JumbieRecords

Afropop Worldwide now broadcast six nights a week

Here is some news about a wonderful radio program:

Afropop Worldwide now broadcast six nights a week
Monday through Saturday 11 PM on Radio New York 91.5 FM!

Great news! The producers and staff and Board of Afropop Worldwide are thrilled to announce that starting tonight, you can hear Afropop Worldwide hosted by the one and only Georges Collinet six nights a week Monday through Saturdays at 11 pm on Radio New York 91.5 FM! Whenever you want, you can hear the music and stories of Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and of course New York City. The program features visits to the world’s great musical cities, artist interviews, album premieres, concert highlights, and historically based Hip Deep profiles.

You can find out more on www.afropop.org where you can also sign up for our free weekly Afropop e-Newsletter loaded with features, CD reviews, chances to win free CDs and tickets to area concerts, and our popular weekly Afropop calendar of events. And to find out more about Radio New York 91.5 FM, you can visit  www.nyc.gov/radio.

Upcoming programs:

July 7……....“Afropop Vignettes: Guitar Heroes”
July 8………“Mali Magic”
July 9………“Concert of Colors in Detroit Michigan”
July 10…..…“Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity
July 11….......“Afropop Trailblazers”
July 12………“Summer Concert Extravaganza”
July 14…….. “Afropop Vignettes: Brazil
July 15…….. “The Story of Rai”
July 16………“The Congotronics Story
July 17………..“Puertas de Las Americas in Mexico City, Mexico”
July 18………. “Afropop Vignettes: Brass Traditions”
July 19……….. “Remember Cuba?”

World Music News Wire: When an 800 Hundred Year Tradition Moves to America

The World Music News Wire reports on Kakande's Dununya:

Not many musicians can claim an 800-year musical legacy as balafon master Famoro Dioubate can. From one of the most prestigious families of griots (musician/storytellers) in Guinea, Dioubate is a guardian of traditions dating back to the 13th century in the ancient Mandé Empire. Named for his small ancestral village, Dioubate’s ensemble Kakande is an extension of the musical lineage that he knew back home. Kakande’s new album Dununya, on Jumbie Records bridges this near millennial tradition to modern audiences.

As legend holds, the balafon (xylophone) appeared magically in the forest almost a thousand years ago where it was discovered and guarded jealously by mighty sorcerer-king Sumanguru Kante. Eventually it was re-conquered by the founder of the Mandé Empire, Sundiata Keita, who bequeathed it to his griot, Bala Fasseke Kouyate to play and protect.

For more, click here.

Hungarian Day '08 in New Brunswick: Hot Hungarian Culture!

Hungarians take over New Brunswick, NJ on the first Saturday of every June. This year brought yet another new crop of young dancers and musicians... it brought outrageously hot weather... and hot weather will do nothing to slow down Hungarian dance fanatics.

Here's a peek at the festivities by some of our great friends:

Photos by Lili Erdely:

Photos by Marta Fodor:
Életfa leading the way

Photos by Zsuzsi Tass:

The newest cimbalom master in New Jersey

Here are some videos:
youtube.com/tothpiroska

Video of Metró Folk in the studio

Our intrepid kontra player Aron Székely has posted new videos of Metró Hungarian folk. This is from our recording session in Brooklyn at Pete Fand's new studio:

For more, click here

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6j2Ute3vf8

and

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KnpDcYCagyU&feature=related.

Naked models and Hungarian folk music for the benefit of children

Our new and newly renamed Hungarian folk band Metro Folk is not used to playing on Saturday morning. But the timing wasn't the only thing out of the ordinary for when we played at the Four Seasons restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. We played at the request of my old friend Spencer Tunick who was doing an art installation that consisted of photographing a hundred or so naked volunteers.

The photo above has been taken from Eater.com, and you can see the original context at
Four Seasons Gone Wild: Spencer Tunick Stops in for Lunch. Please don't watch this if you are offended by the naked body.

You can find more news coverage from the NY Post here. ABC News also published this video, which includes some of the funniest blurring of private parts that I have ever seen.

