BLACK BROOKLYN DRUM CALL

Saturday, June 5, 2-5:30pm 2-3:30pm: 
Drum demonstrations/performances on the Plaza; drum-making demo in the 2nd floor meeting room 
3:30pm: All-Brooklyn Drum Jam on the Plaza 
4-5:30pm: Symposium: History of African Drumming in Brooklyn. 

Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch Plaza and Dweck Auditorium
(Rain Site: Dweck, 2nd fl. meeting room) 
Grand Army Plaza at Flatbush and Eastern Pkwy (Prospect Heights) 
Demonstrations, performances and symposium on African beats in the borough featuring expert Brooklyn drummers representing various African diasporic traditions, including Jose Ortiz (Puerto Rican), Frisner Augustin (Haitian), Baba Mpho (Guyanese Shanto tradition), Tony Reece (Carnival iron section), Junior Wedderburn (Jamaican) and others. Learn about the drum-making art from Montague Pollard. The public is invited to bring drums and learn the distinctive beats of Black Brooklyn, then join in the All-Brooklyn Drum Jam. Immediately following the jam, join us for a symposium on the history of African drumming traditions in Brooklyn moderated by world-renowned Brooklyn drummer Neil Clarke.
Free!

Also featuring:

• Austin Tuitt and the 2010 medalists for GCR Steel-pan Neckstrap Competition, Dexter Cummings, Darrel Spence, and Victoria Theodore

• Ray 'Chino' Reyes, Dominican percussionist

• Harold Akyeaninpong, Ghanaian percussionist

• Dereck 'D-Cross' Cross, beat boxer and vocal percussionist

• Ayanda Clarke, son of Neil Clarke, drummer and ethnomusicologist

• Montego Joe, African-Caribbean percussionist, has played on recordings by Baba Olatunji, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach

• Edwina Tyler, founder of all women drumming group in 1980s, 'Edwina Tyler and A Piece of the World'

• Wali Rahman, co-founder with his wife Andara of the group 'Drum and Spirit of Africa' and artistic director of the Armory, an early Brooklyn center of the Black Arts Movement

Presented by BAC in cooperation with Brooklyn Public Library. 

ARTIST BIOS

Frisner Augustin
Frisner Augustin (Artistic Director/Master Drummer) was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he studied ritual drumming in the temples of Vodou. In 1972 he immigrated to New York, where he established himself as a master drummer in Vodou rituals, as a performer for Haitian community festivals, and as a drum instructor. In 1981 Mr. Augustin took over the direction of the company La Troupe Makandal. His recordings with the Troupe (A Trip to Voodoo, Erzili, and The Drums of Vodou) feature his settings of traditional Afro-Haitian dances. He has recorded as well for jazz artist Kip Hanrahan and for the soundtrack of the film Beloved. In addition to performing in theaters, galleries, festivals, and educational venues, Mr. Augustin teaches a workshop in Haitian drumming at Hunter College, the Krik! Krak! workshop for children at three sites in Brooklyn, and classes and lecture-demonstrations through the Brooklyn Arts Council and City Lore. He also works with the Haitian-American children's dance company Tonel Lakay. Above all, his dynamic drumming continues to tempt the spirits to the Vodou houses of New York. Keenly aware of the negative stereotyping of Vodou, Maestro Augustin uses his drum to recast the mystery of the religion from a positive perspective. Because of his dedication, he received a People's Hall of Fame award from the cultural center City Lore, and a Certificate of Achievement from the National Coalition for Haitian Rights. In 1999 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship, this nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Neil Clarke
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Neil Clarke has been a student of African and other percussion styles for more than forty years. In this time Neil Clarke has had many great opportunities to study, perform and collaborate with percussion masters worldwide. Neil Clarke's skill and artistry has taken him on numerous occasions to North, West and South Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the South Pacific and a majority of the United States. Neil Clarke has had performing, touring and recording relationships with many notable artists over the years, in addition to his ongoing collaborations with Randy Weston and fellow African Rhythms sidemen Alex Blake, Benny Powell and Talib Kibwe. Neil Clarke has enjoyed long-standing relationships with such notable artists as Harry Belafonte, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu, Carlos Garnet, Paul Winter, the Spirit Ensemble, Tulivu Donna Cumberbatch, the late Noel Pointer, the late Arthur Prysock, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the International African American Ballet, and many others. Regardless of where or what the musical genre: folkloric, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, gospel or classical orchestra Neil Clarke is equally at home. Neil Clarke also had the opportunity to perform in the Broadway production of Timbuktu and in the feature film Beat Street, over the span of his career, Neil Clarke has made numerous television appearances on both network and cable presentations as well as being featured on recordings with many of the artists mentioned earlier.

Baba Mpho
Baba Mpho, a.k.a. Menes De Griot, a.k.a. the King of Shanto music, is the grandson of Cicely, son of the late great Art Sebastion Broomes and Urma. He continues to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors and elders, keeping the tradition, heritage, and culture alive. Guyana-born award-winning cultural ambassador, natural lifestyle consultant and master drummer, Baba Mpho's mission is to 'keep our tradition heritage and culture alive.'

Jose Ortiz
Jose Ortiz aka Dr. Drum, is a Brooklyn-based, self taught percussionist of Afro Caribbean rhythms. For the past 9 years, he has been involved with various afterschool programs throughout NYC and has developed original curricula for teaching percussion to young people. His students have been on Broadway, at Madison Square Garden, consulates, galas and conferences, schools, and community events. Presently, he is co- founder and musical director of BombaYo Youth Project, a Puerto Rican music heritage group based in Williamsburg. He has been a percussionist for local groups, such as Segunda Quimamba, Alma Moyo, Los Bomberos de Brooklyn and Co chaired a committee for the Bomba Research Conference. His engaging style encourages children and families to explore their own son musicality. He sees this art form as a vehicle for self discipline and motivation, cultural affirmation and educational excellence.

Tony Reece
An iron section percussionist for the West Indian American Labor Day Carnival on Eastern Pkwy, Mr. Reece participates in the urban Brooklyn tradition of creating loud, clanging percussion 'irons' made from automobile brake drums.

Junior 'Gabu' Wedderburn
Junior "Gabu" Wedderburn grew up in Port Antonio, Jamaica, and trained as a drummer and dancer with the Jamaican National Dance Company. In 1986 Mr.Wedderburn founded Ancient Vibrations, an ensemble of musicians and dancers devoted to the African-derived rhythms and chants of Jamaican folk religions -- the roots of reggae music.

 View the event flyer black_brooklyn_drum_call_june_5_color.pdf