Ragnar Johnson - Spirit Cry Flutes & Bamboo Jews Harps from Papua New Guinea - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Spirit Cry Flutes and Bamboo Jews Harps from Papua New Guinea Eastern Highlands and Madang. Recorded by Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer.The recording of a male initiation ceremony with sacred flutes, bullroarers and 'crying baby' leaves was only possible after fifteen months residence during anthropological research. From the same Ommura villages in the Eastern Highlands there are bamboo jews harps, yam fertility flutes and singing. Nama ('bird') sacred flutes were recorded in a Gahuku Gama village in the town of Goroka. There are Mo-mo bamboo resonating tubes and singing from the Finisterre Range of Madang. From the Ramu Coast region of Madang there are Waudang flutes, garamut slit gongs and singing from Manam Island, Maner flutes from Awar village and Siam and Guna flutes and garamuts from Nubia Sissimungum Village. These previously unreleased recordings were made in 1976 and 1979.Third in a trilogy of double LP and double CD documents of the invaluable ethomusicological research of Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer in Papua New Guinea from the 1970s.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Veteran Drummer Ken Serio has been a staple on the New York studio seen for over 30 years and has appeared on over 70 CDs, as well as 18 as a leader. His new , Brooklyn Oasis, is his most ambitious to date. The album features Jazz Legend Ron Carter on Bass as well as Tomoko Ohno on Piano, and Saxophonist Dave Mullen. Recorded October 24th at The Acoustic Studio in Brooklyn NY, and produced by Bob Cowley, it features two originals, the title track penned by Ohno, as well as InchFor Micheal,Inch a heartfelt tribute to the late Micheal Brecker by Dave Mullen.

Crying Bamboos is a translation of the pidgin description of the sound of sacred flutes InchMambu i cry, i cry, i cryInch. Sacred flutes are blown to make the cries of spirits by adult men in the Madang region of Papua New Guinea. Pairs of long bamboo male and female flutes are played for ceremonies in the coastal villages near the Ramu River. There are seven male initiation flute cries from Bosmun, four flute cries from Bak Borai with occasional single garamut percussion and two flute cries from Kaean, one with vocals and hand drums. The flute players were of the last generation to have learned this skill during a complete cycle of male initiation. These previously unreleased recordings were made by Ragnar Johnson in 1979. Notes by Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer; Photographs by Ragnar Johnson. Tape to digital transfer and mastering by Dave Hunt at Dave Hunt Audio, London; Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates and Mastering, Berlin.