Derek Gripper

Derek Gripper is one of South Africa’s leading guitarists whose love of the kora set him transcribing and recording some of its greatest works, changing the face of classical guitar. www.derekgripper.com LIVE at Rainier Arts Center on May 6th www.bandsintown.com

Derek Gripper, a prominent South African guitarist, was inspired by the kora masters he heard in his youth to transcribe and record the instrument's most notable compositions. Through this unique endeavor, he revolutionized classical guitar by introducing an African repertoire, marking a significant milestone for the instrument. newcape.bandcamp.com

Jul 13 Derek Gripper @ Rainier Arts Center (Kora on Acoustic Guitar)

South African guitarist who plays his own transcriptions of kora music

A celebrated musical explorer known for founding genre-mashing ensembles, South African guitarist Derek Gripper has taken his well-traveled instrument into previously unimagined realms. In his Bay Area debut he’s playing his specially built eight-string acoustic guitar with changeable fretboards, focusing on his extraordinary transcriptions of music by West Africa’s greatest masters of the 21-string kora.

Join me and Derek Gripper on noon at KEXP Live at Home Thursday, April 16, at 12pm PT. This session will go live on KEXP’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Derek Gripper will be on Live on KEXP at Home, on Thursday, April 16, at 12pm PT. This session will go live on KEXP’s YouTube channel and Facebook page

South Africa. Derek Gripper is a guitar master. He plays African music in the style of classic guitar, and it's really cool.

Derek Gripper is a classical guitarist who has taken a unique path. As a South African classical musician he found limited by the music of the traditional classical guitar and so went on a journey through different musical styles, returning always to the guitar to find ways of bringing what he learned onto the instrument.

Cape Town/Mali. February 11 - Derek Gripper at Traditions Cafe in Olympia, WA. Gripper is a Cape Town native who is a studied expert in the kora music of Mali, which he plays on a classical 6 string guitar.