Kane Mathis has developed a remarkable mastery of Mande music. Whether playing solo kora or with his tight, trio of balafon, kora and djembe drum, he is a pleasure to hear. It is not only that Mathis is comfortable and well versed in the Mande repertoire; it's that when he plays, he swings in exactly the right way, probably the hardest thing for an outsider to grasp in this rich, West African tradition. Kora music features improvisation, but like writing poetry in a foreign language, you have to follow the rules. Mathis manages this, with phrasing, accents, tone and riffs-even the fast ones-that feel just right. His sound is both authentic and spontaneous, good enough to sound like an insider, but relaxed and personal enough to be far more than polished mimicry. It is rare indeed for a non-African to reach this level in any African tradition, particularly such a subtle and demanding one.
Banning Eyre, Senior Editor: Afropop Worldwide
www.afropop.org
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A master musician on the West African Kora and Turkish Oud, Kane Mathis combines superb
technical sophistication with rich cultural insight. His graceful performances are outstanding examples of the music of West African Mandinka tradition.
Münir Nurettin Beken Ph D (Siena College, artist in residence University of Washington Ethnomusicology, Middle East and African music specialist)
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"If World Fusion Jazz brings to mind a watered down element of the East merging with New Age-infected smooth jazz, then you're in for a real treat. A true meeting of West African traditional music with Jazz, Etienne Cakpo & Joselito Atchade cultivate a garden of musical colors, titillating the ears with the sounds of Benin. Did you ever think that the kora and the saxophone could share the same stage? They do on this album, and with surprising beauty and ease. This is true Afro-Jazz, respectful of both traditions it fuses while remaining innovative, daring, and danceable."
-Derek Sivers, President of CD Baby
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The shores of the Chesapeake Bay aren't among the first places you'd look for adepts in the art of the kora , the harplike, 21-stringed West African instrument. Maryland probably wouldn't even be in your top 100. But Baltimorean Kane Mathis has made an intense study of the instrument, making annual trips to Gambia to study with Mandinka masters and earning honors never before accorded a non-African. Bantam Ba Kouyate (Kaira) offers Mathis performing 16 traditional Mandinka tunes with fellow kora player Mora Ba Kouyate and occasional vocals from Sefai Jobarteh. The album offers a real treat: wonderful African folk melodies rendered in crystalline, rippling counterpoint
by Lee Gardner – Baltimore City Paper
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The kora is finding its way into experimental compositions in jazz,funk, concert music, and the theater. But not all the new performers play these new styles. Kane Mathis, in his first kora release,collaborates with Gambian Mandinka colleagues Moriba Kouyate and Sefai Jobarteh to create a new but pure sound for the classic kora repertoire. The playing is brilliant, the voice pleasant and soulful.
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
-Roderic Knight, PhD, Professor of Ethnomusicology Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Mandinka music specialist)
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Kane is a dedicated kora player, who takes his craft seriously.
Prince Diabate (Master kora player and vocalist)
At 16 years old, after hearing many African records from all over the continent Kane felt a strong interest in pursuing West African music and did so by incorporating the styles into his solo acoustic guitar playing. Kane was then accepted into the Lawrence University Conservatory of music for classical and jazz guitar despite below average grades in other areas of education. Just before the first year of his conservatory education Kane procured a 21-string West African kora harp from an American kora player, David Gilden. Kane entered the conservatory now strongly interested in Mandinka traditional music.
After Kane’s first year of Conservatory education and almost 5 years of listening almost exclusively to music of West Africa, Kane got the opportunity to travel to the birthplace of Kora, The Gambia, to study with one of the countries most famous musical families, Jobarteh (Diabate) Kunda. There, in the same compound that had produced three generations of the country’s most famous musicians, Kane would start his new musical education.
Surprisingly, the father of the compound, Malamini Jobarteh, oversaw Kane’s education himself. Kane would take 4 to 6 hours of lessons a day with Malamini Jobarteh on his first three trips, causing a bit of a stir in the compound and community as people were not used to seeing Malanini devote so much time to a student. This study resulted in diplomas and certificates of recognition from Malamini Jobarteh, The Gambian minister of culture, and the President of the Gambia.
After making some field recordings with Members of the Jobarteh family Kane began to get regular radio play in The Gambia starting in 1999. Subsequent trips have found Kane headlining concerts organized by the American ambassador to The Gambia, performing with his Gambian trio on Gambia national television, performing at the first annual Gambian heritage festival, and sitting in with the Jobarteh family band Salaam band founded by Malamini’s son Tata Dindin Jobarteh.
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Middle Eastern Music Study
(Oud - Turkish Lute)
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Kane began his study of the Oud as an extension of his guitar playing. Having been exposed to most of the regions of Africa’s music, Kane had heard the Oud around the same time he heard Kora. He was aware of the diversity in performance styles from north to east Africa, and having studied Indian music from a master in Chicago Kane was highly interested in music that contained the musical principals known as “quarter tones”, or “micro tones” In 1998 and 1999 Kane spent summers studying Turkish classical music with Mutlu Torun at the I.T.U. music conservatory in Istanbul Turkey. Mutlu Torun is the author of the world famous Oud Method “Oud Metodu” and is the head of the strings and composition department at I.T.U. in Istanbul. Following this, Kane began a 5 and a half year study with Turkish Oud virtuoso and composer Münir Nurettin Beken.
Kane led the Seattle Turkish music student ensemble and has been teaching Middle Eastern music lessons for the past six years. Kane has numerous performing and recording credits on albums, recitals, soundtracks, and dance scores. Kane, performing on the oud, is currently employed by the University of Washington dance department as a staff accompanist and he is active as an accompanist in most of the dance studios in the greater Seattle area. Kane is also currently backing K records singer Mirah on the touring multimedia project “Share this place” led by former Black Cat Orchestra members Lori Goldston and Kyle Hanson.
Folklife Festival 2009- Friday May 22nd 6:00 p.m. Fountain Lawn Century 21 Blues Stage.
Dont miss -A.E.K-s first festival performance since his arrival from Paris, France. Featuring music from his soon to be released SafarBlues album. You will find your self swept away to the vast spaces of the Sahara with the unique sounds of his mesmerizing SafarBlues- African rhythm fused with the funky sounds of Chicago style blues and Arabic lyrics.
Hi Kane, thank you for your friendship. Your kora playing is beautiful and skilled. I also enjoy the flow you have together with the other players. The music feels inspired and alive. Many greetings to you - Nils
Kane, Thank you for making the trek to Olympia last night. No ice or snow was going to keep from coming to see you perform. I really enjoyed it. So moving and inspirational.
