NEWS & UPCOMING TOURS
Voices of Afghanistan
Voices of Afghanistan has been busy in the studio this past year recording a historic new album set to release in September 2013 or sooner. And working on a collaboration recording with Legendary DJ Cheb i Sabbah due out soon.. on Six Degrees Records. And preparing and rehearsing for their new 2013 -2014 National and International Tour.
After a unbelievably successful 2012 year of touring including performing and receiving a standing ovation from 27,000 fans at the Syracuse Carrier Dome for the One World Concert featuring the Tibetan Spiritual Leader the Dalia Lama along with a host of other Celebrities including Dave Mathews, Andy Grammar and more… They performed for thousands through New England, Texas, New York and California.
UPCOMING SHOWS
April 05-8, 2013
East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Concert/Work Shop/Residency
MORE SHOWS TO BE ANNOUCED KEEP UP WITH VOICES ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR MORE FAN NEWS 
“Afghani Diva Offers Little-Known Delights”
For a country in which the U.S. has spent over $500 billion waging war, for over a decade, Afghanistan’s people and culture are little known by Americans. But then, how much did we ever know about Iraq?
So you probably didn’t know that Ustad Farida Mahwash, arguably the world’s most famous singer of Afghani music, is living and working in nearby Fremont, and that that East Bay city is now home to tens of thousands of her countrymen, to whom she is a precious connection to musical memories of their troubled homeland. Recordings of this music are few and hard to find. But, thanks to Cal Performances, you’ll be able to witness Mahwash’s powerful and affecting performance for yourself on June 2, accompanied by the virtuosic Sakhi Ensemble at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond.
Click here to read the rest of this review by the San Francisco Classical Voice
Afghan Culture in Little Kabul
Musician Homayoun Sakhi is world-renowned for his mastery of the rubab, a double-chambered lute with origins that can be traced back 2,000 years. His repertoire spans classical Afghan folk music, with lyrics derived from the poetry of Rumi, to his own contemporary fusion compositions. Sakhi also leads “Voices of Afghanistan,” a touring and recording group of Afghan musicians and singers who perform traditional folk songs representing the diverse regions of their homeland. Taking center stage with the ensemble is Afghan diva Ustad Farida Mahwash, one of very few women to achieve the title of “Ustad,” considered a master of music in the Afghan community.
Alphonso Johnson
Follow Alphonso Johnson on Facebook
Currently working on his new album and getting ready for his world wide tour in Summer of 2013. He will also be performing on select Symphony dates in Southern California including;
Saturday, February 23rd, 2013 at 7:30 PM
San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven Violin Concerto & Pastoral
James Domine, Music Director
Nancy Roth, Violinist , Alphonso Johnson, Contra Bass
Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre (Classical)
Sullivan: Overture to Pirates of Penzance
Beethoven: Symphony #6 in F major (Pastoral)
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major
A great success for Alphonso Johnson and Warwick Bass at this year’s NAMM Convention. Thousands turned out to meet with him including several Celebrity friends who turned out to say hi.
Alphonso will once again participate in this year’s WARWICK BASS CAMP CLINIC 2013
September 02-7th, 2013
Warwick will again host a Bass Camp in the coming year, in cooperation with Guitar & Bass magazine. After the huge success of the first edition of this event in 2012, Bass Camp 2013 promises to offer world-renowned artist Alphonso Johnson and others, a variety of workshops, and a lot to experience and learn for bassists of every age and level.
The Warwick Bass Camp 2013 will take place from the 2nd to the 7th of September at Warwick & Framus headquarters in Markneukirchen, Germany. After arriving on the first day, the second Warwick Bass Camp will begin with a group dinner. During the following days there will be workshops hosted by our top-class artist-teachers for all bass players – whether beginner or long-term professional musician.
On Saturday, 7th September 2013 they will have a final concert where the students of the Bass Camp, as well as several other bands, will provide the musical background. Join Alphonso in Germany for this very special retreat. For more information about Warwick, go to www.warwick.de
TEAL-ONE97
On Tour 2013-2014
April 01-3, 2013 – Fine Arts Center University of Mass Amherst
Concert: Wednesday, April 3rd @ 7:30pm
Concert at Bowker Auditorium
Pre-Concert Talk: Ticket holders are invited to a pre-performance talk by Banning Eyre at 6:45 p.m. in Bowker Auditorium. Banning Eyre is the Senior Editor at Afropop.org and a commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, as well as author and guitarist.
https://fac.umass.edu/Online/ANAMP
Latest News
TEAL-ONE97 (The eclectic Ambassadors of Love, One World) recently performed before 27,000 people at the Syracuse Carrier Dome for the One World Concert honoring Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama along with a host of other celebrities performers who performed that day including Dave Mathews, David Crosby, A Rahman, Voices of Afghanistan and more all calling for finding a better Common Ground of understanding -calling for Love & Peace. TEAL-ONE97 along with Don Was and his Allstar band performed the song New Day on the Horizon written and produced by Dawn Elder. They also performed an acoustic version before 5000 world leaders at Syracuse University and the Dalia Lama the day before at the Common Ground Peace Conference.
