Afropop Worldwide

This Hip Deep program begins a series of shows on contrasting approaches to musical improvisation. Beginning and ending with bebop and free jazz, the show takes sidetrips into Ghanaian percussion traditions, Mande string and vocal music, and solo taqsim improvisation in Arabic music. With insights from UCLA's A.J. Racy and Wesleyan University's Eric Charry, among others, we launch a provocative and revealing meditation on spontaneity in the world's music traditions. Produced by Banning Eyre.