BAG II will present Mike Nelson in "Talking With Drums" on July 27

Via email, the Black Arts Guild aka BAG II sends word of a free concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 27 at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, this time featuring percussionist and trumpeter Mike Nelson:

BAG Presents: Talking with Drums

The batá drums and their music have survived for over 500 years, from the land of the Yorùbá in Nigeria to Cuba to the United States and beyond.

Used almost entirely for religious or semi-religious events in Nigeria and Benin, musicians in Cuba and the US have started to build and play batá drums that are not sacred.

The batá drums can speak. Not in a metaphorical sense, but they really can be used to speak the Yorùbá language, and have been used traditionally to recite prayers, religious poetry, greetings, announcements, praises for leaders.

Yorùbá speakers use three basic tones, or pitches, and glides between them, as an essential part of how words are pronounced. This is how the hourglass-shaped "talking drums" (called dundun in Yorùbá) are able to speak Yorùbá praises and sayings.

On Friday, July 27 at 7pm Mike Nelson and Friends will be “talking” with the Drums at Scott Joplin House. A native of St. Louis, Mr. Nelson will perform on trumpet, percussion and conch shells. The music will blend traditional with contemporary and promises to be an exciting evening of rhythm and jazz.

Mike Nelson is an accomplished musician and arts educator. He has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, China National Orchestra and Aska Kaneko as well as a list of well-known recording artists. Mr. Nelson has served on faculty at COCA and at the Better Family Life's Urban Rhythms program. He is also an award winning environmental consultant who has represented EPA community based projects and
environmental justice across the country.

Talking with Drums
Friday, July 27, 7 – 9 PM
Scott Joplin House, historic Rosebud Café
2658 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63103

A free evening of music presented by BAG
For further information call 314-340-5790
or email: bag_blackartistsgroup @ yahoo.com