Publisher's Synopsis
To write this book, Samuel Charters, the blues and jazz expert, travelled through West Africa trying to uncover the origins of a music which had a profound impact on the art, music, culture and politics of the West and in particular the Unioted States. But over the journey, what began as genealogical study of how African music became the blues turned into something much more complex. In Africa, Charters discovered a music which was not just a part of the past but a vital, living expression of African culture. This book details Charters' growing understanding and appreciation of african folk music as well as his remarkable analytical talent.
