Grand Master Djembe Player!

Sega Cisse is a 70 year old master djembe player from Mali. Amazing - www.rootsyrecords.com

[@haricotsvert]

This is incredible. I cannnot imagine what it must be like to be there with this music, energy, and people

[@mags755]

this guy has perfect timing with respect to his place with the solos....accents the other drums perfectly...not too much, not too little...you can tell he is wise beyond his age....I love everything about Africa and percussion....I will go there one day!

[@kostadjembe]

he makes the djembe sound so good!really inspiring,its like poetry

[@cmcespedes2]

Wow!! Great drumming. Watching these videos have rekindled my desire to take up drumming again. I love drums. These men are great, and the dancing only adds to the flair of the music. Thanks for posting and sharing this.

[@pamelahadder4315]

You need to understand the cultural context of this marvelous artistry - the master drummer knows the people in the marketplace. They communicate the family names and tell a bit about their ancestry with drumming - to those who don't understand, it may sound random, but it is the sharing of history, the honoring of life and the connections between generations. The djembe communicates history, celebrates significant life moments - and yes, they are just played for the joy of it :)

[@tahzwalker]

@Bashar al-Assad's #1 Fan No I think you are wrong on the orgin. Kassa is Guinea-Malinke people

[@michaelherndon9573]

Well stated

[@yiriba57]

Go Grand Master Sega!!! 622,719 hits!! Sega was 70 when I met him in Bamako in 2000. Traveled with him to Nefer D' Coura and Sibi Koro. By virtue of his AGE he qualifies as 'Grand', he is old enough to be a grand father and possibly a great-grand father. Over a life time he's mastered djembe rhythms in his respective village and region nothing more. This is how he is recognized by HIS peers and community. If he knew 1/2 mill people all over the world has seen him he would be happy.

[@ishedolewz]

love the dancing at the end of the video-great times! we all should dance,laugh,cry and sing together.one love-one aim-one heart-one destiny! jah bless.

[@johanvanvoorst4474]

For most westerners it is difficult to follow, but believe me, if you are there and allow yourself to let the music, the hypnotic rhythm take you away, it is amazing! I hated the first time I heard it, boring I thought, but than I let happen and I LOVED and still do! Of course a video or recording does not even come close to being there! Thanks for posting.

[@74yoikodayo]

I just love the energy of this jam!

[@bakedbean37]

Wow !! The comment box says "Share your thoughts". I've just had to compose myself after having just about the most extreme emotional reaction I've had to any piece of music ever. No overstatement. That last scene blew me away with it's pure ... I don't know what on earth that was. I'm still searching for the words. It touched the primeval me I know that. Wow !!

[@Uzoma74]

This dude is off the hook. His sunu is the gold standard. Great stuff.

[@haptomitonial]

i can just say thank you! for sharing this sacred music to the world!!! this is "2 on 3" in ways one can never find outside of West Africa! This is where Candomblé and Gnawa comes from! Truly inspiring!!!

[@exeklopman]

great old man, great music, beautiful people, they are partying while the young drummers learn from the older (who rocks more than they do!) really most western urban societies have a lot to learn from this kind of gathering of different generations just for natural fun with music and instruments of their own... fun and a lot to learn from here.

[@devinmyers100]

This is incredible. This is why I bought a djembe drum for the first time. What's even better is that I purchased one that are are made by the very people who make them in Ghana which goes to support their livelihoods.

[@esquinadelaiguana]

Simplemente maravilloso! Beautiful video of true Africans musicians. Just great! Paz desde Puerto Rico Peace from Puerto Rico

[@ijtm74]

70 ans et toujours operationel le vieux chef du village!!

[@IntelInside2020]

what has been called the most expressive artform, jazz, evolved directly from this type of music. Listen to the syncopation and varrying time signature in the clip- it's definitely a predecessor of jazz;rock and roll,reggae, and other contemporary genres have strong african influences as well.

[@WolfShaman777]

Wonderful and transcendental drumming.. so soulful! Thanks for uploading it!

[@DDevin7]

Beautiful drumming and dancing. Beautiful culture.

[@rootsymali]

It really depends on your personal style and preference musically. Malian djembe playing tends to have more feel, swing, and space. Guinean drumming tends to be straighter, faster and flashier. Many develop a taste for Malian drumming after years of studying Guinean djembe. Something to consider...