Press round-up of Saakumu tour

There have been many articles written about the Saakumu Dance Troupe tour. Here are links galore:

Ghana grooves

Photos of Black History Month Event (February 22, 2008)

It takes a village: Trips to Ghana shape professor's philosophy

A video of Saakumu

Saakumu dance troupe visits Rondo

The rhythm of a people

Ghanaian dance troupe pays a visit to their Minnesotan 'family'

Saakumu Dance Troupe performs at Fredonia school

I've been dying to hear about the Saakumu Dance Troupe tour. This is the first time Bernard Woma's Ghana-based group has visited the United States- congrats!

A blogger named Deier has written this about Bernard:

The leader of this group is my dear friend, professor, and peer, Bernard Woma who is my Ghana-father. Without him my experience possibly could've been as memorable but not quite as much enjoyable. He makes things happen. Upon returning to my school, I visited the International Education Chairperson and with her help, and the help of Bernard, I organized my next trip to Ghana however this time I wouldn't be traveling solo. Following an academic year of not only schooling, but budgeting, financing, advertising, trip planning, leading, and following, I led a group of 13 students and one 70 yr old woman to Ghana in 2007 for 26 days. My intentions were not only to return to a place that I had grown to love so much that previous year, but to share with others the wonderful things I had experienced. Most importantly, this included my love for the people.

For more, click here.

Also, UticaOD.com has posted videos and photos of the recent Saakumu show. For more, click "Students get into beat of African culture." Here's some screen grabs from their video:

The ...Na Hungarian folk group has been all around town these days, and here are some videos that capture the funky Hungarian vibe.

Banjo Jim's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGT0Y2f2oIc

Vox Pop with Kata singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDxm2xEKTIQ

And if that isn't enough to satisfy your Hungarian folk music video needs, you can go here:
http://www.cafetv.ro/kategoriak/nepmuveszet

Dununya keeps getting radio play. WMHB played us this week and last. And Spin the Globe has us at #4:

Spin The Globe just published a review of Dununya:

I hear deep traditional roots in the music, in which the balafon is most often central and other instruments play supporting (often circular) lines. It's the simple yet sophisticated music I imagine hearing in a West African village after the sun has gone down and the day's work is done. Okay, it happens to be a village with a well-rehearsed group of tight professional musicians, but you know what I'm saying.

The meanings of the eleven tracks, sung in Susu and Malinke, are briefly described in the liner notes: praise songs, love songs, even a tale of love between a girl and a magical hippopotamus ("Mali Sadjo")! Magic or not, this music is much easier to love than a hippo. And far better for dancing.

To read the full review, please click here.

The Feb. 29 email from our friends at Afropop leads with praise for Kakande's CD release on Feb. 24:

This past week, New York Afropoppers were treated to an extraordinary CD release party at S.O.B.'s for the Mande music crossover band Kakande. Kakande is led by Guinean balafon maestro Famoro Dioubate, and to give you some idea as to the depth of Famoro's connections in the global Mande music family, he was able to coax supderstar Mory Kante over from Paris to guest spot at three CD release gigs. The S.O.B.'s gig included high griot drama, with Famoro's Guinean patrons showering him with traditional clothing, cash, checks and even keys to a new car during the set. Kakande's debut CD, Dununya will be featured in Afropop Worldwide's upcoming edition of our Africa in America program series. Afropop also took advantage of the opportunity to interview Mory Kante in his hotel room in the wee hours before he flew home to Paris. We expect Mory and his own group on tour in the U.S. this summer, so stay tuned for more on that interview.

Afropop always deserves praise for the great work that they do. Their homepage can be found here and their review of Dununya can be found here.

Here's a video of Jake Shulman-Ment (violin), Pete Rushefsky (tzimbl) and Raul Rothblatt (bass) playing Moldavian-Jewish music at the Golden Fest 2008:

Click youtube.com/watch?v=LRLYlydyqTk to visit the YouTube page.

For more blog coverage (including videos) of the massive 2008 Balkan-extravaganza, click here . The Armchair Critic has nice things to say about the ...Na Hungarian group here. And here's a look back at 2007.

Kakande's Dununya just had its CD release on Sunday, and the disk is already rising to the top of the World Music and African radio playlists. WVKR World Music Top Ten Report to CMJ NMR puts Dununya as #3 and the WMHB world report puts us at #4. We'd also like to thank SoundRoots for playing us as well. 

