The Kertzer Collection: The African Instruments of a Seattle Original

For the last forty years, Jon Kertzer has acted as a kind of ambassador of African music for the Seattle music scene. From his early days booking a variety of national and international acts for the Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival to his time playing with the Je Ka Jo, the African-influenced band he formed with his fellow University of Washington ethnomusicology students to his years hosting Best Ambience on KEXP, the man has opened many minds to the music of foreign lands. On the eve of the February 2release of I Speak Fula by Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba, his brand new label’s first record, Kertzer told the stories of his many and various African instruments to City Arts.