Home.I.News.I.Home Design.I.Film.I.Images.I.Sculpture.I.Music.I.Mentoring
Web Design.I.Products.I.Site Map.I.Bios.I.Contact

Also See SoundMoments Duo
and SeaDrift Media Productions


 
DIAJ 
(Drummers in a Jam)

African-Inspired, California-Grown
music and dance for the millennium!

... traditional rhythms inspire 
new and innovative music and dance.

 


 
 
In loving memory (March 21, 2010)
Ma Boukaka's music with DIAJ 

Mouyami (2009), Pangaea (1998), The World Is You Ballet (2001), 
Sweet California Ballet (1997) 



 
Mouyami Mouyami (2009)
from the timeless DIAJ Pangaea Series

"African-inspired, California grown," lyrical arrangements of 
traditional ballads and original songs to delight our ears and 
touch our hearts (26 evocative songs on a 2-CD album).
Produced by Robert Bornn at  SeaDrift Media Productions

FREE MUSIC SAMPLES AT CDBABY.COM

 

..Pangaea: Old World, New Visions (1998)
(African-inspired, California-grown music by DIAJ , featuring Ma Boukaka, Robert Bornn, and Laura Worth)
Produced by Robert Bornn at SeaDrift Media Productions

AVAILABLE AT CDBABY (CD) AND I-TUNES (DIGITAL SINGLES AND ALBUM)

 

Painting by Eliza Thomas for DIAJ..The World Is You Ballet  (Independence Day, 2001)
Painting by 
Eliza Thomas
for DIAJ
(A World Beat and Fusion Dance Event by DIAJ, produced by Robert Bornn and Laura Worth
Produced by Robert Bornn at SeaDrift Media Productions

FREE MUSIC SAMPLE DOWNLOADS

 
 
 

Sweet California Ballet (1997)
(Kimbouguila ( sample, 688 KB ) by 
Ma Boukaka, Robert Bornn, Wade Peterson, Robert Sellers, and Sean Araneda)
Produced by Robert Bornn at SeaDrift Media Productions

FREE MUSIC SAMPLE DOWNLOAD  (1 min. MP3, 700 KB)
 



 
 
Our music CD, 
Pangaea: Old World, New Visions
is NOW available at CDBaby!
BUY the CD!

 
DIAJ 
(Drummers in a Jam)

African-Inspired, California-Grown
music and dance for the millennium!

... traditional rhythms inspire 
new and innovative music and dance.


 
About the DIAJ Ensemble
Meet the Musicians

DIAJ Scrap Book
Band Available for Your Next Event
Live Performances in Your Home
Gigs

CD Order Information
FREE samples

Other Friendly Links
Contact

DIAJ
Event
 

Painting by Eliza Thomas for DIAJ
Painting by Eliza Thomas for DIAJ


 
The DIAJEnsemble

DIAJ (Drummers in a Jam) is an acoustic, ensemble performance group from the San Francisco Bay Area.  We create what we call "African-inspired, California-grown" music. 

Our music blends traditional and original improvisational work with artistry and original lyrics by Ma Boukaka and Robert Bornn. We weave rhythm, melody, and Congolese lyrics together with contemporary instrumental and vocal arrangements played on a variety of drum, percussion, wind, and string instruments.  The music introduces new lyrical arrangements of traditional ballads with original harmonics to delight our modern ears and touch our hearts. 

Audience participation is actively encouraged at DIAJ performances.  Most of our music is “in-the-moment” creations recorded in a variety of informal settings.  (FREE samples)

With our albums and performances, we hope to contribute to building community as we create meaningful and fun artistic experiences.  Our art honors our diversity and rejects the gratuitous violence that appears in much entertainment today. 

In the wake of "ethnic cleansing" in too many parts of the world and hate crimes at home, it has been said that the most important lesson of our era is that each one of us is important and worthy of basic respect.  We wish to  promote these ideas in our music.

 

 
DIAJ(Drummers in a Jam)
Live performances. 
Audience participation. 
In-the-moment music.
Digitally recorded.
 