[@jimkerryhelmer]

some people dont like this style but this man play a song, which most good fast drummers cant do, i'm glad i can

[@renshumainichi]

You can tell who the musicians are and are not, haha. He is having an awesome conversation with the other drummers in the group. Look at how he is communicating! I really liked the groove starting around 4 minutes. That line really moves forward. A master drummer spends his time making good music and finding the right groove instead of trying to fit in as many fast and difficult beats as they can. Thank you for posting!

[@igno93]

That old goat is intense, he is definitely keeping his hands busy. If you notice he influences the other younger, less experienced players tempo and theme. No two songs the same, ever.

[@Seasofdesolation]

I got myself a Djembe from Tunisia, from then on I started learning many different beats and also, thanks to this instrumental, I gained interest in the African culture.

[@hmax1591]

holly shit. Wow! What a sense of rhythm and talent of that old guy. Crap! If I only had that talent.

[@Mwaterfall]

Amazing! When we reconnect back to our roots Gives me a chill, excitment, and warming peaceful feeling

[@XeroflyHelicam]

Grand Master is Relaxed and drumming..........Dec2024

[@rbaleksandar]

I love African rythms. Especially South African ones. Music is something for us all to share among each other, enjoy and cherish.

[@tonybillly01]

grande musica from Mali..,great music .thank you from Italia ciao .

[@kingkonut]

THIS is the greatest these people have style the musician is amazing this is outstanding footage well done

[@firegirlemtcop]

Awesome, beautiful and inspiring! This is why I'm looking for a djembe for myself. I love drum circles, and wanna be able to join instead of just enjoying from the sidelines.

[@jimkerryhelmer]

Goo Bless this man, and his people, wonderfull performance

[@DarkMachineNation]

I love the "swing" of the rhythm.

[@richardsull119]

This music is wonderful! Thank you for sharing.

[@azuredamselfly]

Absoluteley fabulous!

[@MrSmartAfrican]

I'm glad to be able to say that I'm African. From the bottom of my heart.

[@maworthy05]

This is beautiful! I wish I could be in one of those dresses dancing with them!

[@yiriba57]

I agree Uzoma74. Sega's Sounu is on the money. Hearing Moussa's Sounu solos first gave us an awesome example but Sega was his source of traditional phrasing. We need to go in August. Props to the Rootsy Mali guy for putting this up. We need to put more of the 2000 stuff up.

[@Aberfitchgirl]

This is awesome. I love to see masters play the instrument!

[@AndreMershon]

Thanks Jeremy. I went looking online looking for djembe music to play for my son and I found this awesome video. I ni baara!

[@StefanMarkBee]

wonderful feeling - ...loved it !!!

[@rocknboyz]

That was great... looks like they're having so much fun. Makes me want to go there!

[@LIANG14]

Wow. Just awe-inspiring

[@magickriver]

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! LIFE IS BREATH! BREATH IS RHYTHM! RHYTHM IS THE HEARTBEAT OF MOTHER EARTH! Sega is an Absolute Master of Time. Thank You, Rootsy Mali :-)

[@Wunakina]

yeah!!! great sound! djembé 4 ever!!!!

[@judsontbranam]

Beautiful

[@tardismole]

Wow. I started playing Djembe in 2007, but have played others since I was three, such as dum dums and the Bodhran. After seeing this man I don't think I've even scratched the surface. For anyone wondering; The skins are goatskin or cowhide taken from the animal when it’s killed for food. I've played a Djembe with an artificial skin and it sounds and feels like tapping an empty plastic bottle. Real skins cannot be substituted with synthetic, no more than the sun can be replaced by the moon.

[@uroio8w]

His drum can make us move, dance.

[@Kuchenwurst]

I don't play any drums either, but the impressive thingy is the groove and the use of more than one different rhythm. I usually fail when i try stuff like this on the guitar :) Anyway, i find it interesting how it is possible to make such a great music with use of only a drum, as you can't play any melodies with drums. Fascinating, really.

[@africanswing]

Great touch!!

[@djembeweaver]

Lastly drum circles can be fun, and in particular are a great way for people who aren't musicians to access music. They just have nothing to do with this music or the tradition behind it. Both are perfectly valid. It's like the difference between dancing in a club for fun Vs traditional flamenco dancing.

[@Satyr1975]

God damn, that old geezer had some rythm!!!!

