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Workshop
Facilitator - Njacko Backo |
Nature’s Retreat welcomes the multi-talented dynamic artist
and musician-performer
Njacko Backo,
who will be the lively instructor for African hand drumming on both
Tuesday, July 17th and
Wednesday, July 18th. Originally from Camaroon, Njacko has taught drumming and percussion to thousands
over the years plus his band,
Kalimba Kalimba, Njacko has been
highly successful having performed all over North America and not
surprisingly, his group proudly sports eight albums to date. At
Nature’s Retreat, we are absolutely thrilled to have the
talented Njacko on hand to teach African hand drumming plus
on the
evening of July 17th
we will enjoy a
drumming circle
with invited guests from the area.
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Njacko Backo will teach African Drumming
on July 17th and 18th. A few additional students (outside of the
retreat group) can be added to this class so consider this a golden
opportunity to have a marvelous experience learning at the hands of
the master in a beautiful natural setting. There will also be a
drumming circle on the evening of Tuesday, July 17th which will
bring drummers from the local area together.
If you are interested in taking the two-day drumming class or
drumming in the evening, please send us an email to
luczak@rogers.com. |
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On
Njacko’s website, you will be able to read about his amazing background.
An abbreviated biography is provided below. For more photos and full
background information, please visit
www.njackobacko.com.
Njacko
Backo is
a multi-talented artist; a musician, composer, dancer, choreographer,
author, educator, workshop facilitator, plus an energetic
and dynamic entertainer. He is also a natural mystic, with a deep
spiritual sense, refreshing approach to life, with a wealth of
international musical experience and more than a touch of grassroots
wisdom. Njacko and his band Kalimba Kalimba is one group that
everybody should try to see live on stage at least once in their lifetime.
Njacko
was born in Cameroon and raised in the hills of a small village called
Bazou, which means "the walkers." Njacko began playing percussion and making instruments at age three.
His Grandfather and Father were respected Kalimba (African thumb piano)
players. His Mother is a singer, dancer and percussionist. From a culture
of strong traditional dancers, his Grandmother was known as the "Queen of
Nkoua," a traditional women's dance often performed for funerals,
weddings, or to celebrate new born babies. With his grandmother's
assistance, Njacko met the elders of the village who taught him to
play music starting with the hand drum and kalimba.
Njacko left
home at the age of 17 years to start his journey to several African
countries to further his musical ambition meeting with varioius African
Master Musicians. At the age of 21, Njacko found
himself in Europe working as a dancer, choreographer and percussionist. He
worked with the group Africa Salimata, a creation of Salimata Diabate of
The National Ballet of Guinea. While living in Holland, Njacko recorded and produced two albums:
"Le Destin", a cry for hope; and "Bamileke", which
pays homage to his people.
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In
1989 Njacko moved to Montreal with his family and started working with
many African musicians and dancers. In 1990 Njacko
created his band Kalimba Kalimba to show music lovers all over the world
that Africa is the land of a million different sounds coming from a
million different instruments; he wanted to introduce the kalimba to all
generations so everyone could enjoy it's sweet soothing sounds. While in
Montreal, Njacko recorded and produced four more albums with his band:
“Aventure au Desert,” "Nkoni," "Resurrection" and "Lode Yeuk;" he was also
the artistic director for the African Pavilion at the Granby Zoo in
1996 and 1997.
After
several years of performing in Quebec and abroad, Njacko moved to Toronto
in 1998 where he recreated his band Kalimba Kalimba. In 1999,
Toronto-based Music Africa presented Njacko Backo & Kalimba Kalimba their
prestigious Fiati Memorial Award for Best Traditional Performance. In
Toronto, Njacko has released more albums with his band: “Kakoua – Don’t
Cry” (2000), “The Conscience of Africa” (2003), and “Ba Ba Oh” (2006).
Njacko
has frequently been invited to talk with students, eg, Mariposa Schools (Toronto), and The Inner City Angels
(Toronto). Since 1992, Njacko has led more than 1000 workshops in Quebec
schools alone about music, dancing, singing, and making instruments from
recyclable “trash.” He also teaches through the Royal Conservatory of
Music, to share his culture and music with students from under privileged
areas of Toronto.
Njacko
has taught drum circles in Toronto, Guelph, Muskoka, Montreal, Trinidad,
and Amsterdam, and performs regularly with his students, the Toumkak
Drummers, at various drumming festivals, community, and charity events.
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