This morning we met Cromwell. He is our guide for Johannesburg. Cromwell took us back to Newtown to the Drum Café. In the car, Cromwell tried to teach us some words in his language - isiXhosa.

The Drum Café is located in a building called the Bus Factory. At the Bus Factory many different kinds of artists have studios and shops. Warren, the owner of the Drum Café, gave us a tour of the building and introduced us to some of his artist neighbors.

Then it was time for some drumming! We joined Warren in a drum circle. Each of us had a djembe drum to play. Our small group filled the room with a deep, beautiful sound. After our drumming, Warren spoke to Christopher about some traditional African instruments.

Patrick, a drummer from Ghana, a country in western Africa, played the djembe for us. It was amazing to see how fast his hands moved when playing the drum.

Then, Warren and Patrick joined us for a late breakfast at a nearby restaurant called Sophiatown. The restaurant is named after a part of Johannesburg called Sophiatown. During the 1940s and 1950s, Sophiatown was famous for its music scene. The restaurant had large photos of famous musicians from that time period.

After we finished eating, we went around the corner to a jazz club called Kippies. Here, we met Sipho Mabuse. He is a famous South African musician. Jenny asked Sipho if he would do an interview with us and he said ‘Yes’!

I am excited that we are going to learn more about South African music from Sipho in a few days. He invited us to come back and enjoy some live music at his club tonight. Of course, we said ‘Yes’ to his invitation.

I enjoyed our day filled with music history,

Part I: Learn about African instruments	Part II: See and hear a master djembe player	Hear some marimba music

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