Two of African's greatest performers are touring together in the UK this month, and some parts of one of their shows (with brief interviews) are available online via the BBC Radio 3 show "World Routes". The show will be online until March 21: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j4htn

Baaba Maal does some songs from his forthcoming CD... his first new studio recording in 7 years! It's a different sound from him. We can only hope with the new CD that he'll be here to help promote it. It's been five years since his last Toronto gig.

He does have a "limited release" CD available which assembles a number of acoustic live performances. It's also available to buy online at http://www.baabamaal.tv/ontheroad.html One song, "Koni", recorded with the great Jamaican guitarist, Ernest Ranglin is available as a free download.

More Baaba... two performance videos:
"African Woman" from the same concert as "Koni", and here a more intimate, acoustic Baaba Maal.

 

Mar. 20: Madagascar Slim, Kevin Breit & Sisters Euclid
Slim, member of both the Juno-winning African Guitar Summit and Tri-Continental, hasn't been making a lot of solo appearances locally in the last couple of years, so this is notable. Breit, when he's not playing regular gigs with the Sisters, has toured and recorded with a much-too-long list of heavyweights to list here.

Mar. 21: choose between Mavis Staples (with James Hunter), and the "Afrobeat Gala" at U of T with Katenen Dioubaté, Alpha Rhythm Roots and Jaivah (Nouvel Exposé).

Mar. 26: Habib Koité at the Revival
Don't miss this one if you're a West African music fan. A rare local show by the great Malian guitarist.

Mar. 27: Challenging choices... three notable shows:
Cameroonian singer-guitarist Fojeba holds his CD launch for A la Queue Leu Leu at the Tranzac. Over at the Lula, it's Brazilian night in their "Chamber at the Lula" series, featuring the Gryphon Trio, along with Jovina Santos Neto, Roberto Occhipinti, Phil Dwyer, and more. Finally, expect a dynamic show at the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre on St. Clair with Kálmá Balogh and his Gypsy Cimbalom Band.

Mar. 28, Apr. 4: Noah's Great Rainbow
A new musical play about the story of two genocide survivors: one elderly Jewish holocaust survivor, and the other a young Rwandan. Starring Don Francks and Mighty Popo. Music, (termed "Afro-Kezmer-Rap" by David Buchbinder, Waleed Abdulhamid and Mighty Popo. There are also 8 student performances.

Lots more in the next few weeks: ambitious and eclectic Music Gallery shows; Bajofondo brings hot modern tango to the Mod Club; Afrofest highlight Dobet G'nahore brings her high energy show to the Lula. Also monthly "Gladstone World" free concerts the first Friday of each month in the Melody Bar. Apr. 3: Beautiful Nubia.

 

The music program for the 2009 festival has been announced. While much media attention has focused on shows like the Neil Young Tribute, there are some terrific free shows, listed on my events page, including "Travelling Blues" featuring Taj Mahal, Mamadou Diabaté, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Kevin Breit, Harry Manx and others; a Slide Guitar event with Debashish Bhattacharya, The Campbell Brothers, Sonny Landreth, Don Rooke and others. Also a Serbian gypsy show, plus a Brazilian Guitar Marathon.

There's also an excellent ticketed event, "Three Girls and Their Buddy", featuring Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller.  Miller may not be widely known, but he has a superb musical reputation, both as a guitarist (with Emmylou Harris for several years, lead guitarist with the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss project), producer (Solomon Burke's great 2006 CD, Nashville), and as a performer, both solo and with his wife, Julie Miller.

In his March 16 review of the new Buddy & Julie CD, Written in Chalk, the Globe & Mail's Brad Wheeler wrote, "Of Stanley Kubrick, Jack Nicholson once said: 'Everyone pretty much acknowledges he's the man, and I still think that underrates him.' That came to mind when I heard that No Depression magazine had, a year ago, named Buddy Miller as its alternative-country artist of the decade."  He concludes the article by quoting Harris, “If you want to talk about how country music should be nowadays, it's Buddy Miller.” See No Depression's review here, which also features a video of Buddy talking about the CD.

Other than with the Plant/Krauss show, this will be Buddy's first show in Toronto since 2005. Tickets went on sale this week at Massey Hall, but most of the best seats aren't available for public sale (except via their FriendsFirst). If you're interested, I recommend checking this page on the Nonesuch Records' website where better seats are available.

As a Buddy Miller fan, I was sorry to hear that he underwent triple-bypass surgery last month, but indications are he'll be back on tour with the Three Girls in May.

Check the video page for some clips of Miller (and his unique guitar), Harris and Griffin.

 

I recommend trying to find 3MA by Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko (who played in town last month), Moroccon oud player Driss El Maloumi and Rajery from Madagascar on the valiha. Superb. Check Charlie Gillett's review in The Guardian, or watch them live here.

Banjo master Béla Fleck's collaboration with various African musicians, Throw Down Your Heart has just been released.

Some upcoming releases (besides the Baaba Maal CD noted above) are listed below. Some of these are now out in Europe, but not yet here.

Rave reviews everywhere it seems for Malian Oumou Sangare's Seya, her first CD in 6 years. A video clip here. 

But for a truly long wait, Mulatu Astake -- "the father of Ethio-jazz" -- is about to release his first in 20 years!... a collaboration with the Heliocentrics. Check this page for some information and a video interview with Mulatu, and watch him and the band perform live here.  Very nice to see him getting the recognition he deserves. He played Harbourfront last summer with the Either/Orchestra, but after receiving a standing ovation to start the show, he played about three of his songs, and was then relegated to a little-heard sideman in one corner of the stage.

Kassé Mady Diabaté, one of Africa's greatest voices, has a new release, Mandèn Dièli Kan, out in Europe.

The "Buena Vista Social Club" that was supposed to have been: Ry Cooder's original plan was to bring together some of the greatest Cuban and African musicians, notably guitar greats Eliades Ochoa and Djelimady Tounkara, plus ngoni master Ballaké Sissoko and others. Visa problems prevented the Africans from travelling to Cuba, but it sounds like the original plan is back on track, and we should be able to look forward to what I hope will be some great music.

Lhasa will be releasing her first CD in several years next month. http://lhasadesela.com/