[@KM-px8cs]

This is not about "Western" notions of "keeping time" or "tempo". Don't like it - don't listen or watch....there's a good chance this wasn't meant for your type anyways. If you actually listen (and put away ignorance, hatred, and covetousness for a second) Tempo and rhythm are very much involved but shift when the players cue it to each other through their playing instead of having someone on a podium waving a stick or signaling a shift verbally. Furthermore, there are other factors involved like Polyrythym and pure expression.

[@sunmanpatoo]

very similar to indian classical music and drumming. an expression of well timed improvisation.

[@joepipisitoface3380]

🤫

[@sizzla123]

powerful vibes! thank you for posting

[@Bellamondo]

Great stuff!! Very inspiring.

[@MontRoyalTamTams]

i HOPE FOR THIS VIDEO TO SHINE FOREVER. lES ANGEES GOD BLESS

[@sshuck]

Love the look at 1:01! That beat spoke!

[@no1r]

Great! We appreciate it! Post more!

[@va1van]

VIVA AFRICA!!!! AFRICA LIVE´S FOREVER MEXICO LOVES AFRICA djembe Great!! Chido!! Cool!!

[@soliloqueoneLG]

Love Momma trekking thru w her baby!!! 🔥😂🔥❤️😍

[@DavidJacobo]

its true man, i go to a drum circle where i live but usually i cant find the fluidity and i get lost. too many people doing their own tricks, which im guilty of too. its nice to see everyone working together for a change.

[@kidsspirit]

@KillinDaWelfareMCs It's hard to argue about this, because it indeed might be simple when you compare it with other regions rhythms like indian or whatever. But for me this music goes very deep. The pace is like hypnotic and telling a story. But only when you give it a chance and "listen to it right"...

[@787ram]

this is one of the coolest things I have ever seen

[@wahnano]

Mama AfriKa I miss you very very much

[@thehellrider]

Asi comenzo toda la musica awesome lifestyle

[@teamhex]

100% right, I used to go to this Mexican restaurant and on Wednesdays they would have drum night. You could also smoke pot outside the place. So you'd get this big drum circle going outside in a sandpit. It was great even if you were doing like one sound.

[@JoshMcRogue]

Gotta love the syncopation of Djembes! I Just composed an African orchestral piece and put it on my channel inspired by different genres from the continent.

[@igno93]

Seems very improvised and more like a jam but it is can get a bit hypnotic, very cool indeed.

[@scorepyo]

WOW! This is awesome!

[@aboubakarkonneh7400]

Great beatings drum....

[@kiocyo]

salutari tuturor eu sunt Ionut si sunt din Romania si as dori sa va multumesc ca mi-ati aratat si mie o frantura din cultura voastra si muzica deasemenea este foarte super kiss from Romania

[@JonnyLikesPie]

thats what we all used to do back in the way back

[@arriedemarco]

wow..amazing !

[@dmarker21]

Awsome. Loved it.

[@jcyberj]

I do not think that you can generalize as much as many commentors have. This is a great piece where differeht beats and dances are featured in short clips that have been pieced together. What this shows is that a lot of drums are being sold, but the cultural relevency of the djembe, Jun Jun, dancers, etc. is lost. How can someone who still believes in Tarzan's mythical Africa comprehend the mosaic.

[@salvador75]

Beauuuutiful.!

[@pamelahadder4315]

Fantastique!

[@grosswisier]

This is real & cool music... Great =)

[@wodrummerworld]

stop putting down people who don't know. That said, for those who can't tell, this is GREAT!

[@biggytalls1]

this is awesome!

[@RitalMan2000]

I love the rythm!

[@iszoj]

This is so amazing!

[@stylostef]

they are good man.. nor discussion possible

[@nsgfunk]

This guy is king!

[@Envergure]

Instruments with the most expressive potential generally take longer to master. eg. it takes a lifetime to master the piano or guitar, but a little kid expends a toy plastic xylophone in a few weeks and goes back to watching TV.

[@misterpetey]

way to make that djembe sing, and swing!

[@plackbus]

Thanks so much for this, serious energy beats at those high points

[@djembeweaver]

As to the old guy he gets all of the sounds (including lots of Famoudou-esque muted tones) and clearly knows the traditional rhythms so he would be considered a djembe Fola (meaning djembe speaker in Maninka). He's no Mamady Keita but he knows his stuff. If you listen carfeully you'll hear certain phrasing that is very difficult to learn if don't grow up with it, like the 6/8 swing that is very clear some of these peices.

