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Will Ridenour / Kora
Other / Healing & EasyListening / Roots Music

Un nouveau chemin pour la Kora.



Carrboro, North Carolina
United States

Profile Views:  26838




Last Login:  7/15/2009
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   Will Ridenour / Kora: General Info
Member Since4/5/2006
Band MembersSOLO KORA:
Will Ridenour (aka Zoumana Diabate)

THE WIND AND STARS DUO:
Will Ridenour, kora; Besty Bevan, piano.

KORA AND PERCUSSION:
Will Ridenour, kora; Sandy Blocker, percussion.
Influences

THE HEARD:


Mamadou Diabate
Toumani Diabate
Djeli Madiya Diebate
Djelifily Sacko
Jeli Mady Wuleng
M'bady Kouyate
Jeli Moussa Sissoko
Al Hadj Bai Konte
Djimo Kouyate
Jali Musa Jawara
Amadu Bansang Jobarteh
Kelountan Sissoko
Sidiki Diabate
Jeli Mady Sissoko
Michael Spiro
Keletigui Diabate
Ali Farka Toure
Yoro Sidibe
Isiaka Sidibe
Siriman Diallo
Neba Solo
Madou Dembele
Cheik Sissoko
Mamady Keita
Adama Drame
Mohamed Da Costa
Haruna Sidibe
Sidi Mohamed Magasuba
Ousemane N'diaye
Thione Diop
Abdoulaye N'diaye
Percussions Du Guinee
Lamini Kone
Refused
David Sandström
Catharsis
Des_Ark
Dr. Eugene Chadborne
Yann Tiersen
Godspeed!
Gnawa
Donsolu
Dimi Mint Abba
Ivo Papasov
Hamza El Din
Glen Velez
Philip Glass
Lazaro Ros
Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream
Jimi Hendrix Bold As Love

THE WRITTEN:


Rumi
Pablo Neruda
Black Elk
B. Diablo
Hermann Hesse
Cormac McCarthy
Michael Pollan
Howard Zinn

THE OTHER:


Acupuncture
Reiki II
Journeying (Harner-style)
Journaling
I like Small trickling streams
The Stone-People-Lodge
I favor Herbal Cures
Anarchist Principles
Anti-War Activism
Hitchhiking
RICERICERICE
Mmmmm, Coffee
Oh, and most of all, dealing with my white-male middle-class Privilege

SOME VIDEOS:


Version of Kelefaba / Namuso, live:


An original piece: "Into the Wind":


A version of the traditional Alla L'a Ke:


The wedding song, performed at Lyndon St. Artworks:

Will Ridenour: The Kora from Sean Coon on Vimeo.

Here's part of a song I wrote as a gift for a special someone:




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Above you'll find my teachers, guides, and inspiration. And yes, that's a Haw River T-shirt in blue. I traded it for a "Le Maire de Pikine - est - Supporte Tyson" T-Shirt. Tyson is a Senegalese wrestler nicknamed after Mike Tyson the American boxer.

The good times, in Mali and Senegal - 2003

Attaya
Palm Oil
Cassava
Thieboudienne / ceebu jén
Shea Butter, a must
Tigadege
Lakh
Fufu
Kola
Thiouraye.

Sounds Like“You will never find a border between day and night but we know the difference between both. In my experience this is the same with folk music: There are no borders between the different traditions and cultures but they exist in themselves and have their individual tones and colours." MISHA ALPERIN, Ukraine



"Anarchism" is the revolutionary idea that no one is more qualified than you are to decide what your life will be. It means trying to figure out how to work together to meet our individual needs, how to work with each other rather than "for" or against each other. And when this is impossible, it means preferring strife to submission and domination. Yeah.



"We all wake up at times frightened and ill. Do not go to the study and open the pages. Take down a musical instrument." -Rumi

One of my kora songs, Kosi Idina, is part of the soundtrack to this excerpt from a short film called "Tales From the End" by Ani Monteleone.

Record LabelGet in touch. I got about 4 albums in my head.
Type of LabelUnsigned


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   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Jul 5 2009 12:00P
Festival for the Eno w/COLORS OF FLYING Durham, North Carolina
Jul 11 2009 8:00P
IN STUDIO The Fidelitorium, North Carolina
Jul 12 2009 8:00P
IN STUDIO The Fidelitorium, North Carolina
Aug 7 2009 7:00P
Paperhand Puppet Intervention *ALL FALL SHOWS* Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Sep 20 2009 9:00A
Pres. Church Of The Covenant, SOLO Walker and Mendenhall Sts., North Carolina
Nov 1 2009 9:15A
Pres. Church Of The Covenant, SOLO Greensboro, North Carolina

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   About Will Ridenour / Kora




"I am not the musician. I just hold the instrument."







