2. UPCOMING EVENTS
As always, check www.to-music.ca/events.htm for details and more information on these and many other events.

a) Some shows to take note of in the next week or two:

• Dobet G’nahore: Sun. Apr. 19 at the Lula (photo)
  The Ivory Coast singer was one of the biggest hits of last summer’s Afrofest, tearing up the stage, and impressing a lot of folks. See her up close this Sunday. You can see a video of her from London’s Sunfest last July here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjCTJSEaHzg
   

• Carmen Souza: Apr. 22 at the Lula
  The Portuguese/Cape Verdean singer was last in town at the 2006 Afrofest.
   

• Mary Gauthier & Eliza Gilkyson: Apr. 22 & 23 at Hugh’s Room
  A great Americana double-bill for two nights. Check the event page for more info & video clips.
   

• Other shows at Hugh’s room include:
   - Apr. 26: A benefit for the Eaglewood Folk Festival
   - Apr. 27: Tom Paxton
   - Apr. 29: Jeff Bien CD release with guests bassist George Koller, percussionist Rick Lazar, vocalist Rebecca Campbell, tabla player Ravi Naimpally, oud/guitar player John Gzowski, violinist Anne Lindsay, saxaphonist Richard Underhill, and percussionist/bassist Kobèna Aquaa Harrison
  - May 6: Michelle Shocked brings her gospel sounds
   

• May 1: Afrafronto at the Gladstone Melody Bar
  The free Batuki/Gladstone World event features Ghanaian Palm Wine music from Theo Yaw Boyake and others from the African Guitar Summit
   

• Plus: Small World Music’s South Asian Music Series continues; Ndidi Onukwulu is back in town (Apr. 24 at the Rivoli);  the Lula as always features great Latin music each weekend; and Bulgarian duo Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov at The Opera House (Apr. 25),

b) Festival Time
As the snow melts, the music festivals thrive. Check the event page for:

• Lulaworld, May 6-22: Toronto’s most eclectic club festival will be highlighted this year by the guest appearance of the Congolese-Cuban star Ricardo Lemvo playing with SalsAfrica. NOTE: Tune in to Laura Fernandez's "Café Latino" show on JAZZ FM, 91.1 Saturday, April 18, 4pm for some musical highlights from Lulaworld artists
   

• Luminato Festival, June: some musical highlights – mostly free – are listed
   

• Toronto Jazz Festival lineups announced
   

• Harbourfront’s Summer Routes: theme weekends are listed
   

• Others: links to numerous in-town and nearby music festivals, many of whom haven’t yet announced performers

3. PAST SHOWS:
a) Bela Fleck’s “Africa Project” in Nashville
Photo, right: Toumani Diabaté from Nashville concert

Last weekend, I saw what will likely be one of my top concerts of the year:  The extremely eclectic American banjoist Bela Fleck performing with Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté, Madagascar’s finger-style guitar great D’Gary, singer and anti-apartheid activist Vusi Mahlasela, along with Tanzanian mbira (“thumb piano”) player Anania Ngoglia.

If the stunning lineup wasn’t enough, the show was held in the beautiful and historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The building is best known as the former home of the Grand Ole Opry, but was originally built in the 1890’s as a gospel tabernacle. (And seating is still via the original curved wooden pews), it’s an acoustically excellent and atmospherically rich location to watch music. Add a large, and highly enthusiastic crowd, and the setting was appropriate to the stunning display of musical talent and energy on stage.

The concert and mini-tour was a follow-up to Fleck’s 2005 trip to four African countries (Tanzania, Uganda, Gambia and Mali) where he met and recorded with a variety of well-known (eg Oumou Sangare, Djelimady Tounkara, etc.) and little-known musicians. The tour was captured in a fascinating documentary, Throw Down Your Heart (the phrase was allegedly used by East African slaves as they were about to be taken from the coast, and realized they would never again see their homes). He has also just released an excellent CD of the same name featuring recordings made on that trip, along with a couple of others recorded in the U.S. Highly recommended.

Links:
Recently Banning Eyre, of Afropop Worldwide wrote an excellent account of some earlier shows on that tour. My photos of the show are here; some further notes on the concert, and related CD & documentary are here. (Includes video links of some of the performers, plus notes on some upcoming Béla shows with Toumani Diabaté, Oumou Sangaré and Zakir Hussain.

b) Sayon Camara in Toronto

I should mention another excellent show I attended recently: Guinean singer Sayon Camara. The show was a surprise to me… While I was at Fojeba’s CD release at the Tranzac last month, I heard she was doing a late show that night, for the Guinean community at the Steelworkers’ Hall on Cecil St., and since I was tired and had an early morning commitment, decided to drop by just for a brief time.  I didn’t know her, but on first hearing her voice – outside on the street – I knew this might be a remarkable show.

It was indeed. She has a powerful voice, and while her “backing band” was half karaoke machine, the live members (including two excellent guitarists), made one forget the pre-recorded part. I certainly stayed well past my intended time. My photos are here, and a music video of her can be seen here.

Also photos of the jam-packed Habib Koité show at the Revival on Mar. 26 are posted

4. "RECORD STORE DAY": April 18:

Saturday will be the third annual day to celebrate independently-owned record stores. The official website is http://recordstoreday.com/ (although I found it very slow to navigate). Check a local perspective from Torontoist which mentions events happening at a number of locations.

Or just head out to Soundscapes, Sunrise, or any other good independent shop. Those are the places with real commitments to real music. Some time ago, I began to add links to Amazon for CD's related to items posted on my website. It was a natural fit, to make note of relevant and recommended recordings, and I could even make a few dollars through click-throughs. However, it wasn't long before I realized that for someone who has always tried to support small, independent businesses, Amazon -- useful as it can be in some circumstances -- was the antithesis of the music retailer I wanted to support. Every dollar going there was a dollar not going to those businesses whose hearts and commitments are what keep great music going in Toronto and elsewhere, and so I de-Amazon'd my site.

So, I encourage people to go out tomorrow (or any day) and support great stores like Soundscapes on College. Need shopping ideas? Check any of my "Best of the year" pages, which list award winners, and best of the year picks, both mine and from other websites and publications. A couple of other, more recent picks:

• Béla Fleck (etc): Throw Down Your Heart (above)
   

• Mulatu Astatke: the "father of Ethio-Jazz" has released his first new CD in 20 years, Inspiration Information, made with UK group The Heliocentrics, and it's had some great reviews in Europe. It's just been released in Canada; I plan to pick it up tomorrow -- at Soundscapes. Read an article and watch an interview with him here