Hear my Prayer

A day e Shall Remember

In her debut release, Beach Sleeper, Desiree Cannon leaves everything on the studio floor – the studio, in this case, is the living room of a 1920s Oakland house littered with records and a variety of 1970s and 80s analog recording equipment. She invites you in, offers you a glass of whiskey, and then proceeds to read every page of her diary from the last 10 years and burn each one in the brick fireplace. The recording of Beach Sleeper was an extension of her life, which these days is lived mostly between the industrial shoreline and the dimly-lit corners of Oakland. The album was recorded with friends, in a comfortable space, with a focus on capturing a true experience. Beach Sleeper is all sides of Desiree’s songwriting and spirit: the sparse country ballad, “Low Flyin’ Angel”, the soulful 50s heartbreak anthem, “Oh Darlin”, the haunting psychedelic saga, “Train Man,” and the heavy, yet sparkling, “Mountain Lion Mama”. The album is heart-worn, complicated, and raw – it’s recommended for anyone who understands the complexity of human emotion and isn’t afraid to cry.
Beach Sleeper is produced by Desiree Cannon & Nate Mahan (Shannon & the Clams), engineered by Kit Center (Long Road Society), mixed by Greg Ashley (The Creamery), and features instrumentation by Mahan, Will Sprott, Elias Reitz, Patrick Murphy, & Aviva Lipkowitz.

Beach Sleeper

Rose Of No Mans Land

Let Them Play

Above The Sea

live at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Bennie Murray on Drums Soul Ma on Bass henrie Pierre koubaka on Percussion

Live at SF MOMA

The word not the sword

Viva Mandela

A for Aminta

Sundiata

Vibrations Mandingue

Sumanguru Kante

live at the San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art

I Give thanks

Yacine Badian Kouyate, PhD
 UC Davis, Co-Founder Birdland Jazzista
Scientist, Professor, 
Oakland - From Mali, West Africa
Dr. Yacine Badian Kouyate holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California at Davis, and a Master of Science in Genetics from Moscow State University in Russia.
Dr. Kouyate has conducted and published scientific research in academia and the biotechnology industry in the areas of plant virus interaction, genetics and immunodiagnostics including a patented method and device for HIV analysis and research.
A student of cultural history Dr. Kouyate stewards the wisdom and traditions of thousands of years of the Bambara and Dogon peoples.  As a consultant for the Timbuktu Educational Foundation, Dr. Kouyates compositions have been used in the documentary, “Timbuktu: The Untold Story”, produced in 2003, he Making of African Cinema a film about Sembene Ousmane and John Singleton, Rouch in the reverse by Manthia Diawara
A singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer and producer, Dr. Kouyate was a founding member of popular Davis band "Civil Rhythm"  in te late 80 S band at the forefront of the Anti Apartheid mouvement,
Dr kouyate has shared the stage with such music luminaries as Salif Keita, Toumani Diabate, Miriam Makeba, Khalil Shaheed, Eddie Marshal, Richard howel, Hugh Masakela and Cecil Taylor. Performance venues have included The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New York University, Yoshi’s in Oakland, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. the Fillmore etc....
His teaching and speaking engagements – on the music and spiritual traditions of Africa, microbiology, the intersections of ancient wisdom and modern science, and other topics – have taken him to Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, California Institute of Integral Studies, Mills College, Naropa Institute, New York University, Columbia University, Wisdom University to name a few.
Dr Kouyate is a faculty at World Indigenous Science Network an organization based in Lahaina Hawaii.

The word not the sword

Yacine Kouyate

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