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Papa Susso CD 4317
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 Kora-player
Alhaji Papa Susso, a descendant of the famous Susso family of musicians
and oral historians, is a musical emissary of the Mandinka people of The
Gambia in West Africa. The Mandinka are part of the larger culture of
the Mande, a group of 4 million people living in and around Senegal, Mali
and The Gambia that trace their ancestry to the 13th-century Mali Empire
and their remarkable repertoire of songs of praise, genealogy and history
to the professional caste of musicians (jalis or griots) supported for
centuries by leading families and heads of state. Papa Susso hails from
Sotuma-Sere, a village traditionally inhabited almost entirely by jalis
who provided musical services to nearby government officials. Here he
plays and sings traditional Mandinka songs, commemorating political figures
and historical deeds with a mix of imploring praise, witty proverbs and
delicate lyricism.
NOTES
BY ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST ROD KNIGHT FEATURE EXTENSIVE HISTORY OF KORA PLAYING
AND THE TRADITION OF JALIYA IN WEST AFRICA AS WELL AS SONG HISTORY AND
TRANSLATIONS |
1.
Jaliyaa
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| Lucy Duran, Songlines: "The Gambia is the real hothouse of the kora (lute-harp). The river towns along the eastern banks of the Gambia river, seats of major chieftaincies, provided the patronage for the kora to develop as a solo instrument in the early 20th century. In this environment, the old pieces of the Mande repertoire like 'Lamban' were reinterpreted and new ones like the well-known 'Alla l'aa ke' were composed. Alhaji Papa is a singer and kora player from one such river town, Sotuma Sere, a particularly important place for the kora tradition. Despite the fact that since the mid-80s he has lived in the US, where he is well-known especially in the academic network, he remains absolutely faithful to the regional kora tradition known as tilibo ('eastern'). Once seen as dazzling and revolutionary, this exquisite style now sounds remarkably traditional--like music of a bygone era. Papa Susso gives a straight-forward rendition of classics such as 'Sunjata', 'Kaira', 'Tabara' and 'Alla l'aa ke'. His performance...has a languid passion. He makes no concessions, using the traditional tilibo kora tuning (with slightly flat fifths and sharp thirds) and playing and singing the pieces with no frills, just as they've been performed for decades. Though recorded in a studio, he recreates the atmosphere of sitting around under a starlit sky, as if you really were in Sotuma Sere. The
album is a rare picture of how it used to be, before fusion and globalisation.
A must for kora aficionados." |
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