Catalog Search Results
1) Origins
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English
Description
This program begins with the arrival of 20 enslaved Africans brought to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 and examines the impact of slavery on African Americans. C. Eric Lincoln, professor of philosophy and religion at Duke University and a noted authority on African-American religion, explains why African roots are important to African Americans and shows how the African cultural heritage-music, dance, art, blues, and storytelling-manifests itself in...
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English
Description
Traveling from the remote villages of the Upper River Division to the nation's capital, Banjul, this program focuses on the music of the Mandinkas and their jalis, the society's hereditary professional musicians. Displaying the delicate beauty of such instruments as the 21-string harp-lute and the xylophone and the powerfully expressive singing of the instrumentalists' wives, Gambian music is presented as an essential part of ceremonial occasions....
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English
Description
Just as Africa has impacted the music of the Caribbean and the Americas, so has the New World reciprocated, strongly influencing the music of Africa. This program documents the history of the musical genre known as hi-life, from the sweet and melancholy sounds of palm wine guitar, to the plangent harmonies of nnwonkoro and the fierce polyrhythms of kpanlogo, to hi-life's contemporary place in world music. Performers include Koo Nimo, Segun Adewale...
4) Mahlathini
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English
Description
With his deep baritone growl and regal cloak of skins, Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde-the Lion of Soweto-is the undisputed king of South Africa's urban pop scene. This program features his talents and that of his backup groups, the Mahotella Queens and the Makgona Tsotle Band. Widely acknowledged as the father of Mbaqanga-the stew of musical influences at the heart of the Soweto beat-Mahlathini currently tops the charts. In an interview, Mahlathini's guitarist,...
5) Ray Phiri
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English
Description
His fans call Chikapa Ray Phiri "the prophet," in tribute to the burning intensity of his music, and the flame of social consciousness that keeps it alight. He and his group, Stimela (Steam Train), stoke the sound of a nation torn between apartheid's legacy of suffering and the vision of a new, free South Africa. This program traces Phiri's life from his poor roots as the son of a laborer, to co-arranger of Paul Simon's successful South African music...
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English
Description
Spirituals have been described both as the literature of American slavery and as the jewels that the slaves brought out of bondage. Today, the harmony, percussive precision, and evangelical fervor of gospel music have made it a hit all around the world. This program spotlights two venerable groups-The Sterling Jubilee Singers and The Four Eagle Gospel Singers-and climaxes with a Sunday gospel quartet celebration. Additional performers include the...
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English
Description
From Cape Town to Kinshasa to Abidjan on the Ivory Coast, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, daughter of an African gospel singer, is Africa's undisputed disco queen. This program traces her career and details her meteoric rise to fame. Live performance footage highlights the influence of gospel music and the traditional African rhythms she weaves into her work.
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English
Description
African jazz man Mike Makhalemele carefully blends western and African musical elements to give his music its unique flavor. Jazz fusion, it is called, and no better example of Makhalemele's work exists than his original piece, "Soweto Dawn," from his best-selling African jazz album, Thabang. In this program, Makhalemele discusses his music, its African and contemporary origins, and its role as a bridge between the white and black worlds of South...
9) Marcalex
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English
Description
The music of Marc and Alex Rantseli, aptly described as slick funk, has gained international popularity in America and abroad. A cosmopolitan crossover sound, it is the flip side of South Africa's township beat of Kwela and Mbaqanga. While the brothers admit to only the slightest incursion of ethnic influences into their music, the performances in this program belie that. A strong international influence in the music is attributed to the brothers'...
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English
Description
The pop music of South Africa's hottest township drummer bridges the gap between urban sophistication and the tribal roots of Mbaqanga-the pop-style music of the outlying townships. In this program, Sipho Mabuse discusses how mainstream South African contemporary music moved from American jazz influences to other genres, including pop. The performance highlights Mabuse with his original pop group, the Beaters, and with his newly formed cross-cultural...
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English
Description
Breaking away from the well-traveled blues trail connecting the Mississippi Delta with Chicago, this program searches for fresh insights about R&B in an entirely different direction: the migratory route that runs from the South to the California coast, where work opportunities abounded during World War II. With its jazzy instrumentation and strong gospel flavor, R&B spread like wildfire, eventually becoming a fundamental element of rock 'n' roll....
12) Mango Groove
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English
Description
The sound of the group Mango Groove and its multiracial members is the sound of the new South Africa. Punchy, vibrant, bursting with life and color, it is an infectious jive, a melodious fusion of the traditional three-chord structure of marabi rhythms, pop, and jazz - all built around the piercing sound of the pennywhistle. Mango Groove's founder, John Leyden, traces the group's fascinating history from its roots in Sophia Town, the legendary freehold...
13) Little Sister
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English
Description
The music performed in this program, from Little Sister, comes from the white capital of South Africa, Pretoria. It represents the crosscurrents of the country's pop wave, heavily reliant on American-style rock and roll. The performers, two sisters calling themselves Little Sister, describe their rise to fame as a sort of "divine accident." One sister, Debbi, describes her transition from classical guitar to electric bass guitar, and tells what it's...
14) Brenda Fassie
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English
Description
The music in this program is a detonating blend of soul, disco, and Mbaqanga-a blend of pop and traditional rhythms-from music legend Brenda Fassie, niece of Nelson Mandela. Fassie talks about her childhood days as a singer with the Tiny Tots-a street-corner group with whom she often did imitations of American folk singer Roberta Flack. Later music, which she describes as "bubble-gum," made her a star. But it was her song written and dedicated to...
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English
Description
In this program, African jazz musician Edmund "Ntemi" Piliso traces the roots of African jazz from the days of apartheid in 1940s Alexandra Township. With musical performances throughout highlighting the various eras, Piliso moves through the days of pennywhistle jive groups hustling change on streetcorners, to the sounds of marabi-a bittersweet fusion of American jazz and the restless rhythm of an uprooted tribal culture. The latter sound, lost for...
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English
Description
At the age of 12 he got his first drum set-and by 19 was the hottest drummer on the New York bebop scene. In this program, the incomparable Max Roach reflects on his lifelong career in music. Footage of the renowned musician, bandleader, composer, and professor in the studio, on tour, and behind the podium sheds light on his many talents. Additional performers include Cecil Bridgewater, Odean Pope, Tyron Brown, the all-star M'Boom Percussion Ensemble,...
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English
Description
This program analyzes the diverse forms of Caribbean popular music, tracking their roots to the traditional music of island nations such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Recordings of music from Maroon communities and ecstatic Kumina sects, plus examples of mento and urban reggae, provide a sampler of the region's exciting musical hybrids-each a unique blend of African and European influences. Performers include Big Youth, Louise Bennett-Coverley,...
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English
Description
In the ancient hills and valleys of Natal, the haunting strains of Isicathamiya stir the blood and soul of the Zulu nation. In this program, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the ten-man choral a cappella group featured on Paul Simon's Graceland album, lends its full-throated harmonies to music that cuts to the core of the universal spirit. The rhythms of Isicathamiya-a stealthy, prowling Zulu dance-can be sensed throughout the many musical performances. The...
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English
Description
In the shadow of Table Mountain, the city of Cape Town moves to a different beat. In its restless confluence of cultures, music mixes and remixes to shape the sounds that reflect the vibrance and volatility of the community. Today's sound is called African Hip Hop, and the group playing it, the Prophets of the City, is the subject of this program. Their leader, Deon Daniels, discusses the music's inspiration: hard-core American street rap. The lyrics,...