Category Archives: Africa

Salif Keita – Africa’s Mozart with a new album and a US tour in works!

Salif Keita‘s voice is one other mortals can only aspire to. A searing tenor that somehow sounds gritty and glorious all at once, it’s a complicated instrument that transcends language barriers, and with its subtle shadings offers solace and succor, joy and even redemption. It’s not for nothing that Keita is known as the golden voice of Mali.

Given Salif Keita’s incredible talent, it was inevitable that one day music would take him back to his homeland, despite the hardships he once faced there. Recently, that inevitability came to pass. With a 35-year career behind him, Keita returned home to record his latest release, M’Bemba, in Bamako in the studio “Moffou” he had built by the River Niger.

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Mohamed Badawi – a Sudanese doctor of linguistics playing the oud!!!

Mohamed BadawiMohamed Badawi is a doctor of linguistics and founder, composer, and singer of the groups Diwan and El Nour. The oud, or Middle-East lute, plays a central role in his musical renditions. In addition to the oud, he also plays a Sudanese variation of the Bongos, which consists of three drums.

This is a promo-Video of Mohamed Badawi’s CD “Nosybe”. He is a Sudanese vocalist and oud player. The members are Roman Bunka (Guitar, Oud), Mohamed Abdelwahab Kununu (Accordeon), Shirley Anne Hofmann (Tuba, Trombone, Trumpet, Euphonium), Hatim Mileegi (Percussion), Daniel Sphani (Drums), Norbert Dömling (Bass), Mohamed Atif Abdel Hamid (Nay), Amro Sawwaf (Qanun), Tahir Mahmoud (Geige), Amro Subhi (Cello), Iman Aliy Ad-din (Chor, Kairo), Marwa Hasan (Chor, Kairo), Wala Mohamed (Chor, Kairo), Iman Mohamed Wadi (Chor, Kairo) Iglal Hashim (Chor, Sudan) Safa Osman (Chor, Sudan) Magdi Shaban Sukkar (Tablah, Bandir), Video by Oliver Wuerffell 2008, Produced by Hubl Greiner 2007.

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The Nigerian legend…Fela (Kuti) – the music activist from Nigeria on and off stage!

FELA!– the Broadway musical: enter the extravagant, decadent, rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. A provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theatre, FELA! features arrangements by Aaron Johnson and Antibalas with direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones. Coming to the Eugene ONeill Theatre. Now through January 31, 2010.





Let the real Fela speak to you! A documentary.

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If the Moon Loves You – A Meeting with Bachir Attar of The Master Musicians Of Jajouka.

Bachir and John (photo by John Kruth)

Bachir and John (photo by John Kruth)

by  John Kruth

It had been quite some time since THE MASTER MUSICIANS Of JAJOUKA last came to town. In fact they hadn’t been around much at all once W laid siege to the White House. For most Americans the Bush “error” came to an end when the fat lady (Aretha Franklin) finally sang at Obama’s inauguration on the cold morning of January 20, 2009. But for a couple hundred New Yorkers the deal was finally sealed on Saturday, February 28th when THE MASTER MUSICIANS  climbed on to the small stage of the Knitting Factory, draped in green djellabas, wielding their piercing pipes and thundering drums.

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