SeattleIndian.com and the Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley present the pioneer of Indian slide guitar Debashish Bhattacharya on September 29 – 30, 2009. Joining Debashish will be his brother Subhashis Bhattacharya on tabla. Show time Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6pm.

Last year Debashish Bhattacharya won the BBC Planet Award for World Music and this year, 2009, his album Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide-Guitar Odyssey is nominated for a Grammy in the traditional world music category. As a resident of Calcutta, Debashish’s music reflects the sights and sounds of this culturally vibrant city. The album Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey portrays the musical journey and autobiographical passages juxtaposed through a musical idiom that is refreshingly new and respectfully old. His latest album is O Shakuntala!.

¡Localquerque! will take place on September 20, 2009, 12pm - 8pm at The Pavilion at The New Mexico State Fair. ¡Localquerque! is a day of World Music from some of New Mexico's best internationally flavored music ensembles! 

After the ¡Localquerque! appetizer, ¡Globalquerque! will take place September 25 & 26 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ¡Globalquerque!  is New Mexico's 5th Annual Celebration of World Music & Culture. ¡Globalquerque!  includes 20 performances by 17 Acts from 5 Continents on 3 Stages over 2 Nights.

Lehera

Heartsky (independent release, 2009)

South Asia has always been a musical powerhouse, with rich classical and folk traditions. With so many excellent musicians around, it's hard to stand out. Lehera, however, has carved out a niche with its masterful mix of Indian classical ragas (also known as raags), contemporary acoustic, bluesy slide guitar and contained jazz improvisation. The project was put together by Bengali musician Prashant John, who met with two of India's most exciting young musicians, master Hindustani slide guitarist Prakash Sontakke, and virtuoso percussionist Karthik Mani.

On Heartsky, Lehera uses an innovative formula that brings together the fascinating Carnatic (southern Indian) konnakkol vocal style (which emulates percussion), with the western guitar, evocative Hindustani slide guitar and the fascinating ghatam (clay pot).

The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents premier banjo sensation Béla Fleck joined by one of the most important musicians in Africa, kora player, Toumani Diabaté for two nights and four shows. Set times Monday and Tuesday, August 10 - 11, 2009, are at 7:30pm & 9:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm. This is a pre-sale show, therefore a purchase is required by phone at the time the reservation is made.
 
 Eight-time Grammy Award winner Béla Fleck was fascinated with the banjo from an early age, but his teachers kept pushing him to play other instruments. Luckily, he kept up with the banjo — when he wasn’t being forced to sing tenor or play the French horn. This richly diverse background has earned him Grammy nominations in more different categories than anyone in Grammy history - including jazz, country, classical, pop, bluegrass, and spoken word. Through tenures with Newgrass Revival, The Flecktones, Strength in Numbers, and numerous ongoing collaborations, Béla has become one of the premiere banjo players in the world. The documentary "Throw Down Your Heart" followed Béla’s journey through Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali as he explored the African roots of the banjo.

The biggest names in Haitian music will appear in Kreyolfest 2009. The musical fare includes: CaRiMi, Djakout Mizik, Barikad Crew, Rockfam Lame A, Boukman Eksperyans, Kreyol La, Nu Look, Vwadezil, Model Kompa and Do-La. Kreyolfest, which is entering its 9th edition, is scheduled for Sunday, June 28, 2009 at Wingate Park in Brooklyn, New York.
 
 "We're tremendously satisfied with the line up," said Garry Pierre-Pierre, publisher of the Haitian Times, Kreyolfest organizer. "As always, its diversity will bring the youth, as well the mature together to celebrate their Haitian heritage."

by Jeff Kaliss (This article was originally published in 2000)

His 80th birthday is being feted tomorrow with a day-long tribute from teachers and students of his Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael. For 35 years, he’s shared with them the beauty and wisdom of North Indian classical music.

But octogenarian Ali Akbar Khan, the College’s founder, is a young and humble man by family standards. His father, Baba Allaudhin Khan, lived to the age of 110, after having learned thousands of centuries-old compositions called ragas, invented the first-ever notation system for the ragas, mastered a variety of Indian and Western instruments on which to play them, and served as guru and teacher to both Ali Akbar and Ravi Shankar, the pair most responsible for introducing his nation’s ancient music to the West. Madina Khan, Baba’s wife and Ali Akbar’s mother, survived to 105.

Los Angeles-based Cambodian-American rock band Dengue Fever have announced their first European tour dates of 2009, in support of their new documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong on DVD & CD soundtrack, to be released on 15 June. The tour kicks off at London’s Scala on June 18.
 
 Sleepwalking Through The Mekong follows Dengue Fever - Chhom Nimol (vocals), Ethan Holtzman (keyboards), Zac Holtzman (guitar), David Ralicke (horns), Senon Williams (bass) and Paul Smith (drums) - on their recent journey to Cambodia to perform 60s and 70s Cambodian rock in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed.

The Med Festival in Loulé (Portugal) returns from 24 to 28 June, 2009. For this year’s edition of the Med Festival, the organizers are once again investing in Latin talent. Following on from Ojos de Brujo, the first name to be announced on the playbill, a major Argentinean name in world music has confirmed its presence at the event: Bajofondo Tango Club.
 
 This is the 6th edition of the Med Festival, one of the most highly regarded world music festivals in Portugal, and it will once again be taking the historical city centre of Loulé by storm. From the 24th to the 28th of June, the city will be transformed into a stage for cultural manifestations and a fusion of cultures.
 

Six Degrees Records has announced the signing of Vieux Farka Touré, the fast rising Malian guitarist/singer/songwriter, and son of the legendary Ali Farka Touré. Vieux quickly stepped into the spotlight after the release of his self-titled debut album in 2006, which continues to receive press accolades worldwide.

His second solo album, 'Fondo', is due to be released in the UK on 18 May, just ahead of his date at the Jazz Cafe in London on 23 May.

Renowned world music magazine Songlines announced the winners of the 2009 awards. "After much debate and deliberation, the Songlines editorial team have selected these four winners," said a Songlines press release. "They include some of the foremost artists on the world music scene, alongside an up-and-coming name to watch and some invigorating collaborative sounds."

Malian Rokia Traoré wins the Best Artist category. Fellow Malians Amadou & Mariam are the winners of Best Group. In the Cross-Cultural Collaboration category, Jah Wobble & The Chinese Dub Orchestra are the winners. Lastly, the Newcomer award goers to Kiran Ahluwalia.