music
Guardians of the wisdom, traditions, culture and history of the people of West Africa, the griot are heirs to a two-thousand-year-old oral tradition. They are musicians, poets, historians and storytellers, tasked with preserving the collective memory and cultural heritage of their communities. Accompanied by instruments such as the kora, balafon, ngoni or djembé, the griot memorize stories and then give them back to the people, linking past and present and connecting people with their roots and cultural identity.
Paying homage to the figure of the griot, essential in West African communities, and inspired by Don Cherry’s legendary album Organic Music Society (1972), Griot 3000 reaffirms jazz and its African heritage through a dialogue between legacy and innovation. Led by Brazilian spoken word artist Rodrigo Brandão – who has collaborated with the likes of DJ Prince Paul (De La Soul), Pharoah Sanders, Brian Jackson and the Sun Ra Arkestra – this project brings together six non-jazz improvising musicians in an unprecedented line-up. Senegalese Dudù Kouate, a master of African ritualism and collaborator of Moor Mother and a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, is in charge of percussion. On trumpet is the Portuguese Luís Vicente, a key name in national jazz. Alchemist Carla Santana, also known as Quatroconnection, is in charge of electronics. Brazilian Thiago Costa, leader of Onça Combo, is in charge of the guitar. The collective is completed by the master griot of the kora Braima Galissá, considered to be one of the best musicians of Guinea-Bissau’s Mandinga culture.
braima galissá kora
carla santana electronics
dudù kouate percussion
luís vicente trumpet
rodrigo voz voice
thiago costa guitar
co-production unha.pt
support rádio futura. portuguese republic – culture / directorate-general for the arts. rtcp – network of portuguese theatres and cinemas
