Sira (mermaid) is a sublime collaboration from Senegalese kora player Ablaye Cissoko and German trumpeter Volker Goetze. Besides their mutual appreciation for jazz and jeliya, the musicians cite influences as varied as Youssou N'Dour, Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis and Naná Vasconcelos. The ten fusion duets are evocative, not so much of either jali or jazz landscapes but of that green and peaceful place you're sometimes lucky enough to visit in your dreams. For me, the album triggered both reverie and reverence.
Over time, griots have filled a similar social niche in West Africa as the Celtic bard or Scandinavian skald; troubadours singing stories woven with knowledge and insights into ancient history and current events and even delivering news and advising leaders. According to a great Wikipedia article, they were indispensable aides to Malian warrior-kings. Village griots kept their community's tales alive by singing of deaths, battles, hunts, etc.
Across the larger Mandé cultures, a griot was known as jeli, "a historian, advisor, arbitrator, praise singer and storyteller. Essentially, these musicians were walking history books, preserving their ancient stories and traditions through song. Their inherited tradition was passed down through generations. Their name, "Jeli", means "Blood" in the Manika language. They were said to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers…"
Today's griot such as N'Dour, Toumani Diabaté and Habib Koité have become pop icons and some of my favorite musicians.
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