For a little more than three decades, Simmons has taught classes in West African and Afro-Cuban music and history at Duke University. Simmons says his djembe classes are typically small. But that does ...

Led by master drummer and dancer, Kerfala “Fana” Bangoura, the ensemble combines the iconic djembe hand drum with a trio of drums played with sticks, known as dunun, sangban, and kenkeni. The powerful ...

As a ferry with decorative taiko drums on its hull eases into the port of Iojima, a tiny island in southwestern Japan, a ...

One of the best-known African drums is the West African djembe. It is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body is carved from a hollowed trunk and is covered in goat skin.