2010 St. Petersburg College Jazz Festival

2010 SPC Jazz Festival

St. Petersburg College hosts its second annual SPC Jazz Festival with three evenings of world class jazz including:

Thursday, Feb. 4, 7:30p.m.
Big Band Big Bang!
Helios Jazz Orchestra with Dale Williams & Sasha Tuck

Friday, Feb. 5, 7:30 PM
Hot Latin Jazz!
Guisando Caliente with Kenny Drew, Jr., Frankie Pineiro, Jeff Rupert, John Jenkins & Mauricio Rodriguez

Saturday, Feb. 6, 7:30 PM
Jazz on the Edge!
solo bassist John Lindberg & The Powell Brothers Quintet with Jonathan Powell, Jeremy Powell, LaRue Nichelson, Alejandro Arenas & Ian Goodman

Carrying on the Family Business

Eugene de Coque, brother of the late Nigerian highlife master Oliver de Coque, has been based in Los Angeles since the early '90s, and along with his group the Igede Band, played backup for Oliver during his U.S. tours. They've recorded at least four albums on their own, the first of which, Egwu-Igede (Victory Productions VP 001, ca. 1992) is featured here today.

Egwu-Igede, which apparently was released only on cassette, ably continues Oliver's Ogene Sound legacy and takes it to new heights. The integration of traditional Igbo folk elements and modern studio techniques is particularly deft. Enjoy!

Eugene de Coque & Igede Band International - Ojinbe-Eyimegwu

Eugene de Coque & Igede Band International - Egwu-Igede

Eugene de Coque & Igede Band International - Asi Si Jebe

Download Egwu-Igede as a zipped file here.

The Mars Trio at Bonefish Grill the first Wednesday of Every Month

The Mars Trio will be performing the first Wednesday of every month at Bonefish Grill in Carrollwood on N. Dale Mabry, beginning Wednesday February 3rd. They will be playing three sets beginning at 8:00pm. Come on out and enjoy a few drinks, some Bang-Bang Shrimp and some great Jazz!

The Mars Trio was formed in 2004 by bass player Alejandro Arenas, drummer Mark Feinman and saxophonist Richard Van Voorst. At the time, all three were students at the University of South Florida in the Jazz program. The group began by playing together for the purpose of researching, studying, and learning new music, but soon a passion sparked among the members as they discovered the freedom and adventurous nature of the acoustic trio orchestration. The trio found itself in high demand and thus solidified itself as a working band in the West Florida area, while developing into a passionate artistic endeavor for the members.

In August of 2007, Steve Davis stepped into the drum chair and the group took a new turn. While still keeping the original principles of the group intact, the different approach that Steve brought to the table took the group in new directions in improvisation, interaction, as well as some new and interesting repertoire. Following a short hiatus in 2008, the trio reformed in 2009 with drummer and composer Jose Cochez joining the group. Jose brings a fresh approach with an emphasis on spontaneity and conversation between the musicians.

The Group Performs many different styles of music from Be Bop, Hard Bop, and Modern Jazz to show tunes, as well as pop or Classical tunes with a jazz twist. You might hear music from Cole Porter, Rogers and Hammerstein, and Miles Davis, as well as The Police, Jimmy Buffett, and Van Morrison.

The Mars Trio plays restaurants, clubs, private parties, concerts and festivals and more. We can perform and tailor any type of music for any event, in any space. The repertoire is tailored to meet any and all needs, and we work closely with each employer to develop the desired ideal experience for our audience.

The Mars Trio is a also proponent of new music and always welcomes original compositions and arrangements from composers desiring to have their music performed.

Andreya Triana @ Rich Mix, Wed 3rd February

Andreya is playing an exclusive acoustic set on February 3rd to launch the new vinspired Lake of Stars monthly residency at Rich Mix Arts Centre in Shoreditch.

Hotly tipped singer-songwriter Andreya Triana (Ninja Tune) is bringing her raw soulful sound to the Rich Mix Arts Centre in Shoreditch for a FREE showcase to launch the vinspired Lake of Stars residency. It is the first in the Priceless Live series of events at Rich Mix and will also feature live acoustic support from Nick Mulvey, along with DJs Elphino, Gilla (First Word Records) and Andy Lemay (Hang the DJ), part of the vinspired Lake of Stars family.

