Jayme Stone & Mansa Sissoko On Mountain Stage

A chance meeting in California with Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan launched the endless musical education of banjo player Jayme Stone. His earliest teachers were recordings of banjo greats such as Tony Trischka and Bela Fleck, and he's never stopped looking back at history in order to gain perspective on the instrument. Stone also taken inspiration from different musical styles, languages and cultures all over the world; from his early jazz studies to Brazilian literature and Portuguese folk songs, Stone crafts genre-bending music that recognizes no borders.

Banjoist Jayme Stone. Brian Blauser hide caption

toggle caption

Brian Blauser

In 2007, Stone spent seven weeks in Mali, where he explored the banjo's West African roots. While there, he met and collaborated with kora player Mansa Sissoko, who spent a few months on the road with Stone and his band to promote the resulting record, From Africa to Appalachia.

This segment originally ran Nov. 4, 2008.