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Article: Papa Susso Sotuma-Sere.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
- Article from:
- Sing Out!
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Sing Out Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Traditional Crossroads 4317
The kora is possibly West Africa's most beautiful instrument; a 21-string harp that, in the right hands, can take on orchestral proportions. Papa Susso, originally from Guinea--the village of Sotuma-Sere in the title--has the right hands. His village had plenty of jelis, the local name for the griot history keepers and musicians, which was how he came to study the kora. And now he's a master; on this album, much of his material is drawn from the deep well of jeii classics, such as "Sunjata," a song dedicated to the founder of the Mande Empire. However, there's more to his arsenal than purely traditional work. "Kaira," for example, is ...