Safari Jams, No. 1 - Mandjani Dance for Band

Safari Jams - No. 1 (Mandjani Dance for Band) is a little introductory piece into Africa's vast universe of polyrhythm traditions. Melodically, the work draws from various modes akin to early African American holler songs and chant traditions still practiced in Africa and across some of its diaspora in the Americas. The originally intended instrumentation was for a wind quintet with percussion, but as the work evolved it became readily expanded to a small band ensemble of mixed instruments. “Mandjani Dance” really takes it name from a dance tradition in West Africa region of Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Gambia. However, variations of the dance, though with different names, are common across the continent, especially in the eastern sub region of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and the south-central areas of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The work opens with a chant, that is quickly followed by an energetic dance celebration. The repeated sections are important, as they help accentuate a communal dance of aspiration. This work was written for the Josiah Quincy Upper School as part of the Castle of Our Skins/Rising Tide Music Press/Boston Public Schools collaborative commissioning project.