Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. A wooden-keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa that is struck with two padded sticks.
Etymologies
- From Mandinka balafoŋo (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The balafon is a precursor to the vibraphone in jazz.”
“He was playing with a much younger man who was playing a kind of balafon, the African instrument from which the marimba was developed.”
“He began by playing balafon , a wooden-keyed xylophone, with no thoughts of musical styles.”
“The instrumental passages allowed all the musicians to solo, with no more emphasis on such traditional instruments as balafon a wooden-keyed xylophone and congas than electric guitar and bass.”
The Washington Post: In concert: Yoro Ndiaye at Millennium Stage
“The numbers are mostly standards, but none emerge unchanged by the transatlantic dialogue between the masters of kora, balafon and tres guitar.”
“Fassery Diabate on balafon , which is an African kin to a xylophone, and Mr. Segal on cello, double Mr. Sissoko's stately lines.”
The Wall Street Journal: Warm Up to a Meeting of Two Classical Minds
“The pentatonic piano figures — meant to evoke an African balafon — and swift 6/8 rhythm of the opening track, "Lady Sings the Blues," sound less like an homage to Holiday's music than an extension of Ms. Bridgewater's previous CD, "Red Earth," for which the singer immersed herself in the musical traditions of Mali.”
The Wall Street Journal: Dee Dee Plays Billie, In Her Own Voice
“Saxon Lee & The Shadows International's slow funk, "Mind Your Business," is perhaps this comp's most revered find, although the sax playing countering the balafon on Bongos Ikwue & The Groovies '"Otachikpopo" is prime material.”
The Huffington Post: Global Beat Fusion: Afrobeat Beyond and Behind Fela
“Indeed, the lilt and lyricism of Malian music courses powerfully through even the Cuban songs on " AfroCubism, " due in part to the presence of griot singer Kasse Mady Diabat é , Toumani Diabat é — a virtuoso of the harp-like kora — and balafon player Lassan Diabat é .”
The Wall Street Journal: A Harmonious Bridge Over the Atlantic
“There were no vibes, an occasional kalimba not nearly doing the justice that a balafon might.”
Modiba: 'AfroBlues' Performance Connects Two Continents On One Stage
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘balafon’.
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Words of the Times
Words discovered while reading The New York Times, each with a citation from the paper.
testilying, ghost talk, apneist, solastalgia, izakaya, hooker, telectroscope, airflyte, phomance, bromhidrosis, stinky feet, cupping and 482 more...
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Percussion
Percussion instruments, excluding stringed ones such as piano, with drums, gongs, and bells tagged. Only mononyms are listed, so hi-hat and tom-tom are out. A gamelan is an assemblage of percussion...
drum, gong, bell, chime, cymbal, triangle, castanet, xylophone, glockenspiel, maraca, marimba, tambourine and 78 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for balafon.
john According to Wikipedia, this is a West African tuned percussion instrument, kind of like a vibraphone. For a really delightful example of one being played, listen to the first mp3 in the left-hand column of this story. Oct 22, 2008