Ode to the Divine Drummer
By Kwasi Ntem-Mensah
The news this time was very slow
No wind, No breeze, no sunlight,
No rain, even the clouds were hiding
The moon peeked and run away
The birds refused to chirp, the squirrels,
Left the nuts all alone.
The snakes asked ‘who will play us music?”
The man who flies across a room
The man who makes music out of nothing; yet everything
The man who straddles countries and continents
The man who resurrects musical instruments
The man who praises his maker through music
The man who speaks the language of the percussions
The man who …
Odupon Kes3 3tu tu,
Kwame Damirifa Due, Kwame Da Yie!
Indeed, I loathe these moments, that is because this piece should have been written long ago. The life of Kwame Ansah-Brew should have been celebrated while he was still with us. But alas, we all fall victim to the vicissitudes of humanity; somehow, we neglect to celebrate each other when it matters the most.
In April 2017, barely a month after the Ghanaian American Journal was launched, my co-editor, Mr. Kwasi Ntem-Mensah and I, along with my daughter, Jasmine, took an early morning sojourn to Laurel, Maryland. We had been invited to cover the third anniversary celebrations of the Performing Arts Center for African Culture (PACAC).
We arrived in Maryland at about 9 a.m. and went directly to meet our event host and founder of PACAC, Mr. Kwame Ansah-Brew. After some few minutes of salutations, we felt so much at home, we began to help the affable and ever courteous Mr. Ansah-Brew to set up for the day’s event. For an event that we simply went to cover, we soon found ourselves so deeply involved with the programming; it was as if we were part of the PACAC team. That is how welcoming Kwame Ansah-Brew was, an affable, kind and passionate artist and teacher of African music and drumming.
As budding magazine editors, creating quality content was very important to us, we went to great lengths to find good content. However, this trip was an eye-opener. Not only was it our first event to cover, it also promised to portray a message we wanted to carry to our audience – the significance of African music and culture in contemporary America.
My partner, Mr. Ntem Mensah went there as a journalist, but ended up performing marvelously as the MC for the evening, as he began the program with a beautiful poem that captivated the audience. As he worked the audience, PACAC Coordinator Mr. Tony Habada and I, worked behind the scenes, directing the program off stage.
The evening’s event turned out to be one of the most culturally fulfilling evenings I’ve witnessed, as three great African musicians displayed the powerful sounds of simple African instruments. In performance was, Osei Korankye, Ghana’s celebrated Seperewa player. Osei Korankye happens to be only one of five people in the world capable of playing the Seperewa (a wonderful boxlike music instrument that is more like a box guitar). Also, performing was Cheikh Hamala Diabate, the Griot from Mali-the man who talks and breathes the ‘Ngoni”, the ancestor of the banjo (as you know it).
Kwame Ansah set the pace with his dexterity on the Talking drums followed by superb performances on the Seperewa by Osei Korankye and Banjo by Cheikh Diabate.
The climax of the occasion was when all three great performers got together and blended music from the drums and balophones, with the Ngoni and Seperewa dominating. Indeed, it was the sights and sounds of glorious music that made one proud to be African.
The passing of this amazing Ghanaian icon has reemphasized to me that the pursuits we consider the least profitable or at times challenging, are the most meaningful. Simply put, to say that through the Ghanaian American Journal, I had the opportunity to meet and work with Kwame Ansah-Brew is something that I will always hold dear. We yearned to collaborate on future events, I never once imagined that his days on earth were so nigh.
Until his untimely death, Mr. Ansah was an Adjunct Professor of African Religion and Music at the University of Maryland.
In addition to being the founder of PACAC, he was also the founder and Artistic Director of the Fritete African Drum and Dance Ensemble.
In fact, Kwame Ansah’s CV is so long that it would take pages to reproduce here.
Please see this link for more information: Kwame Ansah – Brew
Known as a “Divine” Drummer during his early years in Ghana for the Chief of Akyem Abuakwa, Kwame Ansah-Brew has left us with a divine legacy, that reminds us to never forget where we come from, no matter where we find ourselves. We are equally reminded by the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson that, “It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.” Kwame Ansah-Brew taught and touched many lives through his music.
He spoke happily about his love for his family and how his children have their own unique musical talents. He is survived by his beautiful Wife Josephine, his Son, Kofi and Daughters, Akosua and Adwoa.
Kwame’s Quote:
“Performing and teaching creative dramatics, traditional African dance and drumming are my calling. As a teacher, it is with passionate scholarship that I impart all that I have learned (and continue to learn) to my students. Teaching the performing arts—whether for recreation or academic purposes—is about a shared communal experience. It is a richer experience because of the diversity of my students’ cultural backgrounds.”
Kwame Ansah-Brew
By Fred K. Kyeremeh