It has been a heady time for Andreya since she was selected for a place at the illustrious Red Bull Music Academy, in the last year she has performed on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, garnered rave reviews from Benji B and Gilles Peterson and airplay from BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac. 2010 will also see the release of Andreya’s hotly anticipated album Lost Where I Belong, produced by jazzy beat master Bonobo, a beautifully honest album combining soul, folk, jazz and Bonobo's cinematic magic.

Festival favourite Nick Mulvey is to support Andreya with an acoustic solo set. Nick, one quarter of Portico Quartet, played the festival in 2008 and impressed everyone with his sun down set.

Check out Andreya and Nick on MySpace

Festival founder Will Jameson is excited about launching Rich Mix's Priceless Live series. “Our residency is an exciting opportunity for us to stage free, quality live events in the heart of Shoreditch, giving people a small glimpse of what our festival is all about. We are going to be booking some of the brightest talent of 2010 - and obviously in these cash-strapped times the price is right too!”

Full event details:
vinspired Lake of Stars presents: Andreya Triana (Ninja Tune)
With support from Nick Mulvey (Portico Quartet) live, and DJ's Eliphino, Gilla (First Word Records), Andy Lemay (Hang the DJ!)
Wednesday 3rd February, 8pm until late
FREE ENTRY @ Rich Mix Arts Centre 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA.


www.lakeofstars.org
www.richmix.org.uk

Andreya Triana @ Rich Mix, Wed 3rd February

Andreya is playing an exclusive acoustic set on February 3rd to launch the new vinspired Lake of Stars monthly residency at Rich Mix Arts Centre in Shoreditch.

Hotly tipped singer-songwriter Andreya Triana (Ninja Tune) is bringing her raw soulful sound to the Rich Mix Arts Centre in Shoreditch for a FREE showcase to launch the vinspired Lake of Stars residency. It is the first in the Priceless Live series of events at Rich Mix and will also feature live acoustic support from Nick Mulvey, along with DJs Elphino, Gilla (First Word Records) and Andy Lemay (Hang the DJ), part of the vinspired Lake of Stars family.

It has been a heady time for Andreya since she was selected for a place at the illustrious Red Bull Music Academy, in the last year she has performed on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, garnered rave reviews from Benji B and Gilles Peterson and airplay from BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac. 2010 will also see the release of Andreya’s hotly anticipated album Lost Where I Belong, produced by jazzy beat master Bonobo, a beautifully honest album combining soul, folk, jazz and Bonobo's cinematic magic.

Festival favourite Nick Mulvey is to support Andreya with an acoustic solo set. Nick, one quarter of Portico Quartet, played the festival in 2008 and impressed everyone with his sun down set.

Check out Andreya and Nick on MySpace

Festival founder Will Jameson is excited about launching Rich Mix's Priceless Live series. “Our residency is an exciting opportunity for us to stage free, quality live events in the heart of Shoreditch, giving people a small glimpse of what our festival is all about. We are going to be booking some of the brightest talent of 2010 - and obviously in these cash-strapped times the price is right too!”

Full event details:
vinspired Lake of Stars presents: Andreya Triana (Ninja Tune)
With support from Nick Mulvey (Portico Quartet) live, and DJ's Eliphino, Gilla (First Word Records), Andy Lemay (Hang the DJ!)
Wednesday 3rd February, 8pm until late
FREE ENTRY @ Rich Mix Arts Centre 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA.


www.lakeofstars.org
www.richmix.org.uk

Lost Malawi

I travel around the world sourcing single estate teas direct from small farmers. This film is about the journey I took to Malawi to visit a Fair Trade tea farm which produces some of the best tea I've ever tasted. It hopefully explains a little bit about why its worth spending a little bit more to get a much better tasting tea that gives a much better deal to the people who grow it.



The tea I brought back is called Lost Malawi an its available at 22 London Waitrose, Selfridges and online at www.rareteacompany.com

Henrietta Lovell

Lost Malawi

I travel around the world sourcing single estate teas direct from small farmers. This film is about the journey I took to Malawi to visit a Fair Trade tea farm which produces some of the best tea I've ever tasted. It hopefully explains a little bit about why its worth spending a little bit more to get a much better tasting tea that gives a much better deal to the people who grow it.



