This morning the clock radio woke me to the end of an interview about the First International Body Music Festival on NPR's Morning Edition.

"Morning Edition, December 5, 2008 - Keith Terry, the artistic director, talks about the festival now under way in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. For 30 years, Terry has traveled the world performing and promoting body music -- percussive sounds and melodies made by rhythmic chanting, clapping, finger-snapping, foot-stomping and other body movements."

I assume there will be more text available online later in the day, meanwhile, you can listen online to the interview and to an additional sound sample -- "Dewa Putu Berata and Keith Terry demonstrate kecak, a traditional Balinese chant. Also known as the monkey chant, kecak is usually performed by a large ensemble of men. It's a complex mix of interlocking vocal patterns, including animal-like sounds and melodies." I remember seeing a performance of this in Bali in 1969. At night by torchlight it was pretty amazing.

Terry was originally a traditional jazz percussionist. In the course of working with a number of tap dancers, he was inspired to take the percussion from his drum set to his body. The older tappers pointed out that this was much like the old "hambone". Terry also made the connection to kids' clapping games.

There's a link to the festival itself (which I duplicate here, in case the other can't be accessed for some reason). There are apparently videos online there (I haven't had a chance to check yet).

~ Becky in Tucson