World Music Central's TJ Nelson interviewed Senegalese music star Baaba Maal about his multi-lingual album titled “Television.”
 
 About the release of your latest CD Television, you say about television, "The television set is like a stranger you didn't ask for coming into your living room. You don't care about who he is: he just seems to come from nowhere and gives you information." Sometimes with little distinction made between reality and make-believe on television, do you think we should know who is giving information and what information would you want people to know about the messenger? Because a song is a uniquely singular message from the songwriter or musician to the listener, do you see television with its mass diffusion of messages, often ripe with corporate or commercial interests, a confusing or inelegant agent in people's lives as opposed to music?
 
 I did say that the television is an unwanted guest in your house! I think mostly we trust what is on TV, especially if you are seeing something live; it is just we have to be aware of the dialogue and that is what is liable to have a corporate, commercial or political bias. Television can however transform peoples lives, I know a lot of people all over Africa are addicted to European (particularly English) football and reality shows, but in Senegal we have had for years traditional Senegalese wrestling and since it has been televised recently the interest in it now is huge and the wrestlers have become stars and the matches take place in huge stadiums with singers and drummers and is a real spectacular African event.

The Cuban music compilation Si Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba, Vol. 2 was released recently on Waxing Deep Records. To find out more, World Music Central's Angel Romero interviewed Dan Zacks, the Canadian DJ and record producer behind the project.
 
 The first volume of the series featured well-known Cuban artists. This new volume includes musicians that are less familiar outside of Cuba. How did you find out about them?
 
Foremost, I spent a number of sweaty afternoons in Havana searching through people's record collections for albums I didn't recognize. This led to my discovery of the Cuban festival compilations from which several of the tracks on vol. 2 originate.
 
 One of the benefits of releasing a compilation of Cuban music is that collectors worldwide take it upon themselves to demonstrate how foolish you are for having omitted the great Cuban music they know about and you don't (but should). I learnt about a handful of great tracks this way, and I’m very grateful for people's willingness to share their secret records, even if I obviously don't believe in keeping music secret.

By Patricia Herlevi
 
 The question remains, will music transform the world and bring lasting peace? Grammy award-winning producer/recording engineer Mark Johnson’s and filmmaker Jonathan Walls’ “Playing For Change” has struck a major chord in thousands of viewers/listeners of YouTube, PBS and National Public Radio where various interviews, music videos and documentaries have broadcast. New Orleans street musician, Grandpa Elliott, (now a member of the Playing for Change band), and the late Californian street musician Roger Ridley have become household names for many. They have also become icons for taking music to the streets.
 
 Johnson, himself took his recording equipment to the street after he experienced an epiphany watching two monks busk in a New York City sidewalk which drew 200 people. Johnson teamed up with filmmaker Jonathan Walls and the two humanitarians began the documentary, “Playing for Change—Peace Through Music” by filming and recording, the late Ridley singing “Stand by Me” on a Santa Monica street corner.

One of the highlights of this year's Rainforest World Music Festival was the scorching performance by Moroccan Amazigh band Oudaden. World Music Central's Angel Romero had the opportunity to talk to the band's manager, Brahim El Mazned.

When was the group formed?

The group was formed on 1984 so this year it's 25 years old. They are now a famous Amazigh group in Morocco. Amazigh means Berber.

What is the situation of the Amazigh language and culture?

Now it's developed a lot and I think the Amazigh culture is one part of Morocco's identity so these ten last years it has developed better. So the situation is better than before. The current situation way is ok. Now we can study Berber at school. We can see more Berber broadcasts on TV and there is a new Berber TV coming in the future so I think it's OK. We haven't arrived but it's OK.

World Music Central's Angel Romero had the opportunity to briefly interview Danford Zawose of Tanzania's renowned Zawose Family, shortly after his press conference in July 2009 at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak (Malaysia).

What musical instruments does the band play?

The name of the instruments we have are the izeze, a small instrument with 3 strings. There is also an iseze 4 strings and then we have an izeze with 14 strings, that is the big izeze. And then we have the ilimba [thumb piano] and then the small chilimba [thumb piano], and then we have the ngomas and we have njuga [ankle bells].