The tea I brought back is called Lost Malawi an its available at 22 London Waitrose, Selfridges and online at www.rareteacompany.com

Henrietta Lovell

The Ladies of Ihiagwa-Owerri

I've been meaning to post this recording for a while. Nwanyi Ma Obi Diya (Onyeoma C.Y. Records CYLP 016, 1984) by the Obi Wuru Otu Dance Group of Ihiagwa-Owerri is guaranteed to fill the dance-floor at any Igbo party it's played.

The vocal stylings of Rose Nzuruike (above) were what made Nwanyi Ma Obi Diya stand out amid a torrent of similar releases during the '80s, and what sends Igbos, and especially Owerri indigenes, into a swoon. Which is not to short-change the talents of the group itself (below) and especially its leader, Madam Maria Anokwuru. Released on an obscure Onitsha record label, it became one of the biggest-selling Igbo records of all time.



The title tune, opening up the medley on Side One of the album, means "A Woman That Knows her Husband's Heart." The ladies sing that good behavior is better than beauty and that a woman who knows her husband's heart will work with him when times are tough. "Ego Kirikiri" literally means rattling money and refers to the olden days when commerce was conducted with cowrie shells. The group sings "Igbo je akpo ya ojo mma - Igbos called it good money" and "Owerri nnu ahuna onwu ozigbo mmadu bara uba - Owerri, you see that not everyone was rich." Furthermore, "Onye ogazirila nya nwe mmeri - If you are rich you win." Side One concludes with a paean to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of the separatist state of Biafra, who was pardoned by Nigeria's president at the time, Shehu Shagari, and allowed to return to Nigeria in 1980. The group welcomes Ojukwu back to the land of his birth and sing that they are overjoyed at his return:

Obi Wuru Otu Dance Group of Ihiagwa-Owerri - Nwanyi Ma Obi Diya/Ego Kirikiri (Cowries)/Onye Ije Nno-Ezennadi

On Side Two, the group sing that they are called Obi Wuru Otu - "One Heart for All." They entreat everyone to be careful, because God's way is where humans prove their value. "Ezuru Ezu Baa? Olu - Is everyone rich? No." "Omumu si na Chukwu - To have children is a gift from God." "Ochu Okuko Nwe Ada" is a typical Igbo parable. The lyrics explain that a person who chases a chicken will always fall but the chicken will never fall. If you plot against an innocent person you'll hurt yourself in the end. "Nwa nkpe ya na Eze gbaru mkpe, nwa mkpe atagbuela onye ya na afufu - If a widow gets into a conflict with a King, she will suffer much." The song calls on the Messiah, the one who made a blind person to see and a cripple to walk. Finally, the song "Elu Uwa Were Obi Oma" calls on the people of the world to be kind to get their just rewards:

Obi Wuru Otu Dance Group of Ihiagwa-Owerri - Olum Ado Ogu-Ezuruezuba/Ochu Okuko Nwe Ada/Elu Uwa Were Obi Oma-AFA Nna Na Nwa

Many thanks to my wife Priscilla for translating the lyrics of this record. Download Nwanyi Ma Obi Diya, complete with scans of the album sleeve, here. I have a couple more albums by the Obi Wuru Otu Dance Group, and will probably post them in the future.

Music for life

“The fundamental nature and meaning of music lie not in objects, not in musical works at all, but in action, in what people do. It is only by understanding what people do as they take part in a musical act that we can hope to understand its nature and the function it fulfills in human life.”
- Christopher Smalls in Musicking: The Meaning of Performing and Listening

The quote above was extracted from a Master’s research project I undertook at University College London during the 2008-2009 academic year. I was lucky enough to be invited by the Lake of Stars team to share my research by contributing to their blog. I am very thankful for this opportunity as it was my hope from the very start of my program that whatever research I produced would ultimately have some relevance beyond just the academic world. I think it will also, no doubt, make my financiers happy (my thanks go out to Mom and Dad) that I am putting those international student fees to good use  In any case, let me begin…..

My research was born out of a simple but unconditional love for music. Like many others, my life story could not be told without the soundtrack that has accompanied me along the way. Fortunately, I landed myself in a Master’s program that was flexible enough to let me explore the power of music in an academic context. By the power of music, I mean the indescribable ways in which music inspires, relaxes, consoles, motivates and provides a common language for communication. This to me is one of the great mysteries of the human experience.

