Jali Kunda

Contemporary and Traditional West African Griot music

In West Africa, the Griot (or Jali), is not just a musician. The Griot is historian, entertainer, myth maker and more. For more than 1,500 years this expert musician class have been ''walking libraries,'' responsible for preserving the region's wisdom and ancient historic lore. Epic songs, family histories and one of the world's richest instrumental traditions are passed from generation to generation through arduous musical training, ensuring that the Jali Kunda (Griot Family) endures. Features tracks with Foday Musa Suso, Philip Glass and Pharoah Sanders; produced by Bill Laswell, introduction by Robert Palmer. ++++ ''...a cohesive and introspective exploration of the music of the griots by one of its sons...one of the first truly personal collections of this incredibly complex and rich musical culture.'' [CMJ New Music Report] ++++ ''There is a something rather touching about the music - a sense of eavesdropping on something both ordiary and special'' [Gramophone (UK)]