African/Appalachian Fusion
Greater Washington, DC
The history of the five-string banjo, among the very first truly American-born instruments, provides a revelatory lens through which to view the immense contributions of African cultural traditions to the development of American popular music and culture. The instrument we now know as the banjo was derived from lutes enslaved Africans brought to the New World, most notably the West African n’goni and kora. The European violin (fiddle) and the African-derived banjo likely comprised the “first duet” in the New World, providing the cornerstone of American musical forms for centuries to come. By the nineteenth century, the banjo was America’s most popular instrument, but it was not until the 1940s, when Earl Scruggs introduced his game-changing three-finger picking style, that the banjo found its home in bluegrass music. This special set, From Africa to Appalachia, will bring together Grammy-nominated master Malian griot Cheick Hamala Diabate with Riley Baugus, one of the most celebrated old-time banjoists of his generation, and Danny Knicely, the talented multi-instrumentalist from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
Cheick Hamala Diabate
Cheick Hamala Diabate was born into a griot family in Kita, Mali. In West African tradition, the griot is a male troubadour-historian whose hereditary role is to preserve and share the history, genealogy, and oral traditions of his people, in addition to providing advice and practicing diplomacy. As a child, Cheick learned to play the n’goni, a stringed instrument which is the precursor to the American banjo. His knowledge grew to include the history of Mali, passed down in his family for more than 800 years. Though Cheick plays the traditional trio of griot instruments—the n’goni, kora (gourd harp lute), and balafon (wooden xylophone)—he also embraces the panoply of sound he discovered in America. Like many American string players, including Joe Ayers and Bela Fleck, with whom Cheick has collaborated and performed, Cheick was intrigued by the similarities between the n’goni and the banjo. Seeking to mesh the sounds of the two instruments, Cheick collaborated with banjo player Bob Carlin on From Mali to America, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2007. While many American musicians have traveled to West Africa or picked up the n’goni—thanks in part to Cheick’s introductions and instruction—few African musicians have engaged the banjo the way he has.
Cheick Hamala Diabate is also performing solo on the Folklife Workshop Stage on Sunday at 3pm, sharing songs and musical origin stories.
Riley Baugus
Riley Baugus, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, represents the best of old-time American banjo and song. His powerful singing voice and his expert musicianship place him squarely in the new generation of quality American roots music. Immersed in music both at home and at church, Riley worked as a welder and blacksmith, playing banjo and making instruments in his spare time, until called upon to provide music for the Academy Award-winning film Cold Mountain. From there, Riley has made his own path, building in-demand instruments and performing at festivals all over the world. He first came to music through his family, who shared with him a love of old-time music and a record collection that included, amongst others, the works of fellow North Carolinian Doc Watson, which touched the young Riley on a molecular level. His family’s attendance at Regular Baptist church gave him early exposure to the unaccompanied singing that is a time-honored tradition for ballad singers throughout the Appalachians. Starting on the fiddle, Riley quickly moved on to the banjo, building his first instrument from scrap wood with his father. With friend and neighbor, Kirk Sutphin, Riley began honing his musical skills. Together, they visited older traditional musicians throughout North Carolina and Virginia, learning the Round Peak-style at the knee of National Heritage Fellow Tommy Jarrell and other traditional musicians of the area, including Dix Freeman, Chester McMillian, Verlin Clifton and Paul Sutphin. When not teaching or building banjos, Riley can be found out on the road performing. He plays with the Dirk Powell Band and with Kirk Sutphin, and he is a frequent guest of Polecat Creek and of Tim O'Brien with Dirk Powell.
Danny Knicely
Danny Knicely comes from a musical family in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia that has been steeped in a mountain music tradition for generations. He has used his roots in old-time and bluegrass to explore many musical styles from Irish, Jazz and Latin, to the various types of music he encountered while performing and studying music in India, Nepal, Tibet and China. A multi-instrumentalist, Danny has won many awards for his mandolin, guitar, and fiddle expertise, including first place in the mandolin contest at the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Danny has years of experience as a professional musician performing in many bands of varying musical styles and has recorded and toured nationally and internationally with many groups such as the award-winning Magraw Gap, Furnace Mountain, and a multi-cultural dance troupe called Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. He has also performed with Vassar Clements, Tony Rice, Mac Wiseman, Tim O’Brien, Michelle Shocked, Sam Bush, and Malian n’goni master Bassekou Kouyate.