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This newsletter is sent only to
those who requested it. Information on subscribing and unsubscribing
is at the end of this email. Please forward this to anyone you think
may be interested.
In this issue:
1. Wedding invitation: June 2
2. Hot concerts: past & present
3. Hot online concerts
4. The past is catching up: retro music in town
5. So long, and thanks, Sam
6. Events
7. Trip to Kenya
8. Album art??
1. WEDDING INVITATION - Sat.
June 2
You
won't receive too many wedding invitations via this newsletter,
so why not consider this one?
Everyone is invited to come out
to the wedding of Njacko Backo and Valerie Wolshyn, on stage at
the annual Muhtadi International Drumming Festival.
This will be the 8th annual
Muhtadi Festival. As always, the event is FREE, and includes 2
days of performances by a wide variety of percussion artists,
crafts, food and drink. This year it is also part of the
Luminato Festival. (see below).
Njacko & Val's wedding will
follow Saturday's opening ceremony, and should begin around 1
pm.
Come for the wedding, stay for
the music, and atmosphere. Saturday, Sunday, noon - 8pm. Queen's
Park (north of the Legislature Building). See
http://www.muhtadidrumfest.com/
2. HOT CONCERTS: Past and
present
This year, there have been a
few shows that this newsletter not only recommended, but also
warned might sell out. And as it turned out, all those
suggestions were correct. The shows will all be among the very
best of 2007, and indeed, all sold out. The shows were:
January: the Boubacar Diabate
tribute at the NOW Lounge
February: Vieux Farka Touré concert at Harbourfront
May: Ba Cissoko at the Lula
So, my early picks for shows in
the next couple of months so far include:
- Luminato - A "big" pick.
See below for some specifics.
- Toumani Diabate &
Symmetric Orchestra, Jul. 5 at Harbourfront. The greatest
kora player in the world brings his big band to town.
- Mavis Staples, Jul. 1.
Toronto Jazz Festival.
- Andy Palacio & the
Garifuna Collective, Jul 2. Harbourfront.
- Afrofest. Jul. 7-8. An
easy pick.
More to come.
3. HOT ONLINE CONCERTS
A few concerts (and other online music) available online,
relating to upcoming (or past) Toronto shows.
Check
this page for full concerts at the U.K. WOMAD Festival by:
Mahotella Queens:
the fabulous South African trio will be making TWO Toronto
appearances this July (Afrofest & the Small World Music
Summerworld Festival, July 11). The last time they were in
town was the same day we ended the Harris/Eves political
era, so who knows what wonders their double appearance might
bring this year?
Toumani Diabaté:
preview one of the hottest Toronto shows of the year (July
5)
Femi Kuti: one of
two sons of Fela Kuti who will be playing here on the same
weekend (Jun. 29 - Jul. 1)
On the same page, you might
want to check out:
Djelimady Tounkara: for me, the most amazing
guitarist in Africa, Salif Keita, and several others.
Vieux Farka Touré:
A wonderful radio show about Vieux and his late father,
featuring Toronto's Eric Herman, Vieux's producer, and who has
been instrumental in bringing his music to the world (and is
also Vieux's bass player on tour). The show is "Tangents" hosted
by San Francisco's Dore Stein. Visit the
Mondomix radio
page, and scroll down to "Tangents", and then select the May
2007 show.
Mahmoud Ahmed
And, while not related to any upcoming or recent concerts, I
highly recommend Mahmoud Ahmed's
2005 WOMAD concert. One of Ethiopia's greatest singing stars
for over 30 years, he deservedly won this year's BBC World Music
Award for African artist of the year. He last played Toronto in
2003. I hope he'll be back soon.
Videos
If you prefer visuals, check out my
music video page.
There definitely should be something of interest there.
4. THE PAST IS CATCHING UP
I received a few comments from
other people who shared my experiences and history of CHUM
radio's role in their lives
as mentioned in the last newsletter. There must be a large
dose of musical history in the atmosphere lately. Among other
happenings coming up:
- "Summer of Love"
concert Jun. 2 in Yorkville (part of Luminato),
featuring 1960's Toronto/Yorkville performers such as Luke
and the Apostles, Kensington Market, Sylvia Tyson and more.
- "Riverboat Revival":
Jun. 22, Hugh's Room (part of the Toronto City Roots
Festival). Celebrating Toronto's most famous club, it
features the songs of many of the Riverboat's performers
icluding Gordon Lightfoot, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lonnie
Johnson, Neil Young, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and many
many more. With a lengthy list of performers.
- This was also a month that
brought Mendelson Joe back to town, and was supposed to
bring Bo Diddley to the Phoenix. Unfortunately, the great 78
year old rock & roll pioneer suffered a stroke shortly
before his Toronto appearance.
