Peyote Awakening
Cheevers Toppah and Kevin Yazzie Awakening of Life (Canyon Records CR-6458, 2009) Native American performers Cheevers Toppah and Kevin Yazzie continue their mesmerizing explorations of…
Haitian Stars at Kreyolfest 2009 in New York
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,…
Free World music Concerts at Detroit’s 2009 Concert of Colors
The 2009 Concert of Colors – metro Detroit’s beloved free diversity-themed music festival – will present rising and established acts, bring back past favorites, and…
Olatunji’s Lasting Legacy
Babatunde Olatunji Olatunji! Drums of Passion: Legacy Edition (Columbia/Legacy, 2009) Celebrating the Nigerian drummer and percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, Columbia/Legacy has released the two-CD set Olatunji!…
Chicago Afrobeat Project Adds Dates to 2009 Summer Tour
Winner of the "Best African Artist" award in the 2009 Chicago Music Awards, Chicago Afrobeat Project adds new dates to its 2009 Summer Tour which…
A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada Coconut Rock (ESL Music ESL151, 2009) This second collaboration between multi-instrumentalists and modern-day musical Renaissance Men Martin Perna and…
Ali Akbar Khan’s 80th Birthday Concert
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…
Influential Sarod Maestro Ali Akbar Khan Dies at 88
One of the masters of Hindustani classical music, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, died June 18 in San Anselmo (California) of a kidney ailment. The sarod…
Reggae Star Beres Hammond Will Tour North America in 2009
Jamaican musical legend Beres Hammond performed to sold-out venues less than a year ago. From July 1 to August 30th, he will make his second…
Petition Against ‘Visa Discrimination’ in Europe after Zimbabwean Group Was Forced to Cancel Their Tour
Freemuse reported this week that a petition was started ‘against European Union (EU) visa discrimination of musicians’ after a forced cancellation of the European tour…