Whether we are aware of it or not, there are many ways in which we go about experiencing this world in purely visceral ways. With the arts in particular, we tend to think and act with our bodies. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the intense emotional responses people often experience in reaction to music. What my research set out to do was explore the gap between musical experience and how we describe it, where what we feel often escapes words, and literally, takes our breath away.

It was the goosebumps I often get in response to music that really led me to develop a research project that would explore the intersection of music and emotion. I decided this could be explored most critically within the context of the benefit concert where emotions tend to run high. For both their similarities and marked differences, I chose two concerts to look at: Live 8 and Dance4life. I am sure many of you remember the satellite link-up of 8 massive concerts from around the world that served as the culmination of the Make Poverty History campaign back in 2005 (if you missed it, there is a great DVD that covers all the shows available on Amazon). On the other hand, some of you might not be familiar with Dance4life. Dance4life is an initiative that since 2004 has used the Live 8 format to stage a series of biennial concerts in the fight against HIV/AIDS

For more on Dance4life, please visit their website at www.dance4life.com. A clip of the 2008 Dance4life event:



After 5 long months of conducting interviews and soliciting questionnaires, pouring over press coverage and DVD/Youtube footage and consuming inordinate amounts of caffiene, what I discovered was that music can be used to harness political will in a number of different ways that can effect both short term and long term change.

Music is an incredible resource for generating awareness about serious global issues, as initiatives like Live 8 and Dance4life have shown. But we also must be aware that its power is so tremendous as to require that we use it in an ethical and productive manner.

So, what then is the connection between my research and the Lake of Stars Festival? I believe that the relevance of my research to the Lake of Stars festival is twofold. First, on a conceptual level, it provides a theoretical foundation for evaluating the performance space of music and its potential as an instrument for change. Second, on a more practical level, it highlights strategies for the effective use of music in producing concerts and festivals that produce positive change.

Looking back, I think the most important thing about my research is that on the most fundamental level, it draws attention to the ways in which we come together, and how music can play an integral role in creating feelings of solidarity. One of the theorists I read and that I liked most remarked once in an interview that “what you can do, your potential, is defined by your connectedness, the way your connected and how intensely” (For the entire interview, see http://www.theport.tv/wp/pdf/pdf1.pdf). If this is true, than the vinspired Lakes of Stars festival, by bringing Malawi together with the rest of the world, has a bright future to look forward to.

For more on my research see http://music4life2010.wordpress.com/

---

Megan is volunteering with vinspired Lake of Stars

If you're 16-25 and would like to volunteer, find opportunities at vinspired.com

Music for life

“The fundamental nature and meaning of music lie not in objects, not in musical works at all, but in action, in what people do. It is only by understanding what people do as they take part in a musical act that we can hope to understand its nature and the function it fulfills in human life.”
- Christopher Smalls in Musicking: The Meaning of Performing and Listening

The quote above was extracted from a Master’s research project I undertook at University College London during the 2008-2009 academic year. I was lucky enough to be invited by the Lake of Stars team to share my research by contributing to their blog. I am very thankful for this opportunity as it was my hope from the very start of my program that whatever research I produced would ultimately have some relevance beyond just the academic world. I think it will also, no doubt, make my financiers happy (my thanks go out to Mom and Dad) that I am putting those international student fees to good use  In any case, let me begin…..

My research was born out of a simple but unconditional love for music. Like many others, my life story could not be told without the soundtrack that has accompanied me along the way. Fortunately, I landed myself in a Master’s program that was flexible enough to let me explore the power of music in an academic context. By the power of music, I mean the indescribable ways in which music inspires, relaxes, consoles, motivates and provides a common language for communication. This to me is one of the great mysteries of the human experience.

Whether we are aware of it or not, there are many ways in which we go about experiencing this world in purely visceral ways. With the arts in particular, we tend to think and act with our bodies. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the intense emotional responses people often experience in reaction to music. What my research set out to do was explore the gap between musical experience and how we describe it, where what we feel often escapes words, and literally, takes our breath away.

