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Current Projects
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Aphrodesia, Lagos by Bus (Cyberset), Aphrodesia’s sound represents the next generation of the American Afrobeat movement, where respect is paid to various music forms, but with fluid migrations between genres and cultures, all with the intention of making people move: heart, soul, and feet. 10/16/07 >> go there
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Burning Spear, Jah Is Real (Burning Music), Kenya had been rocked with violence when a bitter election campaign sparked intergroup conflict that raged for months. The United Nations called on Burning Spear, who had adopted at the start of his career the nom de guerre of Kenyan freedom fighter and first president Jomo Kenyatta, to perform in Nairobi. Spear was welcomed like a long-lost king. 06/13/08 >> go there
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Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Age-old enemies play side by side on stage at a Bronx festival. An elderly clarinet player sparks a nationwide craze for a forgotten music. A group of young African émigrés open at a major concert hall for an international star. These moments all came about thanks to the unique approach and unflagging efforts of an organization committed to long-term creative collaboration with the city’s immigrant artists and activists. 04/24/08 >> go there
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Chase Latino Cultural Festival 2008, It brings together the “Lawless Goat” of old-school Dominican bachata and the “Good Rooster” of Nuyorican experimental rock. It presents well-loved New York institutions, international icons, and eye-opening newcomers, including contemporary dance companies from abroad, thanks to its annual tradition of a commissioned dance piece. The 2008 Chase Latino Cultural Festival at Queens Theatre in the Park continues as a beacon of diverse Latino performing arts. 04/28/08 >> go there
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Chicha Libre, Sonido Amazonico (Barbès Records), While the Internet has claimed credit for much of the shrinking of the planet, the wah-wah pedal and electric organ may still be a quicker path from the Amazon Jungle to the Concrete Jungle. 01/22/08 >> go there
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Donald Cohen, Tango Voices: Songs from the Soul of Buenos Aires & Beyond, They say that every fifteen minutes, somewhere in the world, someone is playing "Tango Jalousie", one of the most beloved of all tangos. Dizzy Gillespie jammed to it. The British blockbuster film “The Full Monty” includes it. Tenor Placido Domingo recorded it, as did the Boston Pops Orchestra. Forget the dance shoes, there’s enough behind-the-scenes drama here for even the most ardent of lovers. 03/13/08 >> go there
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Feufollet, Cow Island Hop (Valcour Records), “Not to sound clichéd, but being Cajun, I’d say, means respecting your ancestors and not forgetting the people who were here before us, who did so much work getting Cajun music beyond this little local thing that nobody knew about,” Chris Segura reflects. “It’s also about moving the music forward for those who are going to come after us.” 05/23/08 >> go there
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Jayme Stone & Mansa Sissoko, Africa to Appalachia (www.jaymestone.com), Africa and America come closer together with the banjo being the bridge. The unshackled American banjo has gone back to Africa and returned with many stories left to tell. 06/11/08 >> go there
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Julie Fowlis, Cuilidh (Cadiz Music), North Uist is one of the few places in Scotland where an age-old song line has not been broken and where the majority of people still speak Gaelic as a first language. Songs often sway with the rhythm of daily life, rowing, hay making, butter churning, or waulking, the arduous final stage in making the world renowned much sought-after Harris Tweed.
06/19/08 >> go there
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Justin Adams, Soul Science (World Village), Justin Adams explains: “I often find some cool and intelligent people who get put off African music because they think it is just people dancing around in semi naked costume, singing ‘Oh mama Africa.' But if you play them the right stuff they realize it’s very powerful. You can’t help it. It can take you. It’s like a shared culture that has some technique, a scientific technique almost, that can enter your body.”
04/16/08 >> go there
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Kakande, Dununya (Jumbie Records), Eight hundred years of tradition is a heavy, daunting legacy. But for Famoro Dioubate and Kakande, tradition is picked up, dusted off, and fashioned anew. 05/20/08 >> go there
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Music Without Borders, Millennium Park (Chicago, IL), In the heart of Chicago lies an oasis. This is no desert oasis—it won’t disappear before your eyes, there’s no sandy grit, and it has as much replenishment for a thirsty mind as it does for a thirsty body. 05/16/08 >> go there
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Paul Carlon, Roots Propaganda (Deep Tone), What if the spirit warrior goddess had blown through the Hurricane Club during Duke Ellington’s early 1940s flirtations with Latin jazz? His mission: to bring roots music center stage and jazz back down to earth. 06/02/08 >> go there
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Rachid Taha, Rock el Casbah: The Best Of (Wrasse Records), From where he sits on the royal throne of rebellion, Rachid Taha provides a unique vantage point on the world around him. He relays his experiences in the rockified way that only he could. Who would have known that coming full circle could be so edgy?
04/16/08 >> go there
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Sa Dingding, Alive (Wrasse Records), Like a Sanskrit prayer or a melody that invokes love without words, Sa Dingding’s songs strive for a deeper connection beyond culture. “In my music,” Dingding laughs, “nothing is impossible.”
05/06/08 >> go there
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Sidestepper, The Buena Vibra Sound System (Palm Pictures), Usually there are just two places you can go to hear a five-hour, slammin’ DJ set of Afro-Colombian electronic-meets-roots dance music: Bogota and London. And in both cases the outfit behind the sound system is Sidestepper. 10/22/07 >> go there
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Sones de Mexico, Esta Tierra Es Tuya, Mexican music can be as bold as rock and roll and as revered as Bach. Anyway you look at it, mariachi is only the tip of the cactus.
05/11/07 >> go there
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Sunfest 2008, How can you whisk around the world this summer, while still beating sky-high fuel prices? How can you revel in a festival experience to remember without breaking the bank? 06/03/08 >> go there
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Yusa, Haiku (Tumi Music), Finding balance and peace between past and present is an ongoing challenge as Cuba faces a new era. But singer-songwriter Yusa looks to the future with great hope for her country’s burgeoning music scene 04/15/08 >> go there
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