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Early Starts
Amadou Lamine Touré comes from a long line of griots, a caste of
musicians and oral historians among the Wolof people of Senegal.
Born into a family of griot percussionists, masters of the sabar
drum, Lamine has been drumming since the age of four. Growing up
in Kaolack, he received his early training as part of his family's
drum troupe, performing regularly at weddings, baptisms, and neighborhood
dance parties. In 1986, Lamine moved to Dakar, where there would
be more opportunities to exploit his talents in the burgeoning popular
music style known as mbalax. 1991 marked the beginning of Lamine
Touré's career as a percussionist in the modern music scene, when
he formed his first group, Xiis. After playing with Keur Gi, Diaspora,
the Ballet Ousmane Cissé and the Orchestre Nationale, Lamine Touré
joined mbalax star Mapenda Seck's band in 1995, with whom he made
his commercial recording debut, Jamilou.
Nder et le Setsima Group
A fast-growing success, Lamine Touré left Mapenda
Seck in 1997 to join Alioune Mbaye Nder et le Setsima Group. Since
then he has enjoyed a fruitful career as Nder's percussionist, touring
extensively within Senegal and throughout Europe and North America,
with performances at Bercy (Paris), the Festival International de
Jazz (Montréal) and Central Park Summerstage (New York). Always
a highlight of Setsima Group, Touré showcases his musical talent
and versatility on a wide range of percussion instruments, from
sabar and djembé to tama (talking drum), as well as in taasu (rhythmic
poetry, similar to rap).
Group Saloum
Lamine Touré is also the founder and leader of
Group Saloum, Boston’s newest Afro-pop band. Lamine Touré and Group
Saloum fuse Senegalese mbalax with elements of jazz, funk, reggae
and Afrobeat. Group Saloum performs original mbalax music, drawing
upon the collective creativity of Touré and some of Boston’s most
talented musicians. Their performance debut at the Central Square
World’s Fair in July 2004 was a smashing success, drawing record
crowds to the African Stage.
Rambax MIT
Since Fall 2002, Lamine Touré has been serving as
Artist-in-Residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where he directs the Senegalese drumming ensemble, Rambax MIT. He
continues to teach sabar drumming and dance classes in the Boston
area, conducting workshops and lecture-demonstrations at local schools
and universities.
© Lamine
Touré web site
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