Africa meets Appalacia

April 4, 2010

Africa meets Appalachia at the Dennos
By Kristi Kates
Jayme Stone’s Africa to Appalachia CD - on which he collaborated with
Mansa Sissoko – singer, kora player, and a ‘walking encyclopedia of
Malian songs’ – won Best World Music Group at the Canadian Folk Awards
late last year, a high honor for a journey that started with Stone’s
own musical mecca to Africa.
Stone went to Africa to immerse himself in the daily life and sounds
of the continent, a personal journey; he returned with a greatly
improved knowledge of Malian musical songcraft and instruments, all
the better to collaborate with Sissoko, whom he’d met four years
before his African trip.
With little common language between the two musicians, they relied on
music for communication, a friendship and project that eventually led
to the Africa to Appalachia album, on which Stone’s Juno-Award-winning
banjo skills meld with Sissoko’s own talents to blend traditional
bluegrass and jazz with ngoni (an African string instrument), fiddles
and haunting African vocals.
Set to be showcased at the Dennos Museum in a special performance this
month, Stone and Sissoko’s music - with Mansa Sissoko’s parts
interpreted by fellow vocalist/kora player Yacouba Sissoko - is a
compelling, unique sound that truly crosses musical boundaries.
“The African Kora harp has a beautiful sound,” Dennos Museum Center
Director Gene Jenneman says. “The sound strings are plucked as on a
banjo, but 21 strings and the large body of the harp’s sound gourd
give it a warmer sound with a greater range. The banjo is of African
origin, but the kora, while a stringed instrument, is not, as I
understand it, the instrument that gave rise to the banjo.”
Stone’s banjo and Sissoko’s kora will be joined by Stone’s full band
for this excursion, which will include Mike Barnett on the fiddle,
Brandi Disterheft on the bass, and Nick Fraser on percussion; the
similarities between African music and bluegrass, especially as
performed by this group, might surprise you.
“Bluegrass is a traditional American music style,” Jenneman explains,
“while African music comes from a wide range of cultural groups in
Africa. So I gather from the collaboration that Stone saw a connection
between what he played and what the musicians of Mali, where he
traveled, played. He went to Mali looking for the banjo’s roots; he
was taken with the Malian music and stories he heard from kora player
Mansa Sissoko (who is on the CD but not touring) whom he met there.
This is what led to the collaboration. So both the music of Mali found
on the CD and Bluegrass are traditional music styles that work well
together.”
Jenneman, who says that he is especially looking forward to the
upcoming live performance, also explains that he “fell in love” with
the CD when it was first passed along to him by the World Music
Institute in New York. The critics, and award panels, obviously agree.
“The sound is beautiful and joyful, and I never get tired of listening
to it,” he enthuses, “but most of all I look forward to having our
Traverse City audience discover this for themselves.”

Jayme Stone: Africa to Appalachia will take place at the Dennos on
Friday, April 9th at 8:00 p.m.; tickets may be purchased online
through www.dennosmuseum.org, or by calling their box office at
231-995-1553. More info on Jayme Stone may be found at
www.jaymestone.com or at www.myspace.com/jaymestone.