Doctor Mulatu, I presume

Update (April 1) Watch “Mulatau Astatke and the African Jazz Village“, his project to foster jazz in Africa. In the “long overdue” category, news has come out that the “Father of Ethio Jazz”, Mulatu Astatke will receive an honourary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College. Other recipients will be Allison Krauss and The Eagles (I will not try to picture The Eagles on a par with Mulatu. Perhaps they should get an honourary Bachelor’s degree). Congratulations to a true master. Two portraits of the Doctor from his 2008 appearance with the Either Orchestra at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre: my photo, … Continue reading

Twitter odds & ends

Some odds & ends,I’ve tweeted or re-tweeted recently….  I’m at @TOMusicPix nprmusicnprmusic    Happy 75th Birthday, Buddy Holly. Hear the story of one of his biggest hits, “Peggy Sue.” http://n.pr/n6OX2D   myworldmusicMyWorldMusicFriends CD Review: Rwanda’s Mighty Popo: Mighty Popo  Gakondo Borealis Records read more http://bit.ly/qsDJHG   » FelaMusicalFELA! on Broadway    An early feature of Fela! on NPR — includes a dance number from the show! http://fb.me/103gqEhkg » SmallWorldNotesSmall World Music    Announcing The 10th Annual Small World Music Festival! http://conta.cc/oMXpTY » ARCMusicProdARC Music    The Queen of Fado – Amália Rodrigues – NEW ALBUM BY ARC MUSIC http://arcmusic.co.uk/shop/thequeenoffadoamaacuteliarodrigues-p-992.html   » … Continue reading

East Africa Relief concert: Aug. 25, Lula Lounge

Batuki Music Society invites you to ‘Msaada’, the East Africa Relief concert to benefit the Médicins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders Horn of Africa Crisis campaign taking place at the Lula Lounge on Thursday August 25th at 8 pm. ‘Msaada’ means help in the Kiswahili language, widely spoken in East Africa. The concert features a lineup of some of Toronto’s popular African artists:  Henok Abebe, Kooshin, Girma Woldemichael, Gezahegn Mamo, Faduma Nakruma, Daniel Nebiat, Donne Roberts, Kwame Stephens, Kemer Yousef, Njacko Backo and Val, Sonia Aimy, Ijovudu Dance, Hussein Adani, Yared Tesfaye, DJ Apollo and more. Many of the musicians performing … Continue reading

WOMEX Award to the creator of “Ethiopiques”

WOMEX (the World Music Expo), which organizes and hosts the largest annual world music conference each fall today announced that the 2011 Professional Excellence Award has been given to Francis Falceto, the originator and curator of the great Ethiopiques CD series and “the music of Ethiopia’s greatest champion”. Some excerpts from the press release: Falceto has single-handedly brought Ethiopian music to the forefront of world music consciousness. In addition to the CD series that now numbers 27 volumes, he has organized concerts and tours, an annual festival in Addis Ababa, published the book “Abyssinie Swing”, created a documentary film of … Continue reading