Pieces of Africa [2LP]

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

The first-ever vinyl edition of Kronos Quartet's Pieces of Africa features the acclaimed album on two 140-gram LPs. This “potent new brew of folk influences, Minimalism, and European forms by eight black, brown, and white African composers,” as Time described it, became a cross-cultural and commercial landmark: the first album to top both the classical and world music Billboard charts.

Description

The first-ever vinyl edition of Kronos Quartet's Pieces of Africa, released on September 23, 2016, features the acclaimed album on two 140-gram LPs. This “potent new brew of folk influences, Minimalism, and European forms by eight black, brown, and white African composers,” as Time described it upon its original release in February 1992, became a cross-cultural and commercial landmark: the first album to top both the classical and world music Billboard charts.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Judith Sherman and Kronos Quartet
Recorded 1989-1991
Engineers: Bob Edwards, Judith Sherman, Paul Zinman
Assistant Engineers: Tony Eckert, Nelson Wong, M.T. Silvia

Art Direction and Design: Manhattan Design
Photography by Margaret Courtney-Clarke

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

556438

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Kronos Quartet
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Kronos Quartet:
David Harrington, violin
John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola
Joan Jeanrenaud, cello

with
Dumisani Maraire, ngoma, hosho, lead vocal, mbira (1:1; 4:5)
Hassan Hakmoun, lead vocal, sintir (1:2)
Radouane Laktib, oud, vocal (1:2)
Said Hakmoun, bander, vocal (1:2)
Foday Musa Suso, kora (1:3)
Hamza El Din, tar (2:2)
Obo Addy, donno, brekete, pretia, aketse, gidi, vocal (3:1)
Dan Pauli, hosho (4:5)
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (4:5)
Terrence Kelly, director

reissues?
reissues
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
LP
Price
25.00
UPC
075597944952
  • 556438

News & Reviews

  • The Library of Congress has acquired the collection of manuscripts, instruments, costumes, video and audio recordings, and more from Kronos Quartet and its non-profit organization, Kronos Performing Arts Association. “It’s gratifying to know that Kronos’ legacy will be preserved in perpetuity alongside the manuscripts and other treasures of so many other influential musicians from the US and around the world," said KPAA Executive Director Janet Cowperthwaite. "We are perhaps even more excited to reflect upon all the musicians and scholars who will have access to these materials in years to come, informing their own work and carrying Kronos’ inspiration and influence into the future.” The Library also appointed Kronos founder, artistic director, and violinist David Harrington as the Kluge Chair in Modern Culture and inducted Kronos’ 1992 album Pieces of Africa into the National Recording Registry.

  • Congratulations to Kronos Quartet, whose acclaimed 1992 Nonesuch album Pieces of Africa has been named one of twenty-five recordings to be inducted into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress for 2024. "It planted a seed for our work," Kronos founder and violinist David Harrington says of the album. "It's flowered so beautifully."

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    The first-ever vinyl edition of Kronos Quartet's Pieces of Africa, released on September 23, 2016, features the acclaimed album on two 140-gram LPs. This “potent new brew of folk influences, Minimalism, and European forms by eight black, brown, and white African composers,” as Time described it upon its original release in February 1992, became a cross-cultural and commercial landmark: the first album to top both the classical and world music Billboard charts.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Kronos Quartet:
    David Harrington, violin
    John Sherba, violin
    Hank Dutt, viola
    Joan Jeanrenaud, cello

    with
    Dumisani Maraire, ngoma, hosho, lead vocal, mbira (1:1; 4:5)
    Hassan Hakmoun, lead vocal, sintir (1:2)
    Radouane Laktib, oud, vocal (1:2)
    Said Hakmoun, bander, vocal (1:2)
    Foday Musa Suso, kora (1:3)
    Hamza El Din, tar (2:2)
    Obo Addy, donno, brekete, pretia, aketse, gidi, vocal (3:1)
    Dan Pauli, hosho (4:5)
    Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (4:5)
    Terrence Kelly, director

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Judith Sherman and Kronos Quartet
    Recorded 1989-1991
    Engineers: Bob Edwards, Judith Sherman, Paul Zinman
    Assistant Engineers: Tony Eckert, Nelson Wong, M.T. Silvia

    Art Direction and Design: Manhattan Design
    Photography by Margaret Courtney-Clarke

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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