“Zone Franche, a network of 200 world music professionals from all sectors has issued a press release in support of influential world music showcase Babel Med Music 2018:
Zone Franche strongly opposes the iniquitous and brutal decision of the Regional Council of PACA forcing the Latinissimo association to cancel Babel Med Music 2018, the only French trade show of international stature devoted to World Music, which has been on the agenda of all professionals worldwide for thirteen years.
We ask that the grant allowing the staging of this show be reinstated as soon as possible so that Babel Med Music, an essential link in bringing together labels, festivals, producers, artists, programmers, can continue to find in Marseilles and the PACA Region a professional market recognized worldwide. By canceling Babel Med Music a few weeks before its start (15 to 17 March 2018), the Regional Council is showing political lightness and economic blindness as to the consequences of its action, besides the fact that the disappearance of Babel Med Music would allow supporters of cultural uniformity and the multinationals’ hold on music in France, to applaud this unprecedented reduction in cultural diversity in our country, to the detriment of our territories, our cultures and our populations.
Zone Franche invites all the artists and professionals of the sector to a massive mobilization, at the BIS of Nantes on January 17th and 18th. A petition to support cultural diversity and Babel Med Music is online. Thank you for signing and relaying it to as many people as possible. We will not let World Music die in silence.”
Petition link: www.change.org
Author: Wojciech Rubis
Wojciech Rubiś is a jazz musician with an inclination towards world music, fusion, Latin, ethnic music. He’s active mainly in the music scene as a sideman, arranger and conductor. In this role, he has appeared in various jazz and popular music bands in Poland and abroad.
He worked for cruise marine (including Royal Caribbean), theaters and television French and Japanese, including Canal +, La Cinquième, Planète + and artistic Muzzik (now Mezzo), MTV Japan.
Wojciech has collaborated with many distinguished musicians, among others: Niño Josele, David Chesky, Kurt Elling, Michael Parkinson, Marisa dos Reis Nunes, Bebo Valdés, Javier Limón, Gary Witner, Jarosław Śmietana, Paweł Kaczmarczyk, Grzegorz Motyka, Ryszard Krawczuk, Michał Barański, Michał Knapik.
He has considerable experience in teaching and music education, lecturer at many individual workshops of jazz and classical music organized by instituions such as Webster University Department of Music (St. Louis), Musicians Institute of Contemporary Music, the Guitar Institute of Technology, Los Angeles.
