A Short History of Five Notes

[A Lark Ascending]

Five notes

How a rhythm from Africa conquered the world

The “clave” is a simple but hypnotic five note rhythm that originated in West Africa, was carried by slaves to the Caribbean in the 18th century, and eventually found its way into salsa, soul and rock and roll in the United States.

But few people understand just how ancient this rhythm is, or how directly it connects modern music.

In A Short History of Five Notes, Rita Ray traces the five notes back to their origins, visiting traditional drummers in Ghana, and meeting legendary Latin, soul and rock musicians from around the world.

Goes out at various times on Friday 25th Feb; then, I expect, on the iPlayer for a while.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2009/03/090000_coming_soon.shtml