The Art of Improvisation, Part 2

Afropop returns to Senegal for a thrill-packed tour of Dakar nightlife and a first time visit to the rich traditional music tapestry of Casamance. We check in with Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal and Cheikh Lo, and meet stars like Cheikh Ibra Fam, Dieyla, Sahad and mbalax heartthrob Pape Diouf. In Casamance, we experience the frenzy of a female fertility ritual and the serenity of the Diebate kora family. It’s a classic Afropop field adventure, with nonstop music. Produced by Banning Eyre APWW #878

Musical improvisation comes in many forms. A jazz player creates within the harmonic structure of a composition. A Shona mbira player in Zimbabwe improvises interactively with another player, and the audience, in some cases, an ancestor spirit. An Arabic maqam musician works within the elaborate set of rules governing the movement of melodies within one or more particular maqamat, or modes. How are these musicians’ experience the same? And how are they different? Musicians and scholars weigh in on this Hip Deep episode. Produced by Banning Eyre. APWW #485

This Hip Deep episode is Part 1 of a two-part series comparing and contrasting approaches to musical improvisation. Beginning and ending with bebop and free jazz, Part 1 takes sidetrips into Ghanaian percussion traditions, Mande string and vocal music, and solo taqsim improvisation in Arabic music. With insights from UCLA’s A.J. Racy and Wesleyan University’s Eric Charry, among others, we launch a provocative and revealing meditation on spontaneity in the world’s music traditions. APWW #454 Produced by Banning Eyre

Umm Kulthum has been called the greatest singer in the Arabic speaking world in the 20th century. Born in 1904 the humble daughter of an Egyptian village imam, she went on to become a glamorous Cairo celebrity in her 20s, and soon after that, a cultural icon whose monthly live radio broadcasts brought much of Egypt to a standstill. She turned high poetry into popular culture. She extended musical forms with her virtuoso, extended vocal improvisations. Combining historical, religious, literary and musical passions, she inspired an enduring sense of national pride and left a legacy for the ages. Millions gathered for her 1975 funeral. With Umm Kulthum biographer Virginia Danielson as guide and guest, this program explores the life and music of a musical legend.  Produced by Banning Eyre APWW #465

This program presents a musical portrait of Bamako in the wake of crisis. We explore the precarious lives of griots in Bamako in the early 21st Century. The program draws on the groundbreaking documentary work of Lucy Duran, exploring how hereditary musicians apprentice and grow in various cultural contexts. In this case, we focus on the upbringing and education of children in these hereditary griot (djeli) families of historian-entertainers.  Produced by Banning Eyre in 2016 APWW #731

Cheikha Rimitti was more than Algeria's musical icon - she was the embodiment of defiance itself. Born into a life of poverty and oppression, her powerful voice resonated as the rallying cry for the marginalized, fearlessly giving voice to the forbidden themes of love, sexuality, and political injustice. Rimitti's music ignited a fire for independence, challenging societal norms with each daring lyric. Though her songs faced bans and censorship, her indomitable spirit could not be silenced.  A century after her birth, Rimitti's legacy burns ever brighter, inspiring a new generation of artists to remix and reinterpret her anthems of freedom. As we celebrated the 100th birthday of this trailblazing queen of raï in 2023, we honor Cheikha Rimitti - the voice that could not be oppressed, the embodiment of liberty through song. On this poignant journey through her extraordinary life, we meet the musical descendants carrying Rimitti's defiant torch forward, a century after that first cry of dissent rang out.  Produced by Elodie Maillot APWW #870

Over the years, as barriers to international touring in the U.S. have risen, and more and more talented African and African diaspora artists have made their homes in American towns and cities, the sounds and voices of Africa have become more and more common on local scenes. In this edition of Afropop's "Africa in America" series, we spotlight women, Marie Daulne (of Zap Mama) collaborating with NYC Afrobeat band Antibalas, Razia of Madagascar, and the incomparable Afro-jazz innovator Somi, also Sudanese-born Alsarah and Awa Sangho of Mali.  Produced by Banning Eyre APWW #705

This joyful celebration of gospel music greats brings together Africa and America. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is the South African male a capela choral group singing in the local vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They became known internationally after singing with American Paul Simon on his joyous Grammy Award winning 1986 album Graceland. The Fairfield Four, started over 100 years ago, won a Grammy for the Best Roots Gospel Album. The Four Eagle Gospel Singers are a historic a cappella gospel group from Bessemer, Alabama, known as one of the state's oldest gospel groups. The Gospel Harmonettes were a pivotal 1950s female gospel group, fronted by the legendary Dorothy Love Coates, known for their powerful vocals, civil rights activism, and intense performances that influenced soul/R&B; Also featured are The Birmingham Sunlights who are distinctive for using no instruments in their church services. APWW #40 Produced by Sean Barlow

It's been decades since house and techno music exploded out of South Side Chicago and inner-city Detroit, and most Americans still don't know their dance music history. In 1977 a DJ named Frankie Knuckles moved to Chicago to spin and remix disco records at an underground club called The Warehouse. Out of a fringe subculture that formed there - gay and African-American - house music would emerge to become one the biggest club music genres in the world. Meanwhile, young black futurists of Detroit channeled their city's post-industrial decay into a utopian machine music known as techno. APWW #619 Produced by Marlon Bishop and Wills Glasspiegel

Elijah Wald, acclaimed author of “Escaping the Blues: Robert Johnson the Invention of the Blues”, talks with producer Ned Sublette, and plays lesser-known recordings by Peetie Wheatstraw, Lonnie Johnson, Leroy Carr and others, who provided source material for some of Johnson’s classic tunes. APWW #452 Produced by Ned Sublette in 2005