Ears of the People: Ekonting Songs from Senegal & The Gambia (Various)

Ears of the People is a collection of sublime contemporary recordings of the ekonting, a three-stringed gourd lute played by Jola people in Gambia and the Casamance region of Senegal. The nine tradition-bearers featured on the album share stories of love, heartache, conflict, spirituality, and all that is unique and beautiful in Jola culture over the rolling lilt of the instrument. An important forebear of the American banjo, the ekonting drives lively dancing and brings these stories to life. These songs, rarely heard outside Senegambia, are a living tapestry of the Jola people and a unique interweaving of human voices and stringed instruments.