The Caption Copany Inc.

Archive for November, 2001

The griots of West Africa are, among other things, story-tellers, historians, genealogists, chroniclers, diplomats, arbitrators, the local collective memory, and the ancestors of the American blues. Learning about the griots introduces you to a whole new kind of musical and historical legacy, especially between “the traditional West African Griot and the traditional deep-South (USA) bluesman,” both of whom “resonate harmoniously with one another.” Believe it or not, you will soon see that the griot musical tradition can be found in the works of George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein as well. But the Griots of West Africa are far more than musicians, they have left their mark on all of Islamic West Africa as well as on the Americas, a fascinating people to study. Read the rest of this entry »