Mulatu Astatke will play Royce Hall on the UCLA campus on Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 8:00pm. Astatke is known as the father of Ethio-jazz, which blends traditional Ethiopian music with jazz and other styles of the African diaspora.
Special guest Meklit Hadero, Ethiopian-born singer/songwriter and co-founder of The Nile Project, will open the show.
July 20, Vieux Farka Touré concert and artist talk, opening for Pupy Y Los Que Son Son.
View the full schedule.
Oooo, check out this man with his stripped-down band.
This documentary, released in 1990, explores the traditions of mbira, its connection to the revolutionary struggle of the Second Chimurenga and transition to independence. With extensive footage from the era, the film features interviews and live performances by Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver Mtukudzi.
A musical road movie, Return to Gorée follows Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour’s historical journey tracing the trail left by slaves and the jazz music they created. Youssou N’Dour’s challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire of his own songs to perform a concert in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to honor its victims.
From Atlanta to New Orleans, from New York to Bordeaux and Luxembourg, the songs are transformed, immersed in jazz and gospel. Transcending cultural divisions and rehearsing with of some of the world’s most exceptional musicians, Youssou N’Dour is preparing to return to Africa for the final concert…
via Black Film
