Ok yeah, this cat?... Mystifunk, as in how did the brotha make it SO funky? I remember the first time I saw him perform, I was taking classes shortly there after and having my mind blown regularly. Aside from being an amazing drummer, he's about that roots and culture in action. Bringing beats and smiles, peace and passion, and always a little something in the mix to make your brain wiggle, its that Kele Nitoto.
Kele Nitoto is a
second-generation African American percussionist. Having studied with
Masters of many styles, Kele has become proficient in West African,
Congolese, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Peruvian , and Afro-Haitian traditional
drumming.
Since 1993 Kele has performed throughout California with such groups as
the children's group S.U.D.U.A. House, Award Winning modern dance
ensemble Dimensions Dance Theater, Haitian group Project Reconnect, The
Peruvian Dance Ensemble, Congolese troupes Ballet Lisanga, and
Internationally renowned Fua Dia Congo.
A co-founder the Black Dot Artist Collective, Kele has also become one
of the Bay Area’s most sought after percussionists for R+B, Hip-Hop and
Jazz. He has played with such Funk/R+B groups as Electric Church,
Xroads, The Jua Theory, Hip-Hop/ band Hairdoo, and Jazz trio E.S.P.,
Funk group Soul Mechanix, and Bay Area blues legend Augusta Lee Collins.
He currently plays with World Soul artist WolfHawkJaguar, and Haitian Dance
ensemble Elwa Movement.
Kele has taught hundreds of workshops and classes over the years with
adults and children. He has taught at summer camps, spiritual and
workplace retreats, and for countless ceremonies and celebrations.
Through it all he continues to explore all aspects of percussive music,
and what it can mean to those who hear it.
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