[@AhmraBlacklion]

Bump-n-drum! Family get down jam session.

[@IntelInside2020]

Interestingly, I am a classically trained in both viola and string bass and in my opinion what sets Baroque a part from many other genres is not necessarily polyphony but the use of an incredible range of dynamics.

[@BrennyO]

that's seriously awesome

[@shamsuddinali994]

Power empowerment of heart mind men and woman One!

[@ElEri42]

that's play!!! amazing :D

[@elnegrito19]

Esto es hermoso brothel!!!

[@psylence101]

Love it

[@reynaldina]

bellissimo!!!

[@LoneGranger]

thank you. inspirational

[@Andrewpercussion]

Can anybody tell me the names of these rhythms? First seems like some sort of djelidon? Second clip has 2 rhythms, and the last on the 3rd clip? I’d love to learn the names of these rhythms if anybody knows please….

[@Stradlverius]

They are Improving. Just coming up with things off their head, Thats damn impressive to me.

[@OXXOI77777]

Most cultures with the ability to watch this on the internet (particularly western) have such a modernized sense of music that our ears subconsciously demand a degree of perfection. We are so used to hearing perfectly syncopated rhythms and accurate pitches from professional recordings that we are turned off by something that disobeys the musical "rules". What we are seeing here is a culture that doesn't have this; they are just happy to get together, make some music, and have a good time

[@OL9245]

OXXOI77777 . There is a "degree of perfection" there that you just cannot imagine. It takes 15 years of full time learning before a kid will eventually be allowed to play solo with adults. As a westerner, you have to work hard before you eventually start to understand how complex this music is (not talking about actually mastering it). Even advanced djembe players can be tricked by some drum melodies to the point that they cannot tell where is the beat.

[@OL9245]

OXXOI77777 . There is a "degree of perfection" there that you just cannot imagine. It takes 15 years of full time learning before a kid will eventually be allowed to play solo with adults. As a westerner, you have to work hard before you eventually start to understand how complex this music is (not talking about actually mastering it). Even advanced djembe players can be tricked by some drum melodies to the point that they cannot tell where is the beat.

[@OXXOI77777]

@@OL9245 @Olivier Planchon The point I was trying to make in my comment (FROM 7 YEARS AGO...) is that, this performance is not valuable when viewed through a western lense, because it doesn't satisfy typical western values (e.g. technical excellence) - but that doesn't mean it's not valuable from other points of view. My interpretation of your response is that, no in fact this performance does satisfy western values, but it's just that us humble, western-trained musicians can't recognize how complex/excellent this performance is...which is just blatantly not the case. If that interpretation is correct, you are trying to find some rationalization for why this performance is valuable via a western lense which is just not there, which is why your rationalization is so weak. If you want to evaluate the performance, you should do so from the lense of the culture that generated it (to the best that you know how)

[@OL9245]

@@OXXOI77777 . You seem to have no idea of what the traditional djembe music is. "our ears subconsciously demand a degree of perfection (...) perfectly syncopated rhythms". Its hard to understand what is a "perfectly syncopated rhythms" My best guess is that you talk about microprecicion aka the precision to which each stroke is place between each other. And accordng to you they "doesn't have this [ability to play precisely, and the taste of it]; they are just happy to get together". I am sorry, this statement comes from a complete misunderstanding of what traditional djembe is in this region. Read the other comment. For example those from djembeweaver, who used to teach djembe. Other comments come from people who knew this grand master. Traditional djembe in the Mandingue is very complex. And, yes, it is so complex that the unaccustomed ear gets the impression of messiness and imprecision, but it is not. their stokes are damn precise. Ask them to replay the same rithm and they will play it exactly the wame way to the microsecond. Before listening again to this record if you whish to understand what I mean, you just have to trust one things: this guy is a grand master. He plays the djembe day in day out from the age of 5 or less. He will never screw up a single stroke. The only thing he is laking now is musle strength, which is hot that important in his case because in his time, the djembe was played at much slower tempos than today (which you can see here), and whith much loser skins (which gives his djembe this special sound, with a lot of harmonics that younger djembe players dislike). In a word, yes, notes are not evenly spaced in traditionnal . No, this is not caused by their inability to play precisely: it is they way of playing the djembe, it is darn difficult to do and this guy can do it at perfection.