The New York Times has  this to say  about the upcoming Kakande CD release with special guest appearance by Mory Kanté:

KAKANDE, MORY KANTé (Sunday) Led by Famoro Dioubate, a Guinean griot based in New York, the band Kakande plays light and nimble grooves on electric bass, congas, flutes and saxophone, all surrounding the cascades of melody on Mr. Dioubate’s balafon, a wooden xylophone. The concert comes with the significant endorsement of Mory Kanté, one of Guinea’s best-known musicians (“Yeke Yeke”). At 8 p.m., S.O.B.’s, 204 Varick Street, at Houston Street, South Village, (212) 243-4940, sobs.com; $25. (Sisario)

To see the original context, click here.

Africa Kabisa is a radio program based in Boston focusing on African music.  They have been playing Kakande's Dununya, and they interviewed me last night, which was a great experience.

In addition radio, they also have a webpage, and I wanted to encourage everyone to check them out:

Africa Kabisa

Sundays 4-6pm EST (1600-1800h)
Broadcasting at 88.1fm and streaming live at www.wmbr.org
Listener request line: 617-253-8810
Calendar and playlists: www.africakabisa.org

A couple lucky listeners of the program won copies of Dununya, but they had to work for it—they had to show that they knew which century the Mande Empire was founded. But the Africa Kabisa listeners were up for the challenge!

 

Here's the latest and greatest in cellphone/balafon technology. You can send a text, and get a Kakande ringtone, if you're into that sort of thing:

To see one of these things in action, check out: http://www.myspace.com/badenya and look on the left side of the page, in the music section, with one of these for Vieux Farka Toure. Or, you can go to our friend Erich's blog here at soungalo.blogspot.com.

Our intrepid music adventurer and comrade Rob Weisburg has accomplished the amazing yet again. He is the only music DJ who has succeeded in getting Kakande in the studio, and we performed a one hour set live on WFMU radio on Saturday 2/16. You can visit the web page with the show here, which includes RealAudio and mp3 versions of the show. You can also read listener comments made live during the show, including this by slugluv1313:

KAKANDE is having this wonderful almost "soothing" effect of un-doing a VERY stressful day ... THANKS AND PRAISES!!!!!!!!!!!

Rob is the rare soul who would pair up a live Kakande set with recordings of the great Albanian singer Esma, 17 Hippies, and several gnawa tracks. For more, visit the Transpacific Sound Paradise playlist page.

Kakande's new CD Dununya gets released in a few days, but it's already gotten some airplay. Soundroots.org put us on their program "Global Music of Love and Romance", which is a nice title to start us off.

We're also scheduled to go on New Sounds, one of  the greatest new music radio shows of all times. You can listen online at WNYC.org or in New York City, the show will be on Thursday 2/20 11pm on 93.9.   

David Roger's new CD "The World Is Not Your Home" just got a glowing review on Blogcritics Magazine.  Big Geez writes:

Combining the talents of skilled instrumentalists with Rogers' compositions makes for an exciting and unusual listening experience. Whether it's the title track, which merges a deceptively simple, traditional jazz opening (with nice clarinet work from Bermel) into a percussive African sound, or the whimsical second track, "Don't Drop That Coffin!", this album entertains in a big way....

Good stuff, and highly recommended. If the music appeals to you (clips below) you might want to further explore not only David Rogers, but other artists involved in interpreting the sounds of jazz from around the world.

To read more, click here.

A wide range of supporters of Africa gathered on Sunday 9/9/07 to celebrate and promote African unity. Many members of the United African Congress added their voice.

To see photos, click here.

You can also find several videos on YouTube, including:

• Sidique Wai, president of the United African Congress at the African Burial Grounds in New York City
• Pouring libations
• Rev. Dr. Samson Slobert discussing African unity
• Baba Jagun, member of Fela Kuti's renown band, giving his opinions of Afrobeat

Enjoy the videos!

Saakumu spreads the Ghana beat

I've been dying to hear about the Saakumu Dance Troupe tour. This is the first time Bernard Woma's Ghana-based group has visited the United States- congrats!