The new CD is out! It's called Wind & Stars, and it was produced with the intention of facilitating health and well-being in the world through a sense of beauty and the magical realm of wonder. This CD is a collaboration between Will Ridenour and pianist/composer Betsy Bevan, and brings together the kora with the piano to produce relaxing, floating, haunting songs. Both improvisatory and intricately arranged, this recording has captured something special.

What they're saying:

“This CD is certainly light shining and rising for the good of all. Betsy and Will have created a masterpiece in a stunning and memorable way.”
David Darling, composer, cellist

“Betsy and Will successfully bring together two unlikely instruments and use them to create beautiful, moving music, a sound you will not soon forget.”
Karen McClamrock, Reiki Master and Crystal Healing Teacher

“Using soothing world music rhythms, traditions and melodies, both artists reflected on sound as a conduit for a sense of wellness and healing.”
United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, NC

PRESS:

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RETAILED IN GREENSBORO NC at Eclectic By Nature (408 State St) and Maya Art Gallery (340 Tate St)

RETAILED IN CHAPEL HILL & CARRBORO AT Internationalist Books (405 W. Franklin St) and the NC Crafts Gallery (212 W. Main St.)

Click on the image below to go to Betsy's website where you can listen to and purchase the CD through paypal:
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___________________________________________________________________

Baluba's African Market carries my older CD in Greensboro. It's also available for mailorder on the web from CD BABY, click the album cover below. I'm still figuring out digital distro. 7 songs, 41 minutes of original kora music including some acoustic guitar compositions and a version of "Alla L'a Ke", a song vital to most traditional kora repertoires. Viola!

WHO WANTS THE (older) CD?!!!


Buy Now
Click on this button or the image below to be taken to CD Baby.com and to hear samples of all the songs.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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My Biography...

...as it relates to the Kora: I come from Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, and my mission is not to become an African Kora Player. That is impossible. No matter how long a canoe lies in the river, it will never become a crocodile. My hope is to bring the beautiful instrument, the music, and the culture behind it to the ears and souls that seek it, for whatever reason, learning and growing along the way. The history and traditions of the Kora must be respected, yet the scope of it's future unhindered. There's a fine line there. So that's what I'm working with. What can a white boy bring to the table of this immeasurable art?

I first plucked a dusty ole Kora at some point in 1999. I began to teach myself and took a few lessons but had no real teacher. In 2003 I traveled to Senegal and Mali for 6 weeks to learn from the source, and that has been the best thing I have ever done as a musician. Everyone should go one day, if not to play, then to breathe, look, feel, think... rethink... Today I play traditional Kora music and compose original tunes with the blessings of my teachers, Djeli Madiya Diebate from Cassamance and Djeli Fily Sacko from Bamako (student of the worldly Toumani Diabate). I have performed at weddings (in the US and in Mali), libraries, many elementary, middle, and high schools and universities throughout NC, the NC Zoo, countless multi-cultural festivals, churches, castles, coffee shops, dance classes/performances, corporate functions, private parties, & clubs. On the drumkit I have performed in 42 US states and 25 countries worldwide.

___________________________________________________________________

What's the Kora?

The Kora is a 21-stringed bridge-harp from West-Africa originating, according to oral traditions, centuries ago with the Senegambian Mandinka of the Kabu Empire, which encompassed parts of present-day Guinea-Bissau, southern Senegal, and the Gambia. The strings are made of fishing line and they resonate through a large, halved calabash gourd stretched with a cow hide. Traditionally, the Kora is played by Mandinka Jalis and Mande Jelis, members of a special caste of society that work as musicians and oral historians. They are walking libraries of information, artisans of speech and sound.

___________________________________________________________________



View Will Ridenour's Sonicbids EPK
View Will Ridenour's EPK

If you are interested in booking me for a performace or lecture/demo, send an email to barnstormer215[at]yahoo.com. Thanks!





___________________________________________________________________

Other Projects

I play drumkit and percussion with a few other groups: Zegota (punk), Dawn Chorus (indie), Cakalak Thunder (radical samba batucada drum corps), The Somnambulist Brain (acoustic ambient with batá percussion).





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Thanks to John Rash, Danny Bayer and others for the photos.

   Will Ridenour / Kora's Friend Space (Top 16)
Will Ridenour / Kora has 1519 friends.
 Colors Of Flying 


 Zegota 


 Caka!ak Thunder 


 Dawn Chorus 


 Micha 


 roxy! 


 Greensboro HIVE 


 MADYA DIEBATE 


 Mamadou Diabate 


 INVISIBLE 


 Songs of Water 


 Toumani Diabate 


 YELEMBA 


 Celia Cruz 


 YAKUMBÉ 


 The Bronzed Chorus 





Will Ridenour / Kora's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 358 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Michel Mananes Classical Pianist





Jul 12 2009 6:46 PM

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INVISIBLE





Jun 29 2009 12:03 AM

506flyer
oddSTAR





Jun 29 2009 12:03 AM

Hi Will Ridenour / Kora!

oddSTAR is competing for a spot at this years Bele Chere Festival!


