Artist Bio

A West African drum teacher, entrepreneur, video/recording artist, performer, Tam Tam Mandingue Certified Professor and Director of the Tam Tam Mandingue-Chicago School of Percussion, Michael Taylor (more commonly known as 'Taylor') has studied, performed and/or recorded with a wide range of global artists and organizations, including members of Les Ballets Africains, Ballets Djoliba, Les Merveilles d’Afrique and Les Ballets Africains de Silimbo.

Taylor has traveled to Guinea, West Africa five times to study drumming, dance, language and the regional culture. He has produced three original music CDs done on djembe and dunun drums as well as two djembe instructional dvd's, which are selling worldwide. His teachers include Mamady Keita, Famoudou Konaté, Michael Markus, M’Bemba Bangoura, Yaya Kabo, Madou Dembele, Gbanworo Keita, Laurent Camara, Minto Camara, Arthur Hull, Yaya Diallo, and Jahamen Mobley.
 

Artist Statement

Taylor admits that representing the West African djembe tradition can be tricky.  Beyond merely wearing the clothes and masks, he strives first and foremost to render an authentic expression of the music. Through an ongoing dialog with his African teachers and friends, he has seen how often their culture is misrepresented by well-meaning artists who lack a learned base of the culture’s knowledge and traditions.
He has spent significant time witnessing the healing effects of the drum.  The motivation behind his 3rd album, “Silence in the Rhythmic Soup - Rhythmic Environments for Yoga and meditation” was to create a recorded work that healing artists could use in their practice. The impetus behind his first instructional DVD “Remembering How To Drum”, was inspired by his memory of first touching the drum, marked by feelings of familiarity, which he believes to be a universal rememberance.  He recognizes the communal aspect of drumming as a healing experience for all living beings. Group synergy can enhance vibrational healing properties that are not usually attainable on an individual level. He believes that everyone not only has the potential to be a drummer, but is in fact remembering how to drum. Drumming transcends all, because all matter is in rhythm.  Some may have traveled afar from the first drum lesson in the womb, with the mother’s heartbeat as the first drum teacher, but rhythm belongs to all.  

Educational Philosophy

Whether as an educator, performer, entrepreneur, recording artist or composer, Taylor brings a unique perspective to his craft. With the combination of an exceptional ability to communicate, instill discipline and promote creativity, combined with a broad range of life and professional experience, he focuses on the relationship between the individual and rhythm/drumming. This has led to an overall philosophy that seeks to bridge the gap between all things in rhythm, seeking to locate one's own personal pulse in relation to the collective. By way of traditional West African styles and non tradition styles, Taylor demonstrates the universality of rhythm in everything he does.
 

Links

www.holygoat.com