PULLMAN, Wash. — Alhaji Papa Susso, a Mandinka jali (court musician, poet, oral historian, epic singer) from The Gambia in West Africa, will perform next week on the WSU campus.
The concert is set for 8 p.m., Tuesday, July 28, at Bryan Hall Auditorium, and is open to the public without charge.
Susso sings and performs on the kora, a 21-string harp. The program includes traditional songs and excerpts from Mandinka music that demonstrates both the riffs and story-songs of the blues masters as well as the virtuoso improvisations of the jazz tradition.
The music of Mandinka jaliyaa is likely to be the immediate African ancestor of African-American blues and jazz, added Paul Smith of the WSU School of Music and Theatre Arts and an event coordinator.
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