Mickey Hart: Dance of the Hunter‘s Fire
[purchase CD]
[purchase book]
Planet Drum became the first album to win a Grammy for World Music in 1991. But that was only part of the story. I got it as a book and CD set, and the book was amazing. Mickey Hart, of Grateful Dead fame, had traveled the world on tour, and had learned about the local drums and drummers wherever he could. The book was a highly readable and fascinating survey of the world of percussion, with lavish illustrations. The CD was just as amazing. Hart gathered some of the greatest percussionists from various parts of the world, and gotten them to work together to prove that drumming is a universal language. Players on Dance of the Hunter’s Fire include Babtunde Olatunji from Nigeria, Airto Moreira from Brazil, as well as players from the United States, Puerto Rico, and India.
The album cover shows the planet earth, with drummers and dancing animals circling it. The whole thing appears on a drumhead. Artist Nancy Nimoy perfectly captured the spirit that Mickey Hart was trying to present.