African Guitar Greats

By Michelangelo Matos, eMusic Contributor

Sure, African music begins with the drum — there, rhythm talks, does calisthenics, figures impossible equations on the abacus, works bodies and minds into frenzy, all that. But so do the guitars — what many Western listeners most adore about African music boils down to six strings and ridiculous technique, whether it's billowing or shredding, locking the rhythm into place or shadowboxing with it, stating themes or stepping out. This Dozen isn't a scientific survey… more »