A few random musical notes

• Khaira Arby: The singer from Mali made her first North American tour last fall. Here in Toronto, she sang at the Ashkenaz Festival over Labour Day weekend as a guest with the New York group Sway Machine (and also earlier that day live on air at CIUT FM).  I was impressed enough with her that I went to Montreal later that month to see her with her own band at the Club Balletou.

  

  A great performer (live and on her CD, Timbuktu Tarab), she’s now on her third trip to North America, but sadly, nobody has brought her with her band to Toronto. She would have been fabulous at Afrofest.

  Read a recent article about her here.  Her MySpace page (with audio) is here

  Photo taken at that Montreal show, Sep. 30, 2010

   

• Bombino: Further to my recent post about his great July 12 show at the Lula, check out this story in the Los Angeles Times. (and my 2 videos from the Lula on www.videos.to-music.ca)

• Toumani Diabaté interviewed by Riz Khan on Al Jazeera English posted on YouTube
   
• Caribana: The story & pictures of the first Caribana in 1967 from The Torontoist

• Koerner Hall: 12 new concerts went on sale last week including Richard Thompson (in September), Maple Blues Awards and a pairing of Susanna Baca and Lila Downs. Details here
   
• Video (from NOW) of Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 at last week’s Hillside Festival