I'm sorry about my typing , it's fairly new to me. I meant to say "not" students of the village Griot. Fama K is the only one of the list that stills remembers the village teachings(atleast in his playing). All drummers in these traditions are good. Some just get more oppurtunity to show it.(Ballet)

"Keep in mind that many parts you've learned are focused on ballet performances. Many of the rythms you've learned may or may not include djembe (most may not). I know for a fact that recent teachers translate parts from other instuments to djembe because this certain drum is a cash cow. I never say that teachers are wrong. I'm glad you take time and dedication to learn. Just be careful of what the western world says about a culture they didn't grow up in and are foaming at the mouth tobe a part of. Picture a teacher that has traveled to diffrent regions of Guinea and learns several rythms and brings them home and takes money to teach them. This concerns me, why, this student has only played these rythms a handful of times and only has one source from which he learned it. He is passing on vocal knowledge that he himself dosen't know where it comes from and most likely has raley if ever seen the villagers play that particular rythm. There is your Western teachers. Mamady and company are fantastic people. Just think for a second though, if a forigner can do it , how easy would it be for them? Look deeper than the popular."

i know the difference b/w ballet and tradition and i know which rhythms i' have learned that have originated on an instrument other then the djembe/dun. why? because the good teachers will tell you all that information and because i'm a straight up junkie for this music. most of the drummers here in the states are all Ballet vets anyway so of course they are going to teach ballet arrangements.

you are right in taking heed in what's going on in the western world even more so in the US then in Europe. there are too many africans over here trying to pull a buck by teaching djembe when they probably never touched the instrument in their homeland. too much confusion. that's why i went to Africa. i saw the big ballets rehearse and perform as well as the younger 2nd and 3rd tier neighborhood ballets. i traveled into the interior and saw how the music is played out there as well and saw the exact same rhythms and phrasing that i've learned from my teachers.