The Arthur S. Alberts Collection: More Tribal, Folk, and Café Music of West Africa

A musical exploration of West Africa from the late 1940s, this Endangered Music Project compilation is comprised of 19 songs culled from an enormous archive by recordist Arthur S. Alberts. During a six-month, 4,000-mile jeep tour of West Africa in 1949, Alberts recorded a broad range of musics using state-of-the-art equipment (for the time). The album features popular music found in clubs and cafés, sacred songs, work songs, and school children’s chants. This anthology, with its rich and varied styles of singing, percussion, hand-claps and other instruments, highlights the depth and diversity of West African music. The Arthur S. Alberts Collection: More Tribal, Folk, and Café Music of West Africa was issued in 1998 as part of the Endangered Music Project, a series curated by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart featuring material from the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center (now part of the Mickey Hart Collection made available by Smithsonian Folkways).

Visit mickeyhart.net for additional photos and videos from this album

Track Listing

101	Malinke Guitars and Kora	Malinke people singing with guitars	04:05
102	Mano: A Capella (1)	Mano schoolboy choir with instrumental accompaniment	02:01
103	Mano: A Capella (2)	Mano schoolboy choir with instrumental accompaniment	02:20
104	Igbo: Lamellaphones, Bottle and Knife, Drum, Ngedegwu	Igbo singers with drums	04:10
105	Mano: Hammers and Chisels (1)	Mano stonecutters singing with hammers and chisels	03:17
106	Mano: Hammers and Chisels (2)	Mano stonecutters singing with hammers and chisels	02:11
107	Ashanti: Percussion Sticks, Guitar	Ashanti people sing coastal song	03:36
108	Baule: Cylindrical and Frame Drums, Metal Gong	West African drum ensemble and choir	04:02
109	Fanti: Frame Drum	Fanti migrant drum ensemble	04:32
110	Liberia: All for You	Ms. Eupheme Cooper	02:56
111	Malinke: Bala, Percussion	Malinke people singing with guitars	04:16
112	Loma: Harp	Loma singer with harp	03:47
113	Ashanti: Atumpan	Ashanti talking drums	01:02
114	Bindendela: Water Drums (1)	Zairean water drum players	01:12
115	Bindendela: Water Drums (2)	Zairean water drum players	01:34
116	Bindendela: Water Drums (3)	Zairean water drum players	01:25
117	Kinshasa: Clarinet, Concertina, Guitar, Frame Drum, Bottle and Nail	Leopoldville dance music	02:57
118	Bobo-Dioulasso: Balas, Drums	Lizahbet and Bambara balafon ensemble, Burkina Faso	03:36
119	Bobo-Dioulasso: Balas	Bambara balafon ensemble, Burkina Faso	02:18