His condition is improving.
Finally, another acknowledgement
about Toronto's musical history. As most people will have heard, Sam
the Record Man is closing its Yonge St. store at the end of June.
5. SO LONG SAM, IT'S BEEN
GREAT TO KNOW YOU
Sadly, Sam's just hasn't been
"Sam's" for the last several years; it never did recover from
its financial crisis several years ago. It obviously has not
been able to deal with the changes in the music business. (Even
Towers Records in the U.S. went bankrupt, although some Towers
stores have been re-opening in major centres recently).
It was a sad moment this
morning while I sat in the dentist's chair and heard the news
about Sam's demise. Sam's and CHUM are so closely connected to
my musical life, as I'm sure they are for other longtime Toronto
residents. I can recall going downtown to Sam's every single
Saturday with a friend in the early 60's to feed our musical
appetite.
More recently, I remember an
evening a few years ago when I noticed somebody taking a group
of teens around the downtown "record" shops. I have no idea who
they were, but I noticed them in Sam's. The "leader" was asking
the group what differences they may have noticed between this
store (Sam's) and HMV where they had just come from.
He pointed out that Sam's was
not quite as oriented to the mass market, big stars, media hype.
A little more individual, a little quirkier, to paraphrase his
description.
For those of us who love the
individual, quirkier world, this is sad news. But perhaps more
reason to move toward online music acquisition. If the HMV's of
the world control music access, we're all in trouble.
Finally, an acknowledgment of
the huge role Sam himself always played in promoting Canadian
artists.
6. EVENTS
As usual, check out my
Events page for details of these and many other shows.
LUMINATO:
The amazing Luminato
Festival is now kicking off. I have a number of music events
listed. I also recommend
their website. For something so large and wide-ranging,
it's extremely well-laid out and easy to use.
A VERY small list of
musical highlights:
Jun. 2: Opening of the Lee
Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum. Free concert(s) on
three stage include performances ranging from opera to
K'Naan.
Jun. 8-10:
Carnivalissima at Harbourfront
May 30-Jun. 3:
Art
of Jazz: check the May 31 "Jourrney in Dance and Drums"
featuring (among other) Muna Mingole & Kofi Ackah, the great
Cuban dancer Felix "Pupy" Insua (click the link to watch him
dance)
Jun 5-8:
Masters of World Music: Buckwheat Zydeco, Spanish Harlem
Orchestra, Lila Downs, K'naan and more. All FREE.
And far too many other
events to include here.
OTHER EVENTS
Jun 2: African Guitar
Summit, Orangeville
Jun 3: Waleed Kush (with
Waleed Abdulhamid) "Africanizing Bach's Goldberg Variations"
at the Trane Studio
Jun 7: What to do? A real
conflict, depending on your musical inclinations. You could
go to:
- Joe Boyd,
author of
White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960's, and, indeed
a huge figure in 1960's music will be reading from his
book at the NOW Lounge, 189 Church St. 7pm free.
He was the Newport
stage manager during Dylan's (in) famous appearane, Pink
Floyd's first producer, producer of "Midnight at the
Oasis" by Maria Muldaur, and many more connections to
musical history.
- Or: K'Naan and Lila
Downs at Harbourfront -- this has to be one of the great
double bills of the year.
- Or: Mighty Popo's CD
Launch at the Lula Lounge, part of the press launch for
Afrofest 2007.
- Or, catch the opening
night of Constantinople at the St. Lawrence Centre for
the Arts. (Again, Luminato). "A multimedia event
representing the artistic crossroads of East and
West, Christian and Muslim..."
You can't go wrong
picking any of them.
Jun. 8: a crowded stage of
local musicians for the CD Release of the Sultans of Swing
Jun. 12: the annual Global
Divas benefit (for St. Stephen's Community House).
Jun. 16: Tribute to the
late Handsome Ned at the Horseshoe
Jun. 14: CIUT-FM 20th
anniversary show at the Lula with Kobotown, Eccodek, and
Maracatu Nunca Antes. (Free)
Jul. 5-12: Small World
Music's Summerworld Festival.
The lineup has
been announced; details TBA.
And on and on. Check
http://to-music.ca/events.htm for more & for updates.
7. TRAVEL TO KENYA
Interested in travel to Kenya
early in 2008? Martha and Tony of Safari Village restaurant, are
making plans for a great trip, including accommodation with
local families, dancing, drumming and good times.
Click here for more info.
8. END NOTE
Many people lament the passing
of the art of the (record) album cover. It is not necessarily
always a bad thing.
http://www.stevecarter.com/albumcovers.htm
John Leeson
www.to-music.ca
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