In 1973 he joined the Tenetemba Jazz in Bamako, Mali. Then, he was noted as the lead singer of the Koule Star Band of Kouchala. In 1975 he moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he formed his own twelve piece band, Super Mande. In this band some of the greatest luminaries of West African music circulated as bandmembers: Salif Keita, Mory Kante, Kante Manfila, Ousmane Kouyate and many more... In 1978, Super Mande released its first recording: Wahabia-Ke Daschi. The album was banned from airplay because the title song criticized some marabouts religious leaders.

In 1992, Abdoulaye joined the world reknowned Ballets Koteba as a singer and guitarist. He also toured the world with Les Go de Koteba in the mid-nineties. He was noted in 2002 as the star of the Smithsonian Folkways compilation: Badenya, Manden Jaliya in New York City.

Abdoulaye was featured on the cover of the album wearing his irresistible smile. Since then, he has made further inroads in the World consciousness with collaborations with jazzmen Don Byron, Peter Apfelbaum Sean Noonan, and the groups Source and Fula Flute Ensemble.

Jimmy Cruiz

Jimmy Cruiz is a master percussionist and flute player, a powerful performer of Afro-Cuban, Carribean and Latin music

He is a founder of the Spirit Ensemble which has established itself as the primary source for music that traverses the African Diaspora. The enchanting sounds of the mbira, kora, steel pan and bamboo flute comprise the essence of Spirit's sound and provide the foundation for rhythmic travels. Each member of the ensemble is a master percussionist who has dedicated his life to the study and sharing of this music, and the magnitude to their devotion is evident to all who experience their performances.


Dana Hanchard

Kokoro -Story of the Heart from Dana Hanchard on Vimeo.

Dana Hanchard is a composer, vocalist and multi instrumentalist. She also is a passionate educator who was invited to create a voice department in a University in Japan. Music has brought her to serve on several continents, appearing at concert halls, nightclubs, opera houses and jazz festivals alike.

Dana began her career in music in baroque and contemporary classical music as a soprano soloist. Throughout the 1990's, She performed and recorded operas of Handel, Monteverdi and Meredith Monk and Cantatas of J.S.Bach and Music of the Mexican and South-American baroque period(see labels for recordings:ECM, Deutsche-Grammaphon/Archiv, Harmonia Mundi,Erato, Lyrichord).

When the invitation came to start up a voice program in Japan, it was an opportunity that allowed her to focus her efforts more in song writing and in musical projects of her own. Her band, the Dana Hanchard Group has been performing in Japan since 2003 playing her originals at Jazz clubs in Tokyo and Yokohama. She has done concert performances of her music around the U.S, Japan and the Middle East.

In recent seasons, Dana can be heard on Japanese nationwide live television broadcasts for NHK and Skyperfect TV, Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC with the NY festival of Song , Ravinia jazz festival in Chicago with Rufus Reid quintet plus four, Kioi hall in Tokyo with marimbist, Momoko Kamiya and as a soloist at the 2008 opening of the Article 9 conference to Abolish War held in Chiba Japan.

She has made solo guest appearances in concert and for Japanese television. Her voice and music can be heard several days a week on the morning program RadiyogaTV for BS Fuji Television. This is the culmination of a yoga and music project developed with Ken Harakuma, director of the Tokyo International Yoga center with whom she has been doing
David Ellenbogen
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David Ellenbogen is a musician, producer, educator and a New York City radio host. As a guitarist and vocalist he has performed in The Kingdom of Tonga, Ghana, Australia, Thailand, India, and at home in New York. With an open mind and approach, he performs everything from Hendrix to Bach and incorporates world music styles that span continents and centuries. After earning a Masters degree in education from Columbia University, David began producing concerts and lectures for the Columbia's Center for Jazz Studies. The success of these concerts caught the eye of legendary producer George Wein, whose achievements include creating the Newport Jazz and Folk and Festivals (in 1954) and The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. David was soon hired by Wein and he helped produce dozens of festivals internationally, eventually becoming the Associate Producer of several JVC jazz festivals. After a few incredible years with Wein, David left to record, study and play music in places like Samoa, Bali, and most significantly, India. In Calcutta, David studied raga intensely with Debashish Bhattacharya, who has been called, "the world's greatest slide guitarist." Bhattacharya now refers to David as his "first Western disciple, after which hundreds have now followed." For over a decade, David has been sharing his love of music by producing and hosting radio shows. He has been on the air at several stations including a four month stint as a DJ in Ghana, West Africa - with a listening audience of millions. In the past few years, his programs on WKCR 89.9 FM-NY have gathered their own momentum. He created a show, "Ragas Live," where the greatest names in Indian Classical Music have come to perform live in the studio. Once that show was underway, David expanded his reach to present musicians from all around the world. Scores of Grammy winners have come to speak or play and his guests have ranged from Walter Becker, founder of Steely Dan, to McCoy Tyner, pianist in John Coltrane's classic quartet. As David began to build relationships with musicians who had come from every corner of the world, he began to realize that you do not necessarily need a plane ticket to study African, Indian or South American music. Many of the best musicians now live in New York. Because he knew so many great world musicans, and years of independent teaching had led him to have contact with many great students, David decided to bring both energies together with World Music Education. For more info on his latest projects check davidellenbogen.com