Ebaraka

Bakary Jobarteh | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 2002)
• Original Release Date: January 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Narasopa Media
• ASIN: B0007YA2ES
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,574,475 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Bakary Jobarteh is the name given to Justin Handley by the Jobarteh family of Gambia, West Africa. Having lived and studied the griot tradition of the Gambia, West Africa for almost a year, Bakary returned to the US to integrate the music back into his own work and culture. Bakary has performed in a wide variety of venues, from coffee shops, colleges, street parades, and public school artist residencies, to larger scale events such as opening for a speech given by Secretary General Kofi Anan to 3,000 people in Amherst, MA and to a fundraising dinner party at the United Nations. In February 2000 Bakary released his first CD, Ebaraka, a compilation of traditional griot songs sung in the Mandinka language fused with the folk instruments of the Appalachian Mountains, where his personal roots are. The banjo was the Caribbean child of the kora, so to speak, and the two sounds fuse in a powerful but delicate weave of music. Currently working on a second album, Bakary lives and works on his music at Double Edge Theatre’s Farm Center in Ashfield, MA

Product Description

Beautiful percussive playing of the traditional West African kora, mixed with Appalachian influenced banjo and guitar, and overlaid with the singing of five ethereal voices create the exotic feel of Bakary Jobarteh’s Ebaraka. The kora holds an enchanting magic that blesses it's player by bringing a peace through music that would not be possible using human hands alone. There are stories of the sound box of this instrument burning people's hands and being unwrapped only to have birds fly out of it. In the music of the kora, and the traditional songs of the Gambian people, there is something so beautifully ancient that is impossible not to stop and breathe in and recognize the beauty around you. Ebaraka does an incredible job of capturing this powerful beauty. If you have been looking for a new, seuthing sound to add to your mix of music, there is nothing as touching as the sound of the kora. And for those of you who are already kora lovers, this album is a "must listen" - a unique blend of traditional West African kora music, appalachian banjo, guitar, violin, and five beautiful, haunting voices.