Celebrate the life of
Madeleine Yayodele Nelson

Madeleine Yayodele Nelson was the founder and guiding light of Women of the Calabash, a company of percussionist/singers that celebrated the music of Africa and the African diaspora. The company performed in concerts and festivals in the U.S. and overseas. Nelson played a variety of percussion instruments, specializing in the shekere, a dried gourd covered with beads, which she handcrafted, played and taught. As a solo artist, Nelson recorded with Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, and Billy Harper. She was also involved with a number of groups in addition to her own, notably mbiraNYC, Kalunga, and Alakande!

Sunday Jan 6, 2018
Westbeth Community Room
3PM – 6PM
Come and Celebrate her life as expressed by the Westbeth musicians who worked with her and loved her.

Pot luck dishes are welcome! Let us know what you are bringing so we can have a healthy balance of savory and sweet. Email us: westbethmusicworks@gmail.com or phone 212.228.1141
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Westbeth’s programming is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State. Westbeth is supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.