It was the goosebumps I often get in response to music that really led me to develop a research project that would explore the intersection of music and emotion. I decided this could be explored most critically within the context of the benefit concert where emotions tend to run high. For both their similarities and marked differences, I chose two concerts to look at: Live 8 and Dance4life. I am sure many of you remember the satellite link-up of 8 massive concerts from around the world that served as the culmination of the Make Poverty History campaign back in 2005 (if you missed it, there is a great DVD that covers all the shows available on Amazon). On the other hand, some of you might not be familiar with Dance4life. Dance4life is an initiative that since 2004 has used the Live 8 format to stage a series of biennial concerts in the fight against HIV/AIDS

For more on Dance4life, please visit their website at www.dance4life.com. A clip of the 2008 Dance4life event:



After 5 long months of conducting interviews and soliciting questionnaires, pouring over press coverage and DVD/Youtube footage and consuming inordinate amounts of caffiene, what I discovered was that music can be used to harness political will in a number of different ways that can effect both short term and long term change.

Music is an incredible resource for generating awareness about serious global issues, as initiatives like Live 8 and Dance4life have shown. But we also must be aware that its power is so tremendous as to require that we use it in an ethical and productive manner.

So, what then is the connection between my research and the Lake of Stars Festival? I believe that the relevance of my research to the Lake of Stars festival is twofold. First, on a conceptual level, it provides a theoretical foundation for evaluating the performance space of music and its potential as an instrument for change. Second, on a more practical level, it highlights strategies for the effective use of music in producing concerts and festivals that produce positive change.

Looking back, I think the most important thing about my research is that on the most fundamental level, it draws attention to the ways in which we come together, and how music can play an integral role in creating feelings of solidarity. One of the theorists I read and that I liked most remarked once in an interview that “what you can do, your potential, is defined by your connectedness, the way your connected and how intensely” (For the entire interview, see http://www.theport.tv/wp/pdf/pdf1.pdf). If this is true, than the vinspired Lakes of Stars festival, by bringing Malawi together with the rest of the world, has a bright future to look forward to.

For more on my research see http://music4life2010.wordpress.com/

---

Megan is volunteering with vinspired Lake of Stars

If you're 16-25 and would like to volunteer, find opportunities at vinspired.com

$1mill giveaway - vote now

VOTE FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN & SEND $1MILL OF AID TO UGANDA & $100,000 TO HAITI



Our friends at Invisible Children are 1 of 100 finalists to win $1mill from Chase Bank. The contest is simple: by Friday, whoever has the most votes online wins the $1million. All you have to do is vote and tell your friends. Vote here: Http://bit.ly/7OQalM

We've supported Invisible Children since they very first began 6 years ago in their efforts to end the war in Uganda where children are being forced to fight as child soldiers. If they win, the $1mill will go towards their programs that advocate to end this war, put kids through school and help rebuild the region.

Something great about them is their ability to adapt. In 2007 when Katrina hit, they took one of their touring teams and dedicated that team to providing aid work in Louisianna and Mississippi for about 4 months! In response to the devastating quake in Haiti, they're adapting once again and are going to implement $100,000 from their holiday funds towards relief work in Haiti.

You can help them win $1mill for Uganda and an additional $100,000 for Haiti. Please support them by voting and telling your friends. Thanks!

--
Blog from our friend Johan of The Very Best, Radioclit

download the free The Very Best mixtape/album if you haven't allready got it:
http://fairtilizer.com/radioclit/the_very_best.zip

$1mill giveaway - vote now

VOTE FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN & SEND $1MILL OF AID TO UGANDA & $100,000 TO HAITI



Our friends at Invisible Children are 1 of 100 finalists to win $1mill from Chase Bank. The contest is simple: by Friday, whoever has the most votes online wins the $1million. All you have to do is vote and tell your friends. Vote here: Http://bit.ly/7OQalM

We've supported Invisible Children since they very first began 6 years ago in their efforts to end the war in Uganda where children are being forced to fight as child soldiers. If they win, the $1mill will go towards their programs that advocate to end this war, put kids through school and help rebuild the region.

Something great about them is their ability to adapt. In 2007 when Katrina hit, they took one of their touring teams and dedicated that team to providing aid work in Louisianna and Mississippi for about 4 months! In response to the devastating quake in Haiti, they're adapting once again and are going to implement $100,000 from their holiday funds towards relief work in Haiti.

