Louis John Sarno Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey on July 3, 1954. He received a degree in English from Rutgers University. He did postgraduate work in comparative literature at the University of Iowa and then moved to Amsterdam with his wife, where she was a Fulbright scholar. While there, he heard a radio broadcast of Bayaka music. After contacting the anthropologist Colin Turnbull, Sarno flew to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, then traveled 600 miles overland in search of the BaBenzl Pygmies. He separated from his wife and remained in Africa permanently beginning in 1988. He befriended the BaBenzl Pygmies and recorded and preserved their music. He was granted citizenship in 2005. He wrote Song from the Forest and Bayaka: The Extraordinary Music of the BaBenzl Pygmies. His films included Oka and Song from the Forest. He died from complications of liver ailments on April 1, 2017 at the age of 62.
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