jerryt's place on the web

Who the heck is jerryt?

Well, that's just plain old me. A normal guy, gracefully aging and still having a ball. I'm involved with computers professionally as well as privately. But don't peg me as a one track minded geek, I do have other interests. I love many kinds of music, I like to go hiking, I windsurf, and hey! I even read!

This site will cover a little about me and a lot about an interest of mine, music from Africa. I'll be offering streaming audio clips of tunes I enjoy with the hope that you will enjoy them too. Please check out the links as you go by, I think they're all pretty interesting. Also observe the mouse-over effects on most of the pictures. This saves space on the page, and more importantly, I think it's cool.

If you find the pictures of my fans on the top right of this page too offensive (my wife hates them ), then please let me know. I might consider removing them - although the chances for that are pretty slim.

Professionally, I'm currently managing a smalltalk software development project. I work for an automobile manufacturer in Munich, Germany. Since communication is always a problem, I'm trying to set up a web collaboration platform for the department. To keep things simple and cheap, the focus is on WikiWiki (that's a Hawaiian word there) -Web technology.

My private computer related interests are: web technology - I'm the creator and webmaster of Sounds of Cabo Verde a web site devoted to the music and musicians of the Cape Verde islands. Programming in PHP4 - something I'm dabbling around with currently. Object oriented software technology, and again collaboration, here incorporating audio, video/webcams, and Microsoft's free NetMeeting software.

Amazing virtual models created by Steven Stahlberg. Have a look at his site and check out the MTV clips there. There's also a free download of a virtual desktop assistant for windows.

Here's a link to the clip Iknow - try this link to it if you have a fast connection.

Check these links ...

     Along this road            Looks cold;
     Goes no one;               To say the most
     This autumn evening        My shadow
                 - Basho                 - Issa
     

Music from Africa ...

To hear the songs referred to below, you'll have to download the RealPlayer from real.com. The Basic-Player is free, so look for it on their site. This is a tool you'll always need, so if you don't have it, get it now.

The following couple of tunes are from Cabo Verde, and yes, the islands belong to the African continent. The group Splash is doing a cabo-zouk song here called Tem Fe. Cesaria Evora - the barefoot diva - sings Tchintchirote, an up tempo coladeira. Cesaria, from Mindelo, São Vicente, is probably the world's most renown Cape Verdean performer. Fidjo Magoado is a nice instrumental morna from Cesaria's one time piano player, Chico Serra. An excerpt of it is the station identification tune of Sounds of Cabo Verde - web radio.

Moving on to the mainland, we have the exceptional guitar player Habib Koité from Mali, West Africa. With his band Bamada, he's doing an instrumental called Mansane Cisse. The Mulemena Boys, from Zambia, are heard here with an extended tune I really like called Lizzy.

Did I mention that I love guitars? Did I also mention that I love guitar driven Congolese soukous? Well, now I did. You just have to listen to this stuff, it really smokes. If it doesn't get you off your feet, well, then I can't help you either . So now, meet the greatest, world famous, one and only, "Le Grand Mâitre" of Congo-Zairean music, Luambo Makiada, aka Franco band leader of T.P. O.K. Jazz. Here's some information on Franco. His famous French slogan/saying was:

	 On entre OK, on sort KO (hear Franco)
		  

... some more links

So now you probably want to know exactly where in Africa all these countries I mentioned are located. Here's a link to a nice site with maps and useful information.

... more African music

Then there's Mose Se Sengo, aka 'Fan Fan', another Congo-Zairean all star guitarist. Early in his career, he played 2nd. lead guitar, next to Franco, in the T.P. O.K. Jazz band. Click here for some background information on Mose. Maniolo is a nice rumba tune from Mose 'Fan Fan' and Somo Somo, check it out. Another unplugged rumba from the Congo is Mbote Ya Pamba by the group Kékélé. Watch a live video webcast from BBC Radio 3 starring Kékélé and a couple of other African groups.

Julie Mabea from Zaire, one of the few women in the soukous scene, sings a tune called Samy. Maybe I should say something about Zaire here since I've already mentioned the country a couple of times. Today's Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly known as Zaire, and before that as the Belgian Congo, and before that as Congo/Kinshasa, and... Zaire just sounds nicer though.

Going all the way down the continent to South Africa, we encounter a very distinctive type of music. Hear the tune Sebai Bai sung by the Mahotella Queens, and check out those harmonies.