G+Sherif


 * Welcome to my music page.**

Below you find a listing of four music files and a description of each. I've included these songs because they demonstrate patterns that relate to African American music. For example, the song Kyrie Eleison is a Kenyan spiritual based on the Latin Mass. I’ve also included two versions of the song Glory Box. The Portishead version (1994) is considered “electronica-blues,” while the John Martyn version (1999) is more traditional. Please email me with comments and suggestions: gsherif[AT}scienceleadership[DOT]org.

Kyrie Eleison
media type="file" key="1 Missa Luba an African Mass_ I. Kyrie.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * Song:** Kyrie Eleison (1957 orig; 1991)
 * Musician(s):** Boniface Mganga, Director; Muungano National Choir, Keyna
 * Genre:** World music; spirituals
 * Synopisis:** Kyrie Eleison is the Greek for "Lord have mercy." It is part of the Christian Latin Mass. Under the direction of [|Boniface Mganga], the Muungano National Choir of Kenya introduced Congolese elements with rhythm, percussion and call and response. These musical elements can also be found in African American gospel music (religious elements) as well as jazz and hip-hop (call and response).

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Glory Box (Portishead) & Glory Box (Martyn)
media type="file" key="05 Glory Box 1.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * Song:** Glory Box (1994)
 * Musician(s):** Portishead
 * Genre:** Electronica Blues (modern)
 * Synopsis:** This beautiful song is related to African American history because it is based on a repetitive blues chord progression. For example, the melody rhythm and lyrics are structured in A-A-B arrangement that mimics a basic blues structure:
 * **A:** I'm so tired, of playing with this bow and arrow
 * **A:** Gonna give my heart away, leave it to the other girls to play
 * **B:** Just...Give me a reason to love you. Give me a reason to be - ee, a woman. I just want to be a woman.

The electronic-based song tells the story of a woman who seeks comfort in recognition from her special partner. Note the scratchy LP-style skipping that suggests an old-school feel.

[[image:Sweet_Little_Mysteries.jpg width="320" height="209" align="right" caption="John Martyn, 1999"]]
media type="file" key="2 Glory Box.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * Song:** Glory Box (1999)
 * Musicisan:** John Martyn
 * Genre:** Blues (more traditional)
 * Synopsis:** This Glory Box remake by John Martyn is a wonderful blues song about lost love. There are fewer electronic elements in the song and the singer changes a few words from the Portishead version. Listen for the surprise at the end where Martyn acknowledges a the electronica features of the original.

Twisted
media type="file" key="4 Twisted.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * Song:** Twisted (1959)
 * Musicisan:** Lambert, Hendricks and Ross
 * Genre:** Jazz/Scat
 * Synopsis:** Check out this witty take on the 1950's fascination with psychoanalysis. Are two heads better than one? Vocalist Annie Ross tells it like it is. Also listen for Ross' "percussive" alliteration that relies on syncopated syllables and rhythms found in Ella Fitzgerald's "scat" singing style. Some hip-hop/rap musicians from the 1980's and beyond also used variations of skat singing with an emphasis on syncopation, oral tradition, and "voice-as-instrument."

media type="file" key="3 Afro (Freestyle Skit).mp3" width="240" height="20"