHAT I LEARNT FROM HIM
Not only was Fode Youla the first djembe player I heard, he taught me some essential concepts

Another Kind Of "Come Back To Africa"
I explained Zourakie Dembele I wanted to teach one of my rhythms to his team. He agreed.

Work in Progress
Zourakie Dembele team in the process of playing my rhythm, "L0uis". Sometimes you just get happy not being perfect but being connected…

Gentle and Creative
People generally think I am not interested in teaching to beginners. In fact I enjoy very much starting from there. Nothing to rebuild, enthusiasm, freshness... The Prague beginner sessions were especially enjoyable, we were able to be creative while learning. Thumbs up!

I was first exposed to djembe music in 1973 when I heard Fode YOULA playing on Claude NOUGARO’s album "Locomotive d’or". A few years later I went to Africa and began to learn. Over years I have seen changes happening about the way this music is taught by Africans. Emergence of beat tapping is one of them.

LESS IS MORE
This solo doesn't come with all the fancy ingredients of today's players (tight tuning - high level - double-tempo patterns) but every measure of this solo, the way patterns blend into each other with logic and humor, reminds all of us what playing with rhythm really is.

Mare SANOGO - MENDIANI
Percussion Ensemble CD -Transcription from 2'08" to 3'34".