Mady Keita

Mady Keita has been teaching and performing West African drumming for more 30 years. Mady began his drum tutelage at the age of 14 under the guidance of the legendary Mouriba Keita. From the age of fourteen, Mady studied the traditional rhythms of his people - The Bambara Tribe from Mali. Steeped in a heritage of djembe, doun, calabash and song, Mady soon became an active member of local Bamako outfits - Ballet Babemba and The Ballet National. Later he graduated to chief percussionist of "Shemin de Fer" and became the music composer and director for business in "Troupe Saura" - a music theatre production in Bamako.
In 1995, Mady Keita formed his own ensemble "Super Mande Percussion" and continued to work as a renowned freelance percussionist with the likes of Rokia Traore and assisted with the association for developing the culture of Mali. Mady's music, skill, passion and dedication have seen him travel the world and spread the deep musical roots of Mali to places such as Europe and Japan. Ten years later, in 2005, Mady migrated to Melbourne in Australia and has since become one of Australia's finest exponents of West African music and culture.