Album Notes

Daniel Berkman is a San Francisco based composer, multi-instrumentalist and innovator of the kora (a 21-stringed harp/lute from West Africa).

His early recordings for kora highlighted his use of electronic devices and loop boxes to transform his kora in real time in live performance. His first three cd's, "Heartstrings", "Feverdreams" and "Headlands" mark this period between 1996 and 2000 which feature Daniel creating other worldly soundscapes and a playing technique drawing on his myriad influences, including that of the great kora masters of our time.

While on the road as guitarist and kora player with Djali Kunda Kuyate (the twins) in December of 2002 through Senegal, Gambia and Mali, Daniel not only studied kora and ngoni with various masters there but captured his experiences on minidisc.

The result is his latest work, "Calabashmoon", a collection of crafty and poignant kora pieces woven with a tapestry of sounds and impressions of West Africa.