TAMBOURS SANS FRONTIERES

"This percussion ensemble specializes in traditional rhythms from the Congo, which form the roots of myriad genres that have spread and evolved throughout Africa and the Americas. Bandleader Teber left his war-torn homeland in 2002 and spent several years in different West African countries before emigrating to Chicago with his band in 2008. They were a smash hit at last year's World Music Festival and have siince become prolific performers, rocking the Old Town School, cultural festivals, and recently a game-watching party during the World Cup finals. Onstage they're both playful and virtuosic, summoning a huge sound that's somehow intimately familiar even to listeners for whom it's brand-new, as it's the heartbeat of so much of the planet's music. This show is part of the African Festival of the Arts...." - The Chicago Reader, September 2, 2010

"This percussion ensemble specializes in traditional rhythms from the Congo, which form the roots of myriad genres that have spread and evolved throughout Africa and the Americas. Bandleader Teber left his war-torn homeland in 2002 and spent several years in different West African countries before emigrating to Chicago with his band in 2008. They were a smash hit at last year's World Music Festival and have since become prolific local performers, rocking the Old Town School, cultural festivals, and recently a game-watching party during the World Cup finals. Onstage they're both playful and virtuosic, summoning a huge sound that's somehow intimately familiar even to listeners for whom it's brand-new, as it's the heartbeat of so much of the planet's music. This show is part of the African Festival of the Arts...$15, $10 in advance." --Monica Kendrick - Chicago Reader, Music Section, "The List", Septembeer 2, 2010

Teber, currently living in Chicago, is from Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of Congo and was immersed in the music of his country at an early age. He was the first drummer to bring the traditional rhythms of Congo to West Africa, and by integrating Congolese and West African styles into his band, “Tambours Sans Frontieres” created a new unique kind of music.

WPR: What was your introduction to drumming?

Teber: I started playing music at age eight on hand-made drums with my aunt’s percussion group in Brazzaville. Every neighborhood has its own drum groups. I also played in church. The Catholic church is the main religion there and we played drums in church. My great-grandfather had a folkloric group and my father is a musician so I have music in my blood. Later I participated in several ballets.

WPR: Tell me about these ballets.

Teber: The ballets are very competetive. There are dancers accompanied by drummers. My first ballet, at age eleven, was for youngsters. It opened doors for me and I became attached to a master drummer, his name is Bible (pronounced Bee-bla). He was my mentor and initiated me into the Congolese traditions.

WPR: When did you get initiated and what type of drum do you play?

Teber: When I was about 13 I went with my master into the deep countryside for three months to get my knowledge of the traditional rhythms and methods. The drum I play is the senga n’goma, a therapeutic healing instrument. The tree from which it is made is considered sacred and the person who cuts it down and makes the drum is specially chosen. The person who plays that drum must be initiated and it cannot be played for ill, only for good.

WPR: What happened after you were initiated to the senga n’goma?

Teber: I was given the “nom de plume” (artist name) Teber after a drummer in France. In 1997, as a teenager and already initiated, I was asked to join Ballet Pierre Sacre by a friend whose father was the leader of the group. We went on tour in France and it was my first time out of the Congo. After returning from the tour I was recruited by the Ballet National, the state-run ballet of Congo. We were on tour all over the country and I learned the traditional music of all ten regions of the Congo. I was with them for four years but during that time the ballet was in suspension for about a year because of the war.

WPR: What happened during the war?

Teber: It was a civil war. Congo is rich in resources, wood, oil and more and there is friction between the north and the south. Times were bad in Brazzaville. I saw a lot of horrible things. We had to go into hiding and change locations to be safe. We went to Pointe Noir down on the coast. I had to cut off my hair, which was in long locks, to keep from being mistaken for a rebel because that is how they wore their hair. My brother, who was one year older than me, was killed.

WPR: What did you do when you came back from Pointe Noir?

Teber: In 2001 the last time I played with Ballet Pierre Sacre was at FESPAM, the biggest music festival in Africa. We were voted the best group in our arrondissement (neighborhood). There was still a big problem among ethnic tribes but there was a mutual understanding to stop fighting because it was a great honor for the country to host the festival. After FESPAM, I left Ballet Pierre Sacre but was still a member of Ballet National.

WPR: How did your group “Tambours Sans Frontieres” come to be formed?

Teber: My two friends, M’Bay and Kaela, decided we were ready to start our own group in 2002. The name “Tambours Sans Frontieres” was suggested by a great Congolese musician - it means “drums without borders”. We got a month long gig in Benin,(formerly part of Nigeria), playing music for the Congolese Women’s Handball Team at the African finals - which they won. It was a huge leap of faith for me since I was about to get tenure with Ballet National. I left and never looked back. We stayed in Benin for three months, touring all over. We wrote to FESPACO, the biggest film festival in Africa, hoping to participate. Without even hearing a response, we headed to Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso where we played “unofficially” on the sidelines and got a continuous booking at a nite cliub. In April 2003 we headed to Mali which was really serendipitous because an international percussion festival was being organized. We were hired to play in between acts who were competing for a chance to play at the festival. We were well received and chosen to play at FESTIP even though we weren’t in the competition.

