When Music Speaks
Talking drums? Xylophone praises? Flutes that seduce? All around the world, cultures have found ways to communicate using notes and rhythms of music, in what have been called "musical surrogate languages". This podcast explores these incredible traditions and what they can teach us about language, music, and the richness of human culture.
When Music Speaks
The Igbo oja past and future, with Gerald Eze
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Laura McPherson
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Season 1
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Episode 3
In our first ever interview on When Music Speaks, I talk with friend and collaborator Gerald Eze. Gerald is a master of the oja, a wind-blown Igbo instrument from Nigeria, whose poetry can praise, warn, and uplift those it addresses. This is a longer episode, but trust me, it's worth it. We talk about the history of the tradition, the challenges it faces in today's Nigeria, its connections to jazz, how Catholic priests are surprising conveyors of traditional art, and what the oja can offer the modern world.
To hear more of Gerald's music, follow him on Instragram @officialgeraldeze
To see the oja in action, check out Gerald's 2019 interview with the BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-49928252