WNC Magazine is looking for the "Last Band Standing" and we wanna BE THAT BAND!

Finalists will battle head-to-head @ The Orange Peel July 8th, and the winner gets to play @ Bele Chere!

Please help us win!!
Just visit the link below to place your vote for oddSTAR!!!
You can vote once a day until June 24th!

http://www.wncmagazine.com/lastbandstanding

THANK YOU so much for your help!!!
«« Barack Obama »»





Jun 18 2009 9:48 PM

Image and<br />video hosting by TinyPic

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Fred-photographe





Jun 6 2009 2:03 PM

Thank you for the invitation and welcome to my page dedicated to Mali.J like you put your music kora has a nice sound though ....
Frienships
Fred
whitney





Jun 6 2009 2:02 PM

i saw you a while back at wake forest.
and loved it!
god bless!
Musiques de nulle part





May 29 2009 7:12 PM

Hello, very nice playing, I love your sound!

Nicolas

Violina i Azas





May 29 2009 3:44 AM

hi...
So beautiful, that I am without worlds to say , how I feel after listenig your music...
Thanks for that spiritual and magical trip...
keep playing like this!!!
all the best,
love
Violina
Jobarteh Kunda





May 28 2009 12:49 PM

Fernando Deghi-Viola Brasileira





May 28 2009 2:07 AM

Boa semana e muito sucesso!!!
Abraço
Fernando Deghi

roxy!





May 22 2009 9:00 PM

i love love love you!
~SWEET REGGEA JAH LOVE~ *GENERAL MAX JONHSON*





May 22 2009 9:00 PM

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
NubianGraphics.com
helena





May 20 2009 4:19 PM

Will!!! if there was ever a reason to come visit Charlotte, it's this: www.southernholiday.tumblr.com
we've worked so hard!
and if there was ever an opportunity to play kora in a beautiful warehouse surrounded by friends from all over north carolina, it is this (sign up and play at the lock-in part of the opening!!)
southern holiday poster
roxy!





May 15 2009 7:12 PM

Jeg Elsker Deg!!!
maalemabdenbielmeknassi





May 11 2009 4:40 PM

salam
very glad 2be your friend
wonderful music and nice vibs..
all the best from Morocco
Sara Lamharzi





May 7 2009 8:40 PM

Congrats on the grades smarty pants! I'm hitting the road tomorrow listening to bata ketu and getting ready for the next chapter. Hope to see you soon.
Hugs!
P.S. My mom says she loves your new CD. She also says any kind of supper you may like in trade for a little kora music. Maybe in September?
Georgie Swan





Apr 29 2009 2:39 AM

Hey, hope your having a good week so far ;)
check out my new songs, be great to get your comments!
Have a great day
Georgie
Citizens Against Cliffside





Apr 24 2009 2:35 AM



Why am I sending this late? Because Earth Day should be everyday! Have a good one!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
put_a_lid_on_it ..... = solar parking lots





Apr 22 2009 9:10 PM

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Personally, I hate parking lots --- but we have so many of them! Sitting there, doing nothing but heating up the atmosphere, so solar parking lots! Community-sustained, secure, renewable electricity! Bonus = community jobs! All over America! So I’m back at university learning GIS to analyze each town’s paved parking areas (Greensboro NC (pop 247,000) has 10.27 square miles of it that will power over 500,000 homes (every year) if covered with photovoltaics!) and I’m starting put_a_lid_on_it …………..……….

Stay tuned!
MUSICA DE PALO | SANTERIA | ORISHA





Apr 22 2009 8:45 PM

Saludos, solo queria compartir un videode como preparar una obra simple para prgoreso, abundancia y buena suerte...espero que la disfrutes...y que te sirva de mucho bien...recuerda la fe mueve montanas....una nota importante - debes velar la obra ya que cuando las velas se estan acabando no quieres que lo que esta en el plato se encienda con lo ultimo de la vela....

cortesia de Ruben y de Santeria Blog y Spiritual Community

Mandingo Ambassadors





Apr 19 2009 9:14 PM

Hi Will,
Your music sounds wonderful.
I hope our paths cross again sometime.
All the best,
Sylvain
SECRET SOIL





Apr 19 2009 2:58 PM


hello brutha!
Bah Kouyate





Apr 10 2009 6:04 AM

merci pour votre ajout et amitié
Thanks for your add and friendship

Bah Kouyate
Saggio





Apr 8 2009 2:27 PM

Will, was Toumani visiting NC? Let's hear the details of the comparison...
Saggio
Craig





Apr 6 2009 10:13 PM

Much thanks for the friendship..
beautiful music!!
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