Kweku Sumbry’s revolutionary reading list
When asked to put this list together, I was thinking about how the mind, body and spirit intersect with the music — and specifically with my practice as a drummer. I try to think of myself as not just your regular “bring a snare pedal and cymbals to the gig” drummer, but as one who is in charge of commanding the spirit of the room. Each book on this revolutionary reading list presents an opportunity to connect with the ideals that have helped me shape my own sound on the instruments I call home.
In the Wake: On Blackness and Being
Christina Sharpe
One of my favorite reads from 2023, highly recommended by peers. In the Wake redefined the way I question structure — whether it’s the structure of the music or the structure of “being” around the music. Sharpe’s interrogations of the “orthography of the wake” make clear the weight that we — those carried in the wake — be continued, unimaginable. Her work is fierce, and it holds the reader through every shift she makes on the tide. I read this book on a trip to Disney World with my daughter, Esi. Every time we took the boat from the Disney entrance across to another section of the park, I was reminded of how many stories had been lost, thrown overboard on the long trip Africans were forced to make from our Motherland.
[View the full ‘Jazz as Resistance’ zine]
Of Water and the Spirit
Malidoma Patrice Somé
A classic text in my community and family, Malidoma Patrice Somé’s Of Water takes us deep into the secrets (or at least those he’s allowed to share) of the Dagara people, who are mostly found in northwest Ghana and southwest Burkina Faso. This book is filled with different doors for your imagination to weave in and out of.
Reading it felt like a rite of passage for me. My first copy, I took copious notes all over the margins. It was almost as if the book had been passed down with writings already in it. My second copy I kept with me long after finishing, which is probably why I left it on a plane on the way back from Australia six years ago. This book reminds me that Africans have always taken flight and have held shape-shifting magic within our secret practices and initiations.
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk
As a traveling musician, you have plenty of time to sit with your thoughts in transit. Being still on a moving aircraft or train, with sharp and heavy thoughts, can inflict great pain on one’s spirit, mind, and body. This book helps me deal with thoughts of rage and sadness. It’s natural to carry these thoughts, but it’s about what you do with them once they visit you. Bessel van der Kolk says “rage that has nowhere to go is redirected against the self, in the form of depression, self-hatred, and self-destructive activities.” This book has made me aware of how these thoughts and emotions can lay claim to my mind and person if I leave them to fester unchecked. Take this one slow and steady, because unraveling childhood memories and traumas can leave you exhausted and thin on patience.
Our Drums and Drummers
J.H. Kwabena Nketia
This book is a very short read, but it’s essential! J.H. Kwabena Nketia spells out the lineage for many popular Ghanaian drums. He describes how they are made and for what reasons they are played. He even shares some secret drum proverbs and history toward the end of this short read. It’s important that when we see a drum, we pay it proper respect by at least knowing its traditional name. Everything is not a djembe. Everything is not a bongo.
Famoudou Konaté: Memoir of an African Musician
Famoudou Konate
Famoudou Konaté is my favorite djembe player to ever live, and he’s still with us. Growing up, I used to model my entire playing style after him. I would watch his old tapes and listen to his records in the car on the way to school. Famoudou’s magic is in his name. He comes from a long line of powerful medicine men and great agriculturalists.
One who tills the land must know the secrets of the forest. In this book, we’re able to follow Famoudou’s path from a child in the village of Faranah, Guinea, all the way to the largest concert halls in Europe and America — truly, all around the world. Famoudou held the lead djembe chair in Les Ballets Africains from 1959 to 1985. These were incredibly pivotal years for Black culture as we know it. Famoudou changed the way we look at the djembe, and in this book, he speaks about his family lineage and all of his travels. This is a must-read for anyone who is moved by the drum.
Notes & Tones
Arthur Taylor
Notes & Tones is almost a required reading for musicians. Drummer Art Taylor compiled some very important and interpersonal interviews and conversations with musicians he collaborated with and was inspired by. Taylor tracked down these giants from 1968 to 1972 under the guise of gaining “an insider’s view” into the lives and opinions of some of the world’s greatest musicians. The list of giants stretches from Max Roach to Nina Simone, all the way to Miles Davis. I love that he makes it a point to discuss Charlie Parker and Bud Powell with almost every interviewee, both of whom had already passed on when he started compiling these interviews.