Mamadou and Vanessa

Winners of the 2006 Independent Music Awards and 2006 Billboard World Music Songwriting Contest.Master kameln'goni player, Mamadou Sidibe is from the Wassoulou Region of Mali, West Africa. Twenty-five years ago Mamadou played a groundbreaking role in transforming the music of this region from it's origins in hunters' sacred melodies--played on six string doson'goni (hunter's harps)-- to a music of love, politics and daily life. Mamadou was one of the first to expand the instrument's range with two extra strings, creating the popular kameln'goni. Mamadou, with artists Coumba Sidibe, Oumou Sangare and Ramatu Diakite, spread the new sounds through recordings and performances in Europe, Africa and the United States. Not only is Mamadou a master of the kameln'goni, he is accomplished on several other African instruments as well.Vanessa Sidibe, originally from New York, is an accomplished Afro- Cuban and Salsa musician. She has performed, recorded and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City for over fifteen years. She brings earthy depth and ethereal sensuality to all her vocals whether singing in English, Bambara or Spanish. In addition, her time spent in Havana, Cuba, shows with her impeccable rhythm on percussion.