 
    DIAJ
    will perform for your next celebration:
     
      • Private and Workplace Parties
      • Team Building 
      • Weddings
      • Community Events
      • Commercial Fanfare
      • Holiday Celebrations
      • Performances in Your Home (more about) 

      •  

    DIAJ
    facilitates workplace
    and community drum circles.
    We build teams with music.
DIAJ
  Scrap Book
DIAJ 
Records
 DIAJ
  music will 
  fit the
  event
  (contemplative or
  celebratory)

 DIAJ
   Performs 
  at Private 
  Homes
.
DIAJ
creates
 fun
DIAJ
Inspires

 
 
 
 
 

 

meet the DIAJ musicians:

Robert Bornn first learned hand drumming in the '50s on the streets of New York City and in the '90s began to more formally work with talented professional musicians.  He has been taught and inspired by Ma Boukaka, Babatunde Olatunji, Abdoulaye Diakite, Arthur Hull and other San Francisco Bay Area teachers and performers.  He has been creating improvisational music for more than four decades and founded DIAJ (Drummers in a Jam) for Bay Area drum circles and dancers in the early '90s.  In 1997 he created and performed in "Sweet California," an African-inspired performance of original and traditional music and dance, including his original ballet, "California Suite" at Burgess Theater in Menlo Park, California. 

Robert was the founding and artistic director of DIAJ performing group and producer of two DIAJ albums Pangaea: Old World New Visions (on CD) and Mouyami (a 2-CD album).  He created, performed, and recorded with DIAJ.  He also creates original melodies for the Xylimba, keesansi (kalimba), and tongue drum.

In 2001 he created and performed in The World Is You, an original African-inspired music and dance performance to celebrate world human rights. 

In 2004 Robert released his movie, Ocean's Edge - Spirit's Journey (on DVD) celebrating the lyrical, spiritual, sensuous, and non-violent sides of nature on the Northern California Coast with evocative African-inspired music: six original instrumental ballads by Robert (on xylimba and standing drum) and Laura Worth (on alto recorder). 

After moving to Vashon Island, Robert and Laura collaborated with local artists to create a celebration of positive dance and music.  This evening of community included an immersive light and sound installation by Robert, his film and music, dance, performance art, Vashon Island's Circle of Sound and music by Laura Worth and him as SoundMoments Duo

Robert's second movie, Here and Now: Vashon-Maury Island (on DVD) is an alternative, romantic view of nature in an artistic, narrative-free, and nonviolent style.  Evocative natural waterscapes and landscapes on Quartermaster Harbor are set to a medley from the Discovery Suite, Robert's improvisational piano works.  Filmed throughout 2005, the film's enchanted naturalism touches each season on Vashon-Maury Island in Washington. 

Robert currently performs with SoundMoments Duo in the Puget Sound area.  He is also recording for his next film in the SeaDrift Media Productions' film series, Ebb and Flow.



 
 
 
 
In loving memory (March 22, 2010)
Ma Boukaka's music with DIAJ 

Mouyami (2009), Pangaea (1998), The World Is You Ballet (2001), 
Sweet California Ballet (1997) 

Ma Boukaka  is from Republic of Congo in Central Africa and grew up between the village Ngolibu and the capital city, Brazzaville.  He learned to drum by tapping out rhythms in the jungle with his friends.  At 14 he went to work as a cook in Brazzaville.  Later he became a "pisteur" -- guide, hunter, and cook for a French safari company in Northern Congo and Gabon.  On safari, he met Alan Baer, a young American who offered to bring him to the United States.  Ma Boukaka accepted and came to the Bay Area in 1959.  After the arrival of fellow Congolese in California, Ma Boukaka worked with them for years to produce many shows of Congolese culture through dance, drum, and song.  Now, on his own and with others, he continues to create songs and musical arrangements evolving from his traditional Bantu roots.  He has taught drumming for decades and continues to initiate beginners into African rhythms and inspire drummers at all levels.  He performs with his band, Bole Bantu ("It Takes Two") and has released an album by the same name.  He also performs and records with DIAJ (Drummers in a Jam), including the original "Sweet California" ballet, "The World Is You," and his performance on the DIAJ album, Pangaea: Old World, New Visions (lead vocals, conga, ngoma, harmonica, keesansi (kalimba), clave, slit drum).
 
