Kalass, and Master guitarist Koo Nimo and his Akoma group performed a free concert at Seattle Center Mural Amphitheatre on August 24th as part of Rakumi's 12th Anniversary celebration. The following article previewed that concert.

Kalass is the new project from Seattle-based guitarist/musician, composer and producer, Ganga Clamoungou. Ganga is originally from the Central African country of Chad. He has played music professionally in Africa, Europe and the United States. He currently resides in Seattle and has been a mainstay in the Seattle African music scene for the past 14 years. Performing with Ganga will be: Julian Peterson, Bass Guitar; Paula Maya, Keyboards; and Ronnie Bishop, Drums. Kalass will be celebrating the release of the debut CD, titled KALASS. Both the title of the CD and the name of the band, "KALASS" is an Arabic expression that means "enough is enough!" The music on the CD is a compilation of tunes that cross the borders of contemporary global music styles.

Koo Nimo, the great palm-wine guitarist and master musician from Ghana, will play a free concert at the Seattle Center on Friday, August 24th. He will be joined by the traditional percussion group, Akoma, and special guest Vishal Nagar from India. Regarded as one of Ghana's musical treasures, Koo Nimo the master of West Africa's "palm-wine" acoustic guitar highlife style has toured and performed all over the world. Over a two year period, Koo (rhymes with "go") was recently an "artist-in-residence" at the University of Washington School of Music and, this past year, he had a similar role at the University of Michigan. Many will remember his performances at the 1999 WOMAD-USA festival with Indian tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar, who will also be making a special appearance with him at this concert. Koo Nimo (aka, Daniel Amponsah) has recorded several albums, including a recent CD of guitar-tabla duo performances with Vishal Nagar. His latest CD which features traditional palmwine music is titled Tete Wobi Ka (the link includes audio samples from the CD). Akoma is a Seattle-based African percussion group led by Koo Nimo's son. They perform traditional Ashanti royal drum music from central Ghana.

Koo Nimo and his musicians will perform first at 7PM, followed by Kalass.

The concerts are presented by Rakumi Arts International. Founded in 1989, Rakumi Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation of African arts in the Northwest, as well as cultural preservation and collaborative programs with African music and arts.

The concerts are co-presented by Seattle Center.

-Jon Kertzer, Rakumi Arts

Check out these Kalass audio samples:
Journey Revealed
Faida