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We are the African Knights!
Ahmed Tarawally, Jr. - Composer, Singer, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards Ahmed is from Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa. He is a prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, singer, dancer, and even a comedian. He writes and sings in a variety of musical styles. His music is always danceable and inspiring at the same time.Ahmed has dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom and the call for African nations to unite. Music is his way to convey this message. The African Knights band is his vehicle for the music. Originally from Sierra Leone, Ahmed's family moved to London. Ahmed eventually moved to New York. Now in Seattle, he's happy to be in America. He has been a musician all his life and always talks about the struggle. Ahmed has been inspired by Bob Marley, and feels that he was the only one who came close to conveying the message of freedom. In addition to Bob Marley, Ahmed's mentors are Nelson Mandela, Marcus Garvey, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Kwane Nkruma, Minister Malcolm X, and His Royal Highness the Emporer Haile Selassie. |
Yogi McCaw - Keyboards Although Seattle has been his home for over 20 years, Yogi grew up internationally in Europe and the USA. He has played piano since childhood, studied jazz and classical music, and played solo and in many groups over the years. His association with Ahmed is ten years now. He also has his own jazz group Yogi and the Yoginis which plays his original compositions and jazz influenced by many styles from around the world. He met Ahmed when they were both teaching through Jazz Pianist/Teacher Bill Rossi's YATMA organization. They were assigned to team-teach music to homeless children at the Seattle Children's Home. |
Mark DiCarlo - Guitar Mark, an East Coast native, moved to Seattle five years ago. He has played guitar since the early 80's and also plays the mandolin. Before Seattle he was living in Atlanta, GA, busking and playing in coffee shops. Here, he was a resident artist at the Capital Hill Arts Center, during which time he performed in Portland and Seattle and a few festivals in Washington and Oregon as a member of the Pure Cirkus Band. He played in The Flaming Bitumen, also a group of circus performers, who played such venues as The Rebar, and The Funhouse. He was in a 2 piece band called Dark Chocolate and the Forbidden Fruit, who played at the Blue Moon, Molly Maguires, and coffee shops throughout Seattle. He was in Dark Chocolate at the time he met Ahmed and began working with the African Knights. |
Ed Mays - Drums Ed Mays began playing piano at the age of nine and took up drums in 1967 in the Seattle area. Spanning a lifelong professional career, Ed has played with countless rock, country, R&B, and jazz groups coast to coast. Ed has played with such names as NW rock-n-roll legend Tiny Tony, award winning artists such as blues man Tom Boyle, and extraordinary female vocalists such as Dianna Ruiz, LJ Porter and Trudy Lynn and the Big Otis Show Band and his own jazz group the Park Avenue Quartet. He teaches drums at A Sharp Music, the Donn Bennett Drum Shop, Eckstein MS, McClure MS, and Roosevelt HS.He now plays with the Cadillac Jack Review Blues Band, The Mentalmen -a jazz-fusion improv group, and Yogi and The Yoginis. |
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Here's our first CD! It has five great songs for you. It is a preview of the great music
that will be coming to you as the African Knights hit the world scene and our mission
grows!
The Songs This four-song True Love Demo CD is being sold by us at our shows. |
| © 2010 AfricanKnights.com |