A blogger named Deier has written this about Bernard:

The leader of this group is my dear friend, professor, and peer, Bernard Woma who is my Ghana-father. Without him my experience possibly could've been as memorable but not quite as much enjoyable. He makes things happen. Upon returning to my school, I visited the International Education Chairperson and with her help, and the help of Bernard, I organized my next trip to Ghana however this time I wouldn't be traveling solo. Following an academic year of not only schooling, but budgeting, financing, advertising, trip planning, leading, and following, I led a group of 13 students and one 70 yr old woman to Ghana in 2007 for 26 days. My intentions were not only to return to a place that I had grown to love so much that previous year, but to share with others the wonderful things I had experienced. Most importantly, this included my love for the people.

For more, click here.

Also, UticaOD.com has posted videos and photos of the recent Saakumu show. For more, click "Students get into beat of African culture." Here's some screen grabs from their video:

Hungarian folk creeps into the East Village, Brooklyn & YouTube

The ...Na Hungarian folk group has been all around town these days, and here are some videos that capture the funky Hungarian vibe.

Banjo Jim's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGT0Y2f2oIc

Vox Pop with Kata singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDxm2xEKTIQ

And if that isn't enough to satisfy your Hungarian folk music video needs, you can go here:
http://www.cafetv.ro/kategoriak/nepmuveszet

Dununya stays on the radio charts

Dununya keeps getting radio play. WMHB played us this week and last. And Spin the Globe has us at #4:

Dununya on Spin the Globe: Easier to love than a hippo

Spin The Globe just published a review of Dununya:

I hear deep traditional roots in the music, in which the balafon is most often central and other instruments play supporting (often circular) lines. It's the simple yet sophisticated music I imagine hearing in a West African village after the sun has gone down and the day's work is done. Okay, it happens to be a village with a well-rehearsed group of tight professional musicians, but you know what I'm saying.

The meanings of the eleven tracks, sung in Susu and Malinke, are briefly described in the liner notes: praise songs, love songs, even a tale of love between a girl and a magical hippopotamus ("Mali Sadjo")! Magic or not, this music is much easier to love than a hippo. And far better for dancing.

To read the full review, please click here.

Dununya CD release: High praise from Afropop

The Feb. 29 email from our friends at Afropop leads with praise for Kakande's CD release on Feb. 24:

This past week, New York Afropoppers were treated to an extraordinary CD release party at S.O.B.'s for the Mande music crossover band Kakande. Kakande is led by Guinean balafon maestro Famoro Dioubate, and to give you some idea as to the depth of Famoro's connections in the global Mande music family, he was able to coax supderstar Mory Kante over from Paris to guest spot at three CD release gigs. The S.O.B.'s gig included high griot drama, with Famoro's Guinean patrons showering him with traditional clothing, cash, checks and even keys to a new car during the set. Kakande's debut CD, Dununya will be featured in Afropop Worldwide's upcoming edition of our Africa in America program series. Afropop also took advantage of the opportunity to interview Mory Kante in his hotel room in the wee hours before he flew home to Paris. We expect Mory and his own group on tour in the U.S. this summer, so stay tuned for more on that interview.

Afropop always deserves praise for the great work that they do. Their homepage can be found here and their review of Dununya can be found here.

Moldavian-Jewish Music: Pete Rushefsky and Jake Shulman-Ment

Here's a video of Jake Shulman-Ment (violin), Pete Rushefsky (tzimbl) and Raul Rothblatt (bass) playing Moldavian-Jewish music at the Golden Fest 2008:

Click youtube.com/watch?v=LRLYlydyqTk to visit the YouTube page.

For more blog coverage (including videos) of the massive 2008 Balkan-extravaganza, click here . The Armchair Critic has nice things to say about the ...Na Hungarian group here. And here's a look back at 2007.

Dununya rises on the radio charts

Kakande's Dununya just had its CD release on Sunday, and the disk is already rising to the top of the World Music and African radio playlists. WVKR World Music Top Ten Report to CMJ NMR puts Dununya as #3 and the WMHB world report puts us at #4. We'd also like to thank SoundRoots for playing us as well. 

