FODAY MUSA SUSO A Village Griot Boy and the World

Foday Musa Suso is by lineage and training a historian, storyteller, and musician -- the sole virtuoso of West African background to establish a Chicago crossover band, and to record with Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, and other greats. His autobiography immerses the reader as no other book I know, in village life from a child's point of view, the culture of the Mandingo griots and the kora, as well as the workaday concerns of an artist a long way from home, determined to share his heritage with the world. Has he become westernized? No -- he simply regales western readers with his unique experiences and perspective, and we're the richer for it. ---Howard Mandel, author of Miles, Ornette Cecil - Jazz Beyond Jazz, and president of the Jazz Journalists Assoc. Foday Musa Suso's majestic book is a testament to one of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met. His talent is extraordinary and his life story one that gives hope. Grounded in a sense of deep destiny and told with meticulous precision, it explores the mysterious ways that life can bring a person from a small village in Africa, steeped in tradition, to the international stage. It should be required reading for anyone interested in building bridges between people and cultures and, most of all, to connect us to the universal language of music that holds the power to heal. ----Susan Rockefeller, filmmaker and artist The life story of Gambian Griot Foday Musa Suso as told to Emily Bishton. Starting from humble beginnings in the bush of eastern Gambia and following his journey as a musical collaborator and performer around the world. The story offers an in depth look at the culture and customs of the tiny west African country of Gambia along with the amazing stories involved with meeting and playing and composing with Phillip Glass, Herbie Hancock, and many other musicians in the west.