algaita

{{Infobox Instrument

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The algaita (also spelled alghaita, algayta or algheita) is a double reed wind instrument from the Sahelian region of West-Central Africa that is used by the Bamum,{{Cite web |last=Etonde |first=Patricia |date=2022 |title=Adaptation of the German Colonial Administration to Traditional Bamoun Governance |url=https://www.grin.com/document/1280382 |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=www.grin.com |language=en}} Hausa and Kanuri peoples in Cameroon and Nigeria. Its construction is similar to the oboe-like rhaita and the zurna. The algaita is distinguished from these other instruments by its larger, trumpet-like bell. Instead of keys, it has open holes for fingering, similar to the zurna.{{cite web|title=African Music - MSN Encarta |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560962/African_Music.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028204539/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560962/African_Music.html |archivedate=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead }}

File:An algaita player, fulbeized Kapsiki.jpg

Traditional recordings

  • Music from the Villages of Northeastern Nigeria (Folkways, 1971)
  • "Music of the Cameroon - The Fulani of the North" (Lyrichord 7334)

Use in jazz recordings

  • Yusef Lateef, In Nigeria, (YAL Records, 1983)
  • Yusef Lateef, The African-American Epic Suite (1994)

See also

References

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  • H.G. Farmer, "The Arab Influence on the Western Soudan." The Musical Standard, 15 November, 1924.