{"id":4096,"date":"2023-06-27T10:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T14:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/betsiecurrent.com\/?p=4096"},"modified":"2023-06-27T10:59:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T14:59:01","slug":"no-more-clarinet-african-harp-kora-sean-gaskell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/betsiecurrent.com\/index.php\/no-more-clarinet-african-harp-kora-sean-gaskell\/","title":{"rendered":"No More Clarinet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

African harp \u201ckora\u201d returns to Empire<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Ross Boissoneau
Current Contributor<\/strong>

It is a long way from Empire to Africa. Metaphorically speaking, it is also a long way from clarinet to the 21-string African harp called the kora.\u00a0

Sean Gaskell has taken both journeys, and he returned to the Glen Lake Community Library on Monday, May 15, where he played the kora, sang and told stories in the tradition of the griots (kora masters).

Gaskell\u2019s first exposure to the exotic sound of the kora came when he saw a performance in his then-home state of Washington 17 years ago.\u00a0

\u201cI fell in love with the sound,\u201d Gaskell said. This was after he had been playing clarinet for years. He was turned on to the new instrument and vowed to learn it, but it turned out that the kora was a completely different beast. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how challenging it would be.\u201d

He took lessons from the performer he saw in Seattle and grew so enthralled that he decided to do whatever it took to become proficient on the instrument.\u00a0

\u201cAt 23, I [decided that I] was going to learn it. If it takes going to Africa, that\u2019s what I\u2019ll do.\u201d\u00a0

And it did. Gaskell\u2019s initial trip in 2008 found him living and learning in Gambia for three and a half months, working toward a musicology degree.

Two further shorter trips in the years since have further expanded his knowledge and musical horizons. Stateside, he relocated to North Carolina, and from there, he now tours the country.\u00a0

Gaskell\u2019s shows are a mix of performance and pedagogy, singing, playing, and telling stories. That is roughly the format established by the griots, the master players and storytellers in Gambia.\u00a0

\u201cBetween songs, I talk about the history of the kora, the people who play it\u2014the griots\u2014they\u2019re the bards of the Mandinka people,\u201d Gaskell explained. \u201cThere\u2019s a song where I sing in the Mandinka language.\u201d

Last month was the third time that he has performed in Empire, following shows in 2016 and 2018.\u00a0

\u201cLibraries are my venue of choice,\u201d he said, though he notes that he is looking to expand into other settings. \u201cI do want to branch out more, do music venues and festivals. I want to keep the newness.\u201d

Next up, following his tour, is a return to Africa. This time, he will travel to Mali, which he said has a very different approach to and repertoire for the kora.\u00a0

\u201cIt has a different history,\u201d Gaskell said. \u201dThe style is different, the tunes are very different. In Gambia, it\u2019s up-tempo; in Mali, it\u2019s slower, more laid back.\u201d

Gaskell has seen changes in the music in the relatively brief time that he has played the kora. What was once a solo instrument that helped tell stories and disseminate the culture of its homeland has begun to branch out into other areas.\u00a0

\u201cHistorically, it\u2019s been solo, but it\u2019s now featured with other instruments\u2014drums, keyboards, guitar. Kora bands have become a thing,\u201d he said.

It has also opened up in the culture. What was traditionally a male role is gradually becoming less gender-specific.\u00a0

\u201cThere are more females [playing] traditional Mandinka instruments,\u201d he said, including not only kora but also balafon, a wooden xylophone, and ngoni, a guitar-like instrument. The balafon dates to the 1200s, while the ngoni came to prominence in the 1500s. The kora is a youngster by comparison, dating to the 1700s.

Gaskell believes the music reaches across cultures and across the thousands of miles separating Gambia from America. And he personally loves the timbre and the music of the kora.\u00a0

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s the sweet sound of the instrument. And all the history, all the meaning. Some go back 800 years. That I\u2019m able to convey it brings me joy.\u201d As does the positive response from those hearing the music, he admitted. \u201cTo see the audience respond, that means I\u2019m touching people.\u201d

Gaskell has made it his life\u2019s work.\u00a0

But what about that clarinet? Seems the kora has completely displaced it in Gaskell\u2019s world.\u00a0

\u201cI gave the clarinet away,\u201d he said.

A version of this article first published in the Glen Arbor Sun<\/a>, a Leelanau County-based semi-sister publication to The Betsie Current.<\/em>

Featured Photo Caption:<\/strong>\u00a0Sean Gaskell with his kora. Photo courtesy of the Glen Arbor Sun<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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