The Sharq Taronalari Festival of International Music takes place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan every two years. 2019 was the 12th edition, and my 4th time in attendance. The Sharq Taronalari Festival provides an opportunity to hear music not generally well represented on the festival stages we are more familiar with. Central Asia is represented as are all of the 'stans, along … [Read more...]
From the Archive: A Rainy Night in Georgia
Here's the second in my "gems from the archive" series. This is about music from the Republic of Georgia, or as it is known there, Sakartvelo. I include the original text that accompanied the video at the time. I should mention that I was part of something called a "fam tour" in which travel agents and facilitators take a trip to a destination in order to be able to … [Read more...]
From My Archive- FOR NOW.
No traveling. No shows. So for your viewing and listening pleasure, I have decided to dig into my personal archives and find some of the video for which I have a special fondness. Although this is rough around the edges to say the least, it is truly one of my favorites, "Aboubacar "Badian" Diabate: Malian Guitar Master" a video I made in collaboration with Banning Eyre, of … [Read more...]
Duo Ruut plays at the Sharq Taronalari Festival
The second in this series on the Sharq Taronalari Festival in Samarkand is comprised of two separate performances by Duo Ruut, one in the vast Registan stage, and the other in a small corner of the hotel where the duo were staying. This was my 4th visit to the Sharq Taronalari Festival and I came expecting to do some troubleshooting. From past experience I had found that it … [Read more...]
Akbar Khamisu Khan plays at the Sharq Taronalari Festival, Samarkand
The Sharq Taronalari Festival of International Music takes place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan every two years. This year was the 12th edition, and my 4th time in attendance. I am happy to report that this has to have been the best one yet in my experience. As usual it provides an opportunity to hear music not generally well represented on the festival stages we are more familiar … [Read more...]
The Grace of Uzbek Dance
I have been to Uzbekistan quite a few times and last month marked my sixth visit. What made it different was that this time I was the guest of Zulya Rajabova and her Silk Road Treasure Tours, and I had a real guide – the lovely --and industrious-- Hilola Akhmedova assigned to show me around. As a result I caught the show at the Nodir Devon Begi Madrasa in Bukhara and was … [Read more...]
Intimate Inuits
This is one of my blogs from way back, but I think it is one of the most entertaining! This is partially because I had just graduated from a Flip Camera (if anyone remembers those) to an actual camcorder with a real zoom function, and I was able to get WAY close shots. It is also fascinating for its subject; traditional Inuit singing, and if you've never heard this folk form, … [Read more...]
Gwyneth Glyn; Singing in Tongues
I first heard “She Moved Through the Fair” in 1957 sung by Cynthia Gooding on an Elektra recording. She entitled it “My Young Love.” As I recall she did not sing the fatalistic third verse. (I still have the LP, but no turntable, so I can’t check.) According to the liner notes, she herself did not claim to know the origins of the song, only that “It is a song known by most folk … [Read more...]
Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita – the two harps are back for the holidays
As EFEx ‘s International Partner for 2018, Wales threw a spectacular afternoon concert, complete with a lavish lunch within the capacious Great Northern Warehouse in Manchester. The bill was rich with varied sounds; of acoustic power trio Alaw, the atmospheric folk of 9Bach, the poetry to music of Gwyneth Glynn, and the mesmerizing duo of Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita. This … [Read more...]
New Music from Madagascar: Toko Telo
https://vimeo.com/306721071/ There was a definite frisson at this year's WOMEX for Toko Telo, a Malagasy Trio with two acknowledged stars. For me, that frisson was mostly due to guitarist D’Gary. Of all the world music in my collection, Dama and D’Gary’s “The Long Way Home” is the only disk that my guitarist partner seems to enjoy hearing. That’s actually quite reasonable, … [Read more...]