Eric Charry

Music and Postcolonial Africa

The extraordinary number and diversity of distinct music cultures in Africa is at the root of postcolonial efforts toward establishing national identities with music and dance ensembles, forging new multi ethnic mixes for presentation on the world stage. This chapter examines these and related developments, including: the impact of colonial education; regional distribution of musical instruments, the stories they tell, and their global reach; Pan-African arts festivals; colonial imports (brass bands and Christian music); government audio and video archives preserving and stimulating the cultural heritage, now being digitized for online access; the internet and intellectual property issues; the rise and predominance of independent artists; and shared aesthetic sensibilities, especially remarkable in light of the great geographic, topographic, and ethno-linguistic diversity, overlaid by differing colonial histories.

Seeing with Music: The Lives of Three Blind African Musicians

Concepts -- The setting -- Sayo Kamara -- Muctaru Mansaray -- Marehu Mansaray The world of three kututeng musicians.