African Guitar Summit facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
African Guitar Summit
|
|
|---|---|
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Years active | 2004-2017 |
| Labels | CBC Records |
| Members | Alpha Yaya Diallo Naby Camara Pa Joe Theo Yaw Boakye Kofi Ackah Adam Solomon Mighty Popo Donné Robert Madagascar Slim |
The African Guitar Summit is a group of nine talented Canadian musicians. All of them originally come from different countries in Africa. They play traditional songs from their home countries, bringing a mix of amazing sounds to their music.
Contents
The Story of African Guitar Summit
How the Group Started
The African Guitar Summit began in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a special music project for a radio show called On Stage on CBC Radio. The idea was to bring together great musicians from Africa who now live in Canada.
The group included:
- Alpha Yaya Diallo, a guitarist from Guinea
- Naby Camara, who plays the balafon (a wooden xylophone) from Guinea
- Pa Joe, a guitarist from Ghana
- Theo Yaw Boakye, a singer from Ghana
- Kofi Ackah, a drummer from Ghana
- Adam Solomon from Kenya
- Mighty Popo from Burundi and Rwanda
- Donné Robert, a guitarist and singer from Madagascar
- Madagascar Slim, also from Madagascar
Todd Fraracci was the producer who helped put this amazing group together.
Making Music Together
The nine musicians spent three days practicing and arranging their songs. They also shared stories and experiences from their lives and home countries. This helped them connect and create unique music together.
On the fourth day, the group performed their very first concert. It was held at the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. After the concert, they spent three more days in CBC Studio 211. There, they recorded their first album, which was also called African Guitar Summit. They recorded everything live, often in just one or two tries!
Awards and Performances
Their first album, African Guitar Summit, was released in November 2004 by CBC Records. It was a big success! The album won a Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year. This is one of the biggest music awards in Canada.
The group even performed one of their songs, Mwembo, at the Juno Awards Gala in Winnipeg on April 2, 2005. Later that same year, they also performed at the Live 8 concert in Barrie, near Toronto. Live 8 was a series of concerts held around the world to raise awareness about poverty.
Their second album, African Guitar Summit II, came out in 2006. It was also nominated for World Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2007.
In 2016 and 2017, the group went on tour in the United States. They shared their wonderful music with many new fans.
Albums
- African Guitar Summit (Volume 1 CD) (Released: November 2, 2004)
- African Guitar Summit II (Volume 2 CD) (Released: September 26, 2006)
