Madeleine Yayodele Nelson

Madeleine Yayodele Nelson
Born(1948-09-16)September 16, 1948
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 2018(2018-09-06) (aged 69)
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.S. (education), Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Musician, educator, guest artist
ChildrenAyodele Nelson

Madeleine Yayodele Nelson ((1948-09-16)September 16, 1948 – (2018-09-06)September 6, 2018) was an American percussionist and composer. She specialized in playing the West African shekere. She also played the djembe drum, the mbira thumb piano and the calabash.

She was the founder and director of Women of the Calabash, founded in 1978. The calabash is a gourd that comes from a fruit from Africa. Women of the Calabash gets its influences from Africa and the African Diaspora.[1][2] Women of the Calabash is an ensemble percussion group that draws inspiration from sub-Sahara Africa, the Caribbean and South and North America using their own interpretations.[3] She handcrafted shekeres, including for the Broadway show Fela!, in New York City and in London.[4][5]

  1. ^ "LIMELIGHT". Washingtonpost.com. 4 February 1990. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Madeleine Yayodele Nelson, 69, African-inspired musician, Westbeth resident - The Villager Newspaper". Thevillager.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  3. ^ Russonello, Giovanni (24 September 2018). "Madeleine Yayodele Nelson, 69, Percussion Group's Founder, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  4. ^ "NYC RADIO LIVE – Live Performance and Interviews with NY's Top Musicians". Nycradiolive.org. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Madeleine Yayodele Nelson—musician, educator, founder of Women of the Calabash—passes". M.amsterdamnews.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.