Group Kelenia

Send email to oran@oranetkin.com

New CD Coming Soon

Featuring Group Kelenia with Lionel Loueke, John Benitez and Abdoulaye Diabate.
Email oran@oranetkin.com to get notified when the CD is released and to find out about upcoming performances.

Oran Etkin (saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet), Balla Kouyate (balafon), Meckane Kouyate (djun djun & vocals), Joe Sanders (bass)

 

Kofi Annan at UN World Summit		Group Kelenia at UN World Summit

Group Kelenia Bio:

Oran Etkin has been cultivating a personal voice in the worlds of jazz and African music for almost a decade. He has been performing traditional and modern West African music with various groups in the US and in Africa since 1998. In his travels to Mali, Oran had the opportunity to play for the Chief of all Griots and sit in with some of the region's most respected musicians, including Toumani Diabate, Habib Koite and the Super Rail Band. Group Kelenia developed out of those experiences and an attempt to explore the shared improvisational nature of West African music and jazz in an honest and organic way. Over the past three years, the project has developed steadily and naturally, resulting in a new CD that combines some of the best Malian Griot musicians with world-class jazz artists including John Benitez and Lionel Loueke. Oran and Balafonist Balla Kouyate first performed together in 1999 as sidemen in a popular Afro-pop band. Balla had just moved to the US and Oran was to leave for Mali the next day. Over the next few years, they continued to collaborate and, in 2003, formed Group Kelenia with percussionist and vocalist Meckane Kouyate that would play OranÕs original compositions and arrangements of the traditional Mande and Bambara repertoire. In 2004 the group decided to add a bassist and were able to attract some of the most talented players in New York, including John Benitez, Joe Sanders and Tarus Mateen. After working with guitarist Lionel Loueke in other settings, Oran invited Lionel to add his own unique voice to the group on certain pieces. Oran has performed with Group Kelenia at venues throughout the Northeast including the United Nations (for of Kofi Anan, Al Gore, presidents of Kenya, Finland and Gambia, Ted Turner and several celebrities), Hudson River Summer Concert Series (downtown Manhattan), Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Summer Sounds of The World Festival (Norwalk, CT), African Cultural Festival (Worcester, MA), Satalla (Manhattan), and Worlds Fair Summer Festival (Cambridge, MA). Whether playing an original composition, a traditional Malian song or a unique arrangement of a jazz standard, Group Kelenia approaches each tune with freshness and spontaneity.

 

Sound Samples To listen to complete versions of a few tracks from the upcoming album, click here. Short clips: Yekeke - (2:04) West African, arranged by Oran Etkin New Dwelling - (1:46) By Oran Etkin (Group Kelenia with string quartet) For a demo CD or press-kit, please email oran@oranetkin.com: