User:Shawninchgo/sandbox

Samana is the first all women's ensemble in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Co-founded by multi-instrumentalist Maia (Sonjia Hubert Harper), sitarist/bassist Shanta Nurullah and flautist Nicole Mitchell, the group included percussionist Coco Elysses (Elysses Wallace) and vocalist/clarinetist Aquilla Sedalla (Marcella Graves). Samana often expanded to include Ann Ward, Regina Perkins, Chavunduka Sevanhu, Rita Warford, Amira Davis, Africa Brown, Zahra Baker and/or Darlene Blackburn. Active primarily around Chicago and the Midwest in the 1990s, Samana occasionally reconvenes for select performances.

Samana is known for colorful outfits, inspiring lyrics and unique instrumentation, including sitar, harp, mbira, vibraphone, tympani and bass clarinet. The group's music was influenced by Kelan Phil Cohran, Alice Coltrane,, and Doug and Jean Carn. Their self-titled album included compositions by Harper and Nurullah. Notable performances included the Chicago Jazz Festival, Kohler Arts Center (WI), Hothouse, and Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.