Guitar Conversations Podcast

My guest this episode is Derek Gripper who is a classically trained guitarist who has made waves in the guitar and world music scene with his ground breaking guitar arrangements of west African folk music. I ran into Derek at the Adelaide Guitar Festival last month and I found his stories fascinating. In our chat we explore some of the West African oral musical traditions and how they relate to this mystical 21 string harp called the Kora. We talk about Derek's recent collaborations with John Williams and kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate and how he managed to notate the highly complex and virtuosic kora music. Please enjoy my conversation with Derek Gripper.