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Healing Session Babatunde Olatunji 724359364629 Narada World Select |
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Olatunji was a 20th century musical giant and
among the world's greatest masters of percussion. One of modern music's
first cross-cultural ambassadors, he came to New York from Nigeria to make
an unparalleled contribution to the saga of modern rhythm – almost
single-handedly seeding the pulse of African music into the 1950s American
mainstream…and way beyond. Signed to Columbia by A&R legend John Hammond (who also signed Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Springsteen), he released his first album – the influential and best-selling DRUMS OF PASSION – in 1959, launching a career that would span nearly half a century. Olatunji taught African culture to Malcolm X and John Coltrane, and was paired with Martin Luther King at civil rights gatherings in the early 1960s, and with the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart – during the halcyon days of the long strange trip – on numerous collaborations including the first world music Grammy® winner, PLANET DRUM. HEALING SESSION, recorded in 1992 – when he was still at the height of his powers – is the first posthumous release of Olatunji’s work. Featuring all the key members of his renowned Drums of Passion ensemble, it offers traditional chants and drumming from his native Yoruban culture, intended for healing and guided meditation. These honor and invoke the Yoruban gods, the potent backbone of the healing and trance rituals of voodoo, Santeria, and candomble traditions in the New World. Olatunji died at Esalen Institute, where he was a longtime artist and teacher in residence, on April 6, 2003. |
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