NY Times lists Kakande CD release

The New York Times has  this to say  about the upcoming Kakande CD release with special guest appearance by Mory Kanté:

KAKANDE, MORY KANTé (Sunday) Led by Famoro Dioubate, a Guinean griot based in New York, the band Kakande plays light and nimble grooves on electric bass, congas, flutes and saxophone, all surrounding the cascades of melody on Mr. Dioubate’s balafon, a wooden xylophone. The concert comes with the significant endorsement of Mory Kanté, one of Guinea’s best-known musicians (“Yeke Yeke”). At 8 p.m., S.O.B.’s, 204 Varick Street, at Houston Street, South Village, (212) 243-4940, sobs.com; $25. (Sisario)

To see the original context, click here.

Africa Kabisa gets the Jumbie juju

Africa Kabisa is a radio program based in Boston focusing on African music.  They have been playing Kakande's Dununya, and they interviewed me last night, which was a great experience.

In addition radio, they also have a webpage, and I wanted to encourage everyone to check them out:

Africa Kabisa

Sundays 4-6pm EST (1600-1800h)
Broadcasting at 88.1fm and streaming live at www.wmbr.org
Listener request line: 617-253-8810
Calendar and playlists: www.africakabisa.org

A couple lucky listeners of the program won copies of Dununya, but they had to work for it—they had to show that they knew which century the Mande Empire was founded. But the Africa Kabisa listeners were up for the challenge!

 

Cellphone-balafon interface

Here's the latest and greatest in cellphone/balafon technology. You can send a text, and get a Kakande ringtone, if you're into that sort of thing:

To see one of these things in action, check out: http://www.myspace.com/badenya and look on the left side of the page, in the music section, with one of these for Vieux Farka Toure. Or, you can go to our friend Erich's blog here at soungalo.blogspot.com.

Kakande live on Transpacific Sound Paradise

Our intrepid music adventurer and comrade Rob Weisburg has accomplished the amazing yet again. He is the only music DJ who has succeeded in getting Kakande in the studio, and we performed a one hour set live on WFMU radio on Saturday 2/16. You can visit the web page with the show here, which includes RealAudio and mp3 versions of the show. You can also read listener comments made live during the show, including this by slugluv1313:

KAKANDE is having this wonderful almost "soothing" effect of un-doing a VERY stressful day ... THANKS AND PRAISES!!!!!!!!!!!

Rob is the rare soul who would pair up a live Kakande set with recordings of the great Albanian singer Esma, 17 Hippies, and several gnawa tracks. For more, visit the Transpacific Sound Paradise playlist page.

Love and Romance: Dununya hits the airwaves

Kakande's new CD Dununya gets released in a few days, but it's already gotten some airplay. Soundroots.org put us on their program "Global Music of Love and Romance", which is a nice title to start us off.

We're also scheduled to go on New Sounds, one of  the greatest new music radio shows of all times. You can listen online at WNYC.org or in New York City, the show will be on Thursday 2/20 11pm on 93.9.   

Big Geez gives big cheer to "The World Is Not Your Home"

David Roger's new CD "The World Is Not Your Home" just got a glowing review on Blogcritics Magazine.  Big Geez writes:

Combining the talents of skilled instrumentalists with Rogers' compositions makes for an exciting and unusual listening experience. Whether it's the title track, which merges a deceptively simple, traditional jazz opening (with nice clarinet work from Bermel) into a percussive African sound, or the whimsical second track, "Don't Drop That Coffin!", this album entertains in a big way....

Good stuff, and highly recommended. If the music appeals to you (clips below) you might want to further explore not only David Rogers, but other artists involved in interpreting the sounds of jazz from around the world.

To read more, click here.

African Unity Day: Libation, speeches and the nature of Afrobeat

A wide range of supporters of Africa gathered on Sunday 9/9/07 to celebrate and promote African unity. Many members of the United African Congress added their voice.

To see photos, click here.

You can also find several videos on YouTube, including:

• Sidique Wai, president of the United African Congress at the African Burial Grounds in New York City
• Pouring libations
• Rev. Dr. Samson Slobert discussing African unity
• Baba Jagun, member of Fela Kuti's renown band, giving his opinions of Afrobeat

Enjoy the videos!