 

Laura Worth was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  She moved to California in 1970 as a young adult and played the soprano recorder for personal enjoyment.  In 1998 she began improvising original melodies on the alto recorder for DIAJ.  She has also been drumming African-inspired music for more than a decade and enjoys crafting opportunities to make music with others who share her delight in the artistic process.  She co-founded DIAJ.  She performed and recorded with DIAJ, including her performance on the DIAJ albums, Pangaea: Old World, New Visions and Mouyami.   She co-produced the "Sweet California" ballet and The World Is You African-inspired music and fusion dance event to celebrate world human rights. 

Laura and Robert Bornn have also released a movie entitled Ocean's Edge - Spirit's Journey, with Robert on xylimba and drums and Laura on alto recorder.  It celebrates the lyrical, spiritual, sensuous, and non-violent sides of nature on the Northern California Coast

For more than a decade Laura was a student of voice and stage performance as a principal actor in the San Francisco Bay Area's acting and improv ensemble group, Constance Wise Productions.

After moving to Vashon Island, Laura and Robert collaborated with local artists to create a celebration of positive dance and music.  This evening of community included an immersive light and sound installation by Robert, his film and music, dance, performance art, Vashon Island's Circle of Sound and music by Robert and her as SoundMoments Duo

Laura currently performs with SoundMoments Duo in the Puget Sound area.  She is also recording for Robert's next film in the SeaDrift Media Productions' film series, Ebb and Flow (alto recorder, ngoma, and vocals).
 
 

***

Various featured guest artists and other musicians and dancers perform in DIAJ events and albums.  Some of the other musicians include:  Thierry Sornasse, Robert Sellers, Judy Kasle, Wade Peterson, Sean Araneda, Linda Scarborough, Eliza Thomas, Jonathan Fisher, Devorah Ginden, and Nina Serpiello. 
 

 


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


LIVE MUSIC 
IN YOUR 
HOME
Would you like to bring DIAJ to your home for friends? 

FREE Samples
References Available

robert@bornn.com

Representative live performances:

  • entertained guests at Skylonda Fitness Center – ensemble performance with drum circle (internationally acclaimed Skyline Boulevard retreat)

  •  
  • premiered the Sweet California ballet, an original drum and dance community performance event at Burgess Theater (Menlo Park). 

  •  
  • performed for Bill Graham Presents' "New Orleans by the Bay" at Shoreline Amphitheater (Mountain View)

  •  
  • featured at Afribbean (Downtown Mountain View).

  •  
  • featured at Windy Hill Arts and Crafts Faire (Portola Valley, California)

  •  
  • EMILY's List where they created Beat For Boxer in Senator Barbara Boxer's successful 1998 race for U.S.Senate (San Francisco). 

  •  
  • entertainment for Incyte corporate TGIF party (Palo Alto).

  •  
  • concerts at East-West Bookshop (Mountain View,  CA)

  •  
  • premiered "The World Is You," an original World Beat and Fusion Dance performance at Hidden Villa (Los Altos, CA)

  •  
  • upcoming performances:

  •  
      -  benefit performances
      -  private and community parties
      -  other events.

 
 
 
 
 


 
Other Friendly Links
Robert Bornn
Mentoring Services for Inventors
Insculpta Art and Environments
LifeSense, LLC
 

 


 

DIAJ
Introduces Pangaea CD
FREE samples
Meet the Musicians


Our CD is NOW available at CDBaby!
BUY the CD!

The Pangaea CD is a unique blend of 
Congolese folk ballads, original modern works,
and improvisational melodies.

(contemplative and celebratory)


Pangaea
------------------

$10




 

 
 
Contact Information
Robert Bornn
DIAJ (Drummers in a Jam)
P.O. Box 2443
Vashon Island, WA  98070
(206) 463-9283

robert@bornn.com


 
 

Home.I.News.I.Home Design.I.Film.I.Images.I.Sculpture.I.Music.I.Mentoring
Web Design.I.Products.I.Site Map.I.Bios.I.Contact

Photos by R. Bornn, J. Fisher, S. Marthe
DIAJ, Drummers in a Jam, African-inspired, California-grown,
The World Is You, and Pangaea: Old World, New Visions are trademarks of Robert Bornn.

Copyright (c) 1998-2011 by Robert Bornn and Laura Worth.