West Africa 2000-2011

Original art featured in my book, Djoliba Crossing.

The Book: Djoliba Crossing

Djoliba Crossing:

Journeys into West African Music and Culture

The revised 2nd Edition of the book by Dave Kobrenski will be released August 2020.

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About the Book

Discover the music and culture of West Africa in this beautifully illustrated account of an artist’s adventures in the Niger River valley.

When artist and musician Dave Kobrenski first set out for Guinea, West Africa, it was simply to learn the djembé music of the Malinké people. What he found instead was a land of ancient traditions where spirits mingle with the living and the souls of ancestors reside in sacred groves of trees. He soon learns that intense poverty and rampant political corruption are a mixture with explosive potential in Conakry’s inner-city. When bloody clashes erupt, no traveler is safe. For Kobrenski, the result was a two decade musical adventure that would test his resolve and draw him into a quest of cultural understanding.

Djoliba Crossing is Kobrenski’s travel-worn collection of stories, paintings, drawings, and rhythm notations. On the surface, it is a travelogue, adventure story, and a celebration of Mandé music and culture. Looking deeper, Djoliba Crossing is about glimpsing in the everyday dust of existence the potential for diverse ways of being. It is an invitation into ancient traditions still guarded by a culture dancing on the edge of modernity, a culture which understands that who we are is who we were.

Djoliba Crossing is both an adventure memoir and a guidebook for the music traditions of West Africa. Descriptions of ancient music and festivals are enriched by original artwork, historical research, and rhythm notations for the djembé, dununba, sangban, and kenkeni drums. Together, they offer a glimpse into a world hidden off the beaten path, and chronicle an artist’s journey deep into realms of the unexpected.

★★★★★ “Djoliba Crossing is an excellent and beautifully-crafted introduction to the world of Malinké music and dance, explaining its relationship to daily life and to ritual activity.” — Indie Reader

Djoliba Crossing is 192 pages of stories, historical and cultural information, rhythm transcriptions, maps, and more — with over 70 full color illustrations.