Chilean vocalist Claudia Acuña has a new recording titled En Este Momento  (At This Moment) on Marsalis Music. The 10 song collection was produced by acclaimed saxophonist and label head Branford Marsalis. Acuña delivers her songs in both Spanish and English. She is a New York City resident since 1995 who remains committed to her Chilean heritage. "I've always dreamed of being a singer, and when I discovered jazz and the greatest jazz singers I could not believe the freedom they could find in every song," Acuña explains. "I love jazz's tradition, but I always promised myself hat my music would pay tribute to who I am, which is why all of my albums contain at least one song from South America."

En Este Momento shows Claudia Acuña collaborating with a stellar line-up of musicians who have formed a strong bond over the past decade, including Jason Lindner (piano) Juancho Herrera (guitar/mandolin), Omer Avital (bass), and Clarence Penn (drums, cajon, percussion). Additional guests Edgardo "Yayo" Serko (cajon, bombo leguero,  palmas) and Branford Marsalis (soprano saxophone) contribute extra spice to the mix to pay homage to her roots, Claudia chose several Spanish-language classics such as the hauntingly beautiful "La Mentira," written by Alvaro Carrillo Alarcon, and three songs by singer-songwriter Victor Jara.

I discovered the healing effects of Brazilian music, samba in particular back in the early 1990s when I began listening to Astrud Gilberto classics. Even though I was not aware of the healing elements of music, I noticed that my spirits lifted every time I listened to a "best of" recording by the Brazilian chanteuse.
 
 Years later I discovered Joyce, Monica Salmaso, Jovino Santos Neto and Virginia Rodrigues among other Brazilian artists. Again, I felt that spiritual lift even in times of great darkness and despair. I did not wish to dissect the music--equal parts polyrhythms hailing from Africa, soaring melodies from Europe, etc... Then shortly after that, Masaru Emoto provided us with a water crystal of a Brazilian samba and earlier still, Don Campbell mentioned in his text, The Mozart Effect that he found the samba most healing.

Samite will be appearing at 7:30 p.m., April 24 at McIntyre Hall, (Skagit Valley Community College campus), Mount Vernon, Washington. For more information on this concert go to http://www.mcintyrehall.org
 
 Other journalists besides me have felt the soothing lullabies of Ugandan multi-instrumentalist Samite Mulondo. The storyteller-musician-humanitarian takes his audiences on journeys to the African bush and also deep into the human heart. Listening to his recordings provide an intimate musical experience and seeing Samite in concert provides a different type of emotional experience that opens eyes, ears and hearts.
 
 I first came across Samite when I was seeking African recordings to review for my former website, Cranky Crow World Music. “Tunula Eno” landed in my mailbox and as I listened to a beautiful set of songs I traveled through a gamut of emotions, from sweet humor to grief (the CD was dedicated to his wife who died from brain cancer).

Coinciding with its 2009 North American tour, World Music Central's TJ Nelson interviewed Blue King Brown's frontwoman Natalie Pa'apa'a. Hailing from Australia, Blue King Brow has shared the stage with Damian Marley, Julian Marley, Santana, Michael Franti & John Butler, and has performed at International events such as Al Gore's historic Live Earth concert, Fuji Rock, Summer Sonic and Shambala Festivals. Blue King Brown continue to tour extensively in Australia, Japan and North America garnering fans by rocking festivals, clubs and dancefloors as an 8 piece powerhouse that is simply one of the best live acts to come out of Australia in a long time.
 
 Can you tell us a little about how the group Blue King Brown formed?
 
 Blue King Brown started off as the bass player and myself making music together as percussionists. We toured and performed in festivals and on the streets, which is where we learnt the fundamentals of being independent artists. We then moved to the cultural centre of Melbourne City to surround ourselves with it’s arts community and create a band that included a more traditional songwriter line up but that kept the raw and highly rhythmic elements of our percussive background.

In a few weeks, Lila Down's new CD, titled Shake Away / Ojos de culebra, will be released. The album honors the traditional shamans and medicine women and men who still play an important role in indigenous cultures. To find our more about the new recording and Lila's music, World Music Central's Angel Romero interviewed the eclectic and charismatic Mixtec singer.

You have a new album coming out at the end of the summer titled Shake Away. Tell us about the project and the songs included in the album.

The project consists mainly of original music and compositions that have to do with the themes of healing and social consciousness. Shake Away, Shake Away, All The Many Sorrows.