First things first. The gyil is a traditional West African xylophone with dried gourd resonators hung below most or all of its hardwood keys. (A similar instrument is called a “balafon” in Francophone Africa.) It’s usually tuned pentatonically, and its full, luminous tone is haloed with a cicada-like buzz, created by vibrating membranes made from […]
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The best of the 2016 World Music Festival
Highlights of the 2016 World Music Festival include Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, electro-rumba innovators Ìfé, and forward-looking Indian classicists Anjna and Rajna Swaminathan.