The kora is a stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa. A kora typically has 21 strings, which are played by plucking with the fingers. It combines features of the lute and harp.
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, Hancock experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles, using a wide array of synthesizers and electronics. It was during this period that he released perhaps his best-known and most influential album, Head Hunters.
William Otis Laswell is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.
The music of the Gambia is closely linked musically with that of its neighbor, Senegal, which surrounds its inland frontiers completely. Among its prominent musicians is Foday Musa Suso. Mbalax is a widely known popular dance music of the Gambia and neighbouring Senegal. It fuses popular Western music and dance, with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of the Wolof and Serer people.
"Rockit" is a composition recorded by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and produced by Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn. Hancock released it as a single from his 1983 album Future Shock. The selection was composed by Hancock, Laswell, and Beinhorn.
Material was an American band formed in 1979 and operative through to 1999, led by producer and bassist Bill Laswell.
Future 2 Future is the forty-third album by Herbie Hancock. Hancock reunited with producer Bill Laswell. The two tried to repeat the success of the three previous albums that combine jazz with electronic music.
Hamid Drake is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
The Swing of Delight is a 1980 double album by Carlos Santana. It was released under his temporary Sanskrit name Devadip Carlos Santana, given to him by Sri Chinmoy. It peaked at #65 on the charts.
Jazz Africa is a live album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock and Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso. The recording took place in Los Angeles, California's Wiltern Theatre as part of the 1986 concert series Jazzvisions. The performance was also released on videotape and laserdisc with additional concert performances.
Foday Musa Suso is a Gambian musician and composer. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group, and is a griot. Griots are the oral historians and musicians of the Mandingo people who live in several west African nations. Griots are a living library for the community providing history, entertainment, and wisdom while playing and singing their songs. It is an extensive verbal and musical heritage that can only be passed down within a griot family.
Future Shock is the thirty-fifth album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in August 1983 by Columbia Records. It was his first release from his electro-funk era and an early example of instrumental hip hop. Participating musicians include bass guitarist Bill Laswell, guitarist Pete Cosey and drummer Sly Dunbar.
Sound-System is the thirty-sixth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and the second of three albums co-produced by Bill Laswell with the ‘Rockit’ Band. Guest artists include saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist Henry Kaiser, kora player/percussionist Foday Musa Suso and drummer Anton Fier.
Perfect Machine is the thirty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. It was the third and final album in Hancock’s series co-produced by Bill Laswell. Guests include bassist Bootsy Collins.
Feets, Don't Fail Me Now is the twenty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released in February 1979, on the Columbia Records label.
Adam Rudolph is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post-bop and world fusion media.
Live in Japan is a 1993 live album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.
Seven Souls is a 1989 album by the American music group Material. A collaboration with author William S. Burroughs, the album features his narration of passages from his novel The Western Lands (1987) set to musical accompaniment.
Jazzvisions: Made in America was a series of jazz concerts held in December 1986 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles.
Message from Home is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in New York City and Brooklyn, New York, and was released in 1996 by Verve Records. On the album, which was produced by Bill Laswell, Sanders is joined by kora player Foday Musa Suso, guitarist Dominic Kanza, violinist Michael White, keyboardists William Henderson, Jeff Bova, and Bernie Worrell, bassists Charnett Moffett and Steve Neil, and percussionists Aiyb Dieng and Hamid Drake.
