African Jazz Fills Kellogg Park

Parents brought their kids to Kellogg Park on Wednesday to hear the rhythms of the Biakuye percussion group.  Biakuye played Wednesday as part of the Music in the Park children's concert series. 

Biakuye plays with a combination of traditional African instruments such as the marimba and American jazz instruments such as the bass guitar.

"This group began as an educational group to teach kids about African music," said Mark Stone, one of the founding members of Biakuye. "But over the years, we realized that kids also need to learn a lot more about American music — especially jazz."

Throughout the show, Stone and cofounder Kofi Ameyaw, who was raised in Ghana, taught the audience about the instruments they were playing. They also taught the children some words in Akan, the native language of Ghana.

Music in the Park continues at noon Aug. 3, with the band Mr. Seley & the Troublemakers.