Balimaya Project

Donovan Haffner: Alleviate

by Neil Duggan
April 23, 2025

Saxophonist Donovan Haffner's musical journey began early. He was touring Italy and the UK with Moses Boyd when he was only 18 years old. He has gone on to play with Jay Phelps, Charlie Stacey and the Balimaya Project as well as graduating from the Royal Academy of Music. Haffner now takes the next ...

Balimaya Project at Barbican Centre

by Chris May
October 20, 2023

Balimaya Project Barbican Centre, Main Hall When The Dust Settles London October 17, 2023 Founded in 2019 by London-based djembe player Yahael Camara Onono, the eighteen-piece Balimaya Project is an all-male ensemble dedicated to celebrating its members' African musical heritages, which it approaches as evolving, future-facing entities. The band blends ...

Balimaya Project: When The Dust Settles

by Chris May
August 12, 2023

Formed in 2019 by London-based drummer and percussionist Yahael Camara Onono, the sixteen-piece Balimaya Project blends traditional West African Mand�� music with modal jazz and other sounds out of modern Black London. The ensemble's closest comparator, albeit at some remove, is the veteran Senegalese band Orchestra Baobab who, in the 1980s, were hugely popular at home ...