You can help them win $1mill for Uganda and an additional $100,000 for Haiti. Please support them by voting and telling your friends. Thanks!

--
Blog from our friend Johan of The Very Best, Radioclit

download the free The Very Best mixtape/album if you haven't allready got it:
http://fairtilizer.com/radioclit/the_very_best.zip

Yoruba Muslim Women's Music

We were shopping on Nnamdi Azikiwe St. in central Lagos when we came across a fascinating sight: hundreds of men were prostrate and barefoot in the street, while overhead a speaker blared:

Allahu Akbar
Ash-had anna lah ilaha illallah
Ash-hadu anna Muħammadar rasulullah
Hayya 'ala-salatt
Hayya 'ala 'l-falah
Allāhu akbar
La ilaha illallah

"The Muslim people are praying," my brother-in-law told me. "Look at them with their faces in the dirt. And these are the people who rule over us." Such was my introduction to Friday prayers at the Central Mosque in Lagos (right), and to the complex subject of ethnic and religious power relations in Nigeria.

Across from the mosque a stall was selling pirated pornographic videotapes with covers that left nothing to the imagination, while shoppers went about their business. The loudspeakers amplified every bit of static in the recorded call to prayer, which echoed among the surrounding buildings. The atmosphere was strange and other-worldly, to my eyes and ears at least. I've believed in no deity since I was twelve, but the spectacle stirred in me trembling feelings of awe and wonderment. For just a minute I was tempted to remove my shoes and join the believers in their devotions.

Needless to say, I don't share the casual bigotry reflected in my brother-in-law's remarks, but they speak to the fact that Nigeria is a nation increasingly divided along ethnic, political and religious lines. Northern Nigeria is predominantly Muslim while the southeast of the country is almost exclusively Christian. Other areas, such as the Yoruba region around Lagos, are more complicated in their religious allegiances. About half of the Yoruba are thought to follow Islam while the remainder adhere to various Christian denominations and traditional religion.

Since Independence Nigerian rulers have tended to be Northerners, hence the resentment of "Northern Muslim domination," and at times this friction has given way to violence, notably during the Biafran War of 1967-70 and recent conflicts over the introduction of sharia law in some northern states. Islam came to Yorubaland by conversion rather than through war, and relations among the various religious groups there have been mostly peaceful.

Among Yoruba Muslims in the 19th Century were a group of repatriated slaves from Brazil who have played an important role in the economy and politics of Lagos. Among the distinctive buildings they erected in the city, all of them now in disrepair, is the Shitta Mosque on Martins St. I took this picture of it during my 1994 visit:



Among various styles of Yoruba music which have their roots in the Muslim community are waka, performed by female singers, and apala and fuji, performed by men. While these styles derive from music performed during Muslim holidays such as Ramadan, they have tended to become secularized over time.

I picked up the LP Asalamu Alaekumu (Leader Records 82, 1992) by Sister Riskat Lawal and the Aaqibat Lil-Mutaqeen Society Group during my 1995 visit to Nigeria, and I'm not sure where to situate it within the spectrum of Yoruba Islamic percussion styles. This is clearly a religious recording and not the usual exercise in praise-singing (rather, it praises God rather than rich and powerful individuals), nor is it unique. I take it there are hundreds of recordings in this genre, but I'm not aware that they have a specific label.

No matter what you call it, I'm sure you will find Asalamu Alaekumu a first-rate example of Yoruba percussion music.

Sister Riskat Lawal & the Aaqibat Lil-Mutaqeen Society Group - Asalamu Alaekumu

Sister Riskat Lawal & the Aaqibat Lil-Mutaqeen Society Group - Allahu Allahu / Eyin Anobi / Ayonfe Oluwa

Sister Riskat Lawal & the Aaqibat Lil-Mutaqeen Society Group - E Gboro Oluwa / Omo Iya Ni Wa / Oro Shekh Adam-Oba To Ni Ike Lodo / Islam Esin Ola

Download Asalamu Alaekumu as a zipped file here.

The Very Best musical volunteers

The Very Best have today given us the track they recorded live at the 2009 festival. There was a buzz around the work they were doing bringing in international headliner SWAY on a track with Malawian legends Tay Grin and Lucius Banda.

