Gig Alerts: Mandingo Ambassadors

Mandingo Ambassadors
"Keme Bourema"
Playing at: Barbes (376 9th St., Park Slope)
Get: Tickets ($10 at door) | Directions

Every Wednesday at Barbes, the Mandingo Ambassadors bring the sound of liberated Guinea to Brooklyn. After the West African country won its independence from France in the 1950s, many bands across Guinea began performing modern arrangements of songs of the Mandingo (or Mandinka) people, one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The Mandingo Ambassadors, an 8-piece collective made up of Guinea natives and Americans, play celebratory music that can best be described as Guinea big-band. Sets include a mixture of instrumental songs, such as "Keme Bourema," and melodies sung by Ismael Kouyate, a vocalist and dancer who's also performing in the Broadway musical Fela!.