From Madagascar, Donné Roberts and Madagascar Slim; from Guinea, Alpha YaYa Diallo and Kofi Ackah; from Kenya, Professor Adam Solomon; and from Burundi/ Rwanda, Mighty Popo–this is the African Guitar Summit.

Incredibly, these six Canadian men, all of African origin, built this groundbreaking super group in only three days.

STARTING SESSIONS

The very first time they teamed up was in 2004 at the CBC Recording Studio in Toronto.

"A producer named Todd Fraracci decided to put together a recording project with the best, in his opinion, African guitar players who lived in Canada," explained Donné Roberts. "It was like a round table. Each of us introduced himself and his song, and we played together like a jam session."

Nine musicians showed up for that first session and Fraracci started recording. At the end of the three-day session, there were handshakes all around and each musician went back to his own respective projects.

"After almost a year, we got a call from Todd saying that our CD, "African Guitar Summit," had been nominated for a Juno Award (Canada’s equivalent of a Grammy Award) and then we won. That’s how it all really started," Roberts said.

DIVERSE INFLUENCES

Since then, six of the musicians have continued to collaborate and tour as the African Guitar Summit (Naby Camara, Pa Joe and Theo Yaw Boakye were on the album, but are not touring with the group).

Together, they exhibit an ease of teamwork that Roberts said stems, in part, from each of them growing up as musicians.

"Everything happened organically," he explained. "Everyone knows how to respect each other; when one person is taking the lead, the others back him up, and so on."

Another natural component is the pure melting pot that makes up their music. From the West African guitar playing of Diallo to Slim’s blues, each musician brings something unique to the mix, including Roberts himself, whose influence is from northern Madagascar.

"This is completely different from the sound from the south of the country," he explained. "I also have lots of influences from Santana and I was classically trained. And I’m the tallest," he said with a grin.

SOLIDARITY SOUNDS

At the African Guitar Summit’s multicultural shows, a musician introduces his own song with a little story, adding to the depth of the performance.

While the drum has long been considered the heartbeat of African music and the vocals the lungs, the new distinctive sounds of today’s African guitar work are perhaps the limbs, stretching out to connect the eclectic musical sounds across the continent.

While each musician is well known in his own right for his own individual style, it’s this hybrid that’s gaining the group even more attention.

"I think that the unique thing about this band is that, while every single person is well respected, when we all get together, it’s like a national team. That doesn’t sound very humble," Roberts laughed, "but that is the reality so far."

That musical solidarity is keeping the band on the road, on iTunes (where Roberts’ jaunty track "Wenge Yongo" has been a popular download) and as darlings of CBC and NPR.

"In order to keep this band strong, each and every one of us has to keep up the hard work we’ve been doing," Roberts explained, "but we’ll keep collaborating until we can’t. The future of the African Guitar Summit is sharing our music with as many people as possible."

The African Guitar Summit will be in concert at the Dennos Museum Center on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8pm. For tickets and more information, visit: www.dennosmuseum.org