WPR: Sounds like you had a great experience in Mali.

Teber: Staying in Mali for five years and playing with all those groups really expanded my horizons and I began to appreciate very much West African music which was different from that in Central Africa. In Mali I also met reknowned kora player Toumani Diabate, who helped and encouraged me a lot. I experimented with adding dunduns and other elements to my music and appeared at many festivals, including Festival on the Niger in Segou, a Jazz Festival and FESPOP in Senegal. Boncana Maiga, co-founder of the popular African group “Africando” invited Tambours Sans Frontieres to be on his French channel TV5 show “Stars on Parade “. We played at a New Year’s Gala, were featured in Mali magazine “Dourouni” and played twice for the visiting President of Congo.

WPR: When did you come to the United States?

Teber: I met Zoe Willet in Mali, and she became the manager of Tambours Sans Frontieres. Later we married and moved to Chicago in the summer of 2008. I’ve done a lot since being here. Chicago drummer, Taylor, has been a good contact for me, helping me make drumming connections, and also the PanAfrican Association, a center in Chicago which helps refugees and immigrants. I have played with Yves Francois and Rocambu at the Rogers Park World Music Festival, HotHouse, and African Harambe Restaurant, with Titos and Biza Sompa at the Wheatland Music Festival in Michigan and the South Shore Cultural Center, Summerdance, a Congolese Women’s Benefit at The Hideout, and Congolese drum and dance workshops at St. Gregory High School and Old Town School of Folk Music among others. I have been participating in Tony Garrett’s weekly drum circle in Evanston with excellent Chicago area musicians. I have also gone on tour in New York, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and New Mexico. This July, Tambours Sans Frontieres will be performing at The Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival.

WPR: I have experienced your very fun and high energy drum and dance workshops in Chicago. What are you future goals?

Teber: I have a mission to preserve traditional Congolese rhythms which are in danger of being lost in the rush to globalization/modernization, and to share them with the world. It seems the youth in Africa want to jump on hip-hop, reggae and such and forget about their own very rich cultural heritage. Even some Congolese musicians who play soukous don’t know that the rhumba started in the Congo, bounced to Cuba and back again. I live and breathe for music and would like to create a Central African Cultural Center here to promote our culture, and then later in the Congo to provide oppurtunities for youth, women and musicians. I am fortunate to have toured widely throughout the Congo, studying and appreciating the rhythms. I am grateful to be here and want to thank you for this interview. t - World Percussion and Rhythm Magazine

St. Gregory the Great High School students were treated to an assembly that not only taught a valuable lesson on the history, sociology and culture from the Republic of Congo, but also provided an irrisistible, kinesthetic experience. Students were drumming and dancing at the direction of Teber, leader of the Congolese percussion group, TAMBOURS SANS FRONTIERES(Drums Without Borders).

Teber is a Master Drummer from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo. He started banging on cans when little, and already was playing in neighborhood ballets by the time he was eight. By sixth grade he knew that his destiny was to be a musician. He was accepted into the National Ballet where he played for four years, but the war in the Congo made him and his new band, TAMBOURS SANS FRONTIERES, grab at a chance to accept a contract in another African country, and from there he just kept going. After several years in West Africa (the Congo is in central Africa), he arrived in Chicago in July 2008. He continues to play here while trying to adjust to the cold!

The rhythms and instrument he plays come from Congolese tradition. The drum is called a “senga n’goma” and is made from a special wood found in the forests of Southern Congo. The wood and the resulting drum is said to have therapeutic values and is never supposed to be used for negative or evil purposes.

The percussive rhythms provided a cure for students’ holiday restlessness and drew groups of students to the floor. A dozen students with some facility on the school’s djembes followed the rhythym played by Teber as he worked with the dancers. t

—Submitted by Joan Riise - World Percussion and Rhythm Magazine

The World Music Festival: Chicago 2009 comes to Millennium Park September 20-24 for six free concerts that celebrate the best of international music. Free concerts at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago include the Mehter Ottoman Turkish Miliitary Band, Steve Bigons Gypsy Rhythm Project, Yves Francois and Rocambu Jazz, Guitarra Azul, Chicago Korean Music Ensemble and Tambours Sans Frontieres.

Thursday, September 24; 12 Noon - Tambours Sans Frontieres
Tambours Sans Frontieres meaning "drums without borders" plays traditional Congolese rhythms which are enriched by West African influences. They are currently based in Chicago.

The World Music Festival has attracted more than 500,000 people from Chicago and beyond since its inception in 1999. Organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Festival, which showcases both traditional and contemporary music, has presented more than 500 artists and ensembles from more than 75 countries in its 11-year run.
- The Chicago Examiner