Check out the tune exclusively on the Lake of Stars site. lakeofstars.org

And go get their free mix tape too:
http://www.myspace.com/theverybestmyspace

All the international artists at the festival volunteered their time for vinspired Lake of Stars.

Check their collaboration with Vampire Weekend's frontman Ezra.

The Very Best musical volunteers

The Very Best have today given us the track they recorded live at the 2009 festival. There was a buzz around the work they were doing bringing in international headliner SWAY on a track with Malawian legends Tay Grin and Lucius Banda.

Check out the tune exclusively on the Lake of Stars site. lakeofstars.org

And go get their free mix tape too:
http://www.myspace.com/theverybestmyspace

All the international artists at the festival volunteered their time for vinspired Lake of Stars.

Check their collaboration with Vampire Weekend's frontman Ezra.

Black Warriors

Ronnie Graham's The World of African Music (Pluto Press/Research Associates, 1992) states that Tanzania's DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra recorded several albums and singles in the early '80s under the name "The Black Warriors." Doug Paterson told me a few years ago, though, that The Black Warriors were actually a subgroup of Mlimani who recorded in Nairobi without permission from bandleader Michael Enoch. For this transgression they were expelled from the group, only to return later.

Whatever the true story, in the early '90s Flatim Records in Nairobi compiled six Black Warriors 45s into a compilation cassette, Tunazikumbuka Vol. 20 (AHD [MC] 038), which I present here. This cassette is compiled from vinyl pressings rather than the original source tapes, and Flatim cassettes are well-known for their dodgy technical standards. The quality of the musical performances shines through nonetheless, and I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing alternate versions of some Mlimani classics.

The Black Warriors - Nawashukuru Wazazi Wangu Pts. 1 & 2

The Black Warriors - Zimbabwe Pts. 1 & 2

The Black Warriors - Bubu Ataka Kusama Pts. 1 & 2

The Black Warriors - Nalala Kwa Tabu Pts. 1 & 2

The Black Warriors - Najuta Pts. 1 & 2

The Black Warriors - Uzuri wa Mtu Sio Sura Pts. 1 & 2

Download Tunazikumbuka Vol. 20 as a zipped file here. The artwork at the top of this post is by Tanzanian artist Mwamedi Chiwaya, and is in a style called Tingatinga. It is taken from this website.

Jaliba Sounds

Another musician from the Gambia winds up our look at "updated" kora music. Unlike the two previous artists featured here, I was able to find out a fair bit about Mr. Jaliba Kuyateh, who is called "The Cultural Ambassador of the Gambia."

He has been playing the kora since the age of five and has been performing with his group, the Kumarehs, since the early '90s. They have toured the United States as well as throughout Europe.

Like the music of Ebrima Tata Jobateh, Kuyateh's sound combines vigorous kora playing with a full array of electric instruments and drum kit as well as local percussion. The cassette Hera Bangku (Kerewan Sounds, 1995) is an excellent introduction to his music. Enjoy!

Jaliba Kuyateh & the Kumarehs - Hera Bangku

Jaliba Kuyateh & the Kumarehs - Sherifolu

Jaliba Kuyateh & the Kumarehs - Julu-Jo

Jaliba Kuyateh & the Kumarehs - Fitna

Jaliba Kuyateh & the Kumarehs - Kebalang Camara

Jaliba Kuyateh & the Kumarehs - Nyananding

Download Hera Bangku as a zipped file here. More music by Jaliba Kuyateh is available here.

A Malian Arrow

I'm not sure Ama Maïga's Une Fleche Malienne (Disques Sonics SONICS 79426, ca. 1984) succeeds completely as a fusion between traditional Malian kora sounds and modern African pop, but it was one of the first, and certainly bears a listen or two. Graeme Counsel's Burkinabé vinyl discography notes a 1976 pressing by Maïga, but that's the extent of what I've been able to find out about him. He recorded this one-off in Paris with a crew of session musicians and then dropped off the map, never to be heard from again. Enjoy!

Ama Maïga - Keleya

Ama Maïga - Lannaya-Tilebana

Ama Maïga - Souboury

Ama Maïga - Djougou Sago

Download Une Fleche Malienne as a zipped file here.