Rattling the Bones with Kafari

Workshop + Concert

POSTPONED // NEW DATE TBA

2-6 pm — cost: $15-50 sliding scale

(Mocktails for sale at this event)

"The rhythm bones are an ancient percussion instrument played by holding two in one hand, rotating the wrist forward and backward to create sound. While they are most often heard in Irish traditional music and bluegrass ensembles, the bones are a fantastic vehicle for exploring the expansive universe of rhythm! Whether you're an experienced rhythm bones player or totally new to this fascinating and fun instrument, join Portland, Maine-based beatmaker, pianist and rhythm bones player Ahmad Muhammad a.k.a 'Kafari' for an exploratory bones gathering designed for players of all experience levels. After a brief presentation about the origins of the bones, learn the basics of holding and playing the bones and experiment with basic rhythmic patterns that can be used to jam along with others! *NO prior musical experience is required* and bones will be provided for all participants (for duration of workshop)."

ARTIST BIO:

"Kafari’ (he/him) is the alias of Cincinnati, OH born, Portland, ME based pianist and rhythm bones - wielding beatmaker Ahmad Muhammad. Kafari’s music synthesizes his love of ambient piano music, instrumental hip-hop and acoustic percussion, taking inspiration from Detroit jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby, Detroit beatmaker J Dilla, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who in a 2014 performance sparked Kafari's interest in traditional music and the Irish rhythm bones - a percussion instrument popularized in America in the 1800s through Blackface Minstrelsy. Kafari often distributes and teaches the rhythm bones at his performances, inviting his audiences to workshop basic rhythmic techniques and to share in the joy and magic of bones playing.

From July 2019 to May 2023, Kafari appeared weekly on Monday nights in Portland, Maine at The Jewel Box, where he hosted a residency performance featuring his piano/organ bass renditions of contemporary and modern songs stretching across jazz, neo-soul, r&b, and classical idioms. Briefly before the conclusion of this longstanding residency, Kafari shared his intent behind the Monday night Jewel Box experience - "I hope to facilitate a rejuvenating sonic sanctuary that I and others can momentarily lean on and be recharged by." 

Through numerous cohesive, mood-setting instrumental albums, Kafari explores music-making as a balm for the spirit, inviting listeners on a journey of spiritual discovery and self -healing. In his most recent full-length album 'Blanket of Black,' Kafari creates a peaceful, warm, and ethereal wall of sound grounded in experimentally warped acoustic piano recordings. Summarizing the project's inspiration, Kafari says "My music represents how I want to feel in the world and reflects the world I would like to live in...Crafting loops and beats out of these piano recordings became a healing practice for my mind and spirit."