Mandingo Griot Society

Shaped in Chicago, USA, in 1977 with the Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso (b. 9 Dec 1953, Banjul, Gambia), the Mandingo Griot Culture had been a flexible line-up of like-minded African, Caribbean and American music artists who performed a fusion of rock and roll, funk, reggae and traditional Gambian designs, and who did very much to foster the nature of stylistic eclecticism and multicultural collision after that rising amongst avant garde American musicians and viewers. Their music was both lyrical and irresistibly danceable and, unlike a lot of subsequent fusion tries, retained the tough sides of its many constituent designs rather than trying to make sure they are blandly appropriate to mainstream listeners. As well as the Traditional western musical instruments of bass, electric guitar and package drums, the group utilized an array of cultural instruments, like the Western world African dusungoni (seven-stringed hunter’s harp), bala (xylophone), djembe (hands drum), bolon (three-stringed warrior’s harp), dundungo (bass drum), tamo (speaking drum) and, obviously, Suso’s kora (21-stringed harp). North Indian tabla drums and Afro-Cuban timbales, bongos and congas had been also employed every once in awhile. Apart from Suso, crucial people of the group included percussionist Adam Rudolph, who got previously used many jazz, Latin, and songs ensembles, including Chevere, Streetdancer, Eternal Blowing wind, and Detroit’s Modern Jazz Quintet. He previously also performed in European countries and the united states with trumpeter Don Cherry. Drummer Hamid Drake have been an important component of several Chicago jazz and R&B groupings, dealing with Muhal Richard Adams, Douglas Ewart and George Lewis. He previously also toured European countries and Western Africa with Don Cherry. Bass participant Joseph Thomas and guitarist John Markiss experienced previously worked collectively in rings led by Sunlight Ra, Lonnie Liston Smith and Peter Tosh, and in Tower Of Power and Globe Wind And Open fire. Mandingo Griot Culture recorded two exceptional albums before disbanding in 1983. Suso after that moved to NY to utilize Expenses Laswell and Herbie Hancock, as the additional members consequently pursued single and guest designer careers around the Chicago jazz and R&B moments.