The group is currently working on new songs and material for their new album set to release in 2014. They are touring and collaborating with a host of new artists as they bring together their vision and sound. Stay tuned for exciting news over the next few months.
Souad Massi
We are pleased to be the exclusive representation of Souad Massi for the Americas and Middle East – Souad Massi will be touring the Americas and Middle East -2013-2014
We are thrilled to report how successful Algerian Folk Singer Souad Massi’s 2012 return to North America tour has been so far this summer. Her concerts reached hundreds of thousands of thrilled fans over the two weeks, through her live performances and media appearances. It was an amazing tour, and we are already busy putting together the next dates for United States, Canada & the Middle East 2012-2013 check back for cities and dates. Souad is also in London this weekend performing during the Olympics.
Click here to view all Souad Massi upcoming events
Here are some links to her interviews, and NPR Tiny Desk performance from this past tour
Souad Massi: Carrying The Sound Of Algeria On Her Back
Algerian singer and guitarist Souad Massi paid a visit to the U.S. recently, touring to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Algeria’s independence. While in D.C., she stopped by NPR’s headquarters to play a Tiny Desk Concert.
Souad Massi: Tiny Desk Concert
A soulful yet steely singer-songwriter from Algeria charts her own course, from withstanding death threats in her native country to selling hundreds of thousands of records around the globe. Watch her perform four songs in the NPR Music offices.
Performing in a mix of North African Arabic, Berber and French, Massi has carved out a life for herself as just such a storyteller. Her unflinching, deeply intimate songs — paired with her beautiful, cool light-beam of a voice — belie the struggles she’s endured to make her own stories heard.
You don’t have to be Algerian to like Souad Massi. But there were plenty of Algerian Canadians dancing and waving the flag on the Place des Festivals when the 39-year-old, Paris-based singer-songwriter performed Wednesday night on the TD Stage.
Montreal International Jazz Festival: Our music writers look back at their favourites
Souad Massi (TD Stage, Place des Festivals, July 4): The beautiful Algerian songstress radiated warmth and infectious joy to thousands in two nighttime outdoor sets. Crystal-clear acoustics highlighted Massi’s lilting Arabic voice and the crack musicianship of her four bandmates.
Souad Massi Interview with Nadia Bilbassy – MBC
An exclusive interview with Algerian singer Souad Massi
National Geographic: North Of The Border: Dispatches From The Montreal International Jazz Festival
Last week Nat Geo Music sent correspondent Ron Deutsch to cover the 33rd edition of the annual Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. This week he’s filing his dispatches from the festival – a series of interviews with some of the international artists who graced the event’s many stages. Today he checks in with Algerian singer/songwriter Souad Massi, currently on tour in North America.
Souad Massi Interview with Afropop Worldwide
Algerian singer-songwriter Souad Massi has charted a singular course through Arab popular music and, since she moved to Paris in 1999, world music. A poet, a thinker, a sometimes rocker with a taste for classical music, Andalusian history, and African pop, she has recorded five remarkable albums that incorporate a vast array of musical styles and thematic moods. Massi’s fluid, silky voice is by turns caressing and gusty, and she is always reaching out in new directions for musical and lyrical inspiration. As Massi prepares for her first North American tour since 2004—including Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on June 30, and Celebrate Brooklyn in New York on July 7—Afropop’s Banning Eyre reached her by phone in Paris. Here’s their conversation
MC RAI
MC Rai Fall tour updates
September 2012
September 21st – Legion Arts Landfall Festival Cedar Rapids, Iowa
September 22nd @ 07:00pm – Lotus Festival Bloomington, Indiana
Homayoun Sakhi
Improvisations: Raga in Afghanistan and North India Musical cousins from Afghanistan to India Homayun Sakhi, Afghan rubâb; Ken Zuckerman, sarod; Salar Nader, tabla. Master performers virtuosically reunite two historically kindred stringed instruments through the common language of raga and tala
September 21, 2012
Kimmel Center presents
Can You Hear God Crying?
by Hannibal Lokumbe
World Premiere
Presented in Association with Art Sanctuary
Verizon Hall
7: 30pm
Buy tickets!
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Dirk Brossé, conductor
Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church Mass Choir
Music Liberation Orchestra
Janice Chandler, soprano
Homayun Sakhi, rubab
http://www.kimmelcenter.org/events/index.php?id=4100
Riffat Sultana
Touring 2012 – 2013
We are excited to announce Riffat Sultana just completed her latest song recording and duet with Iranian Pop/Rock Star Mansour a new duet – watch for the Song Release and New Music Video to be unveiled summer… 2012 “Oh Mehbooba / Main Kaa Karun Raam (Medley)“
DJ Cheb i Sabbah is currently working on his new compilation album set to release in first quarter 2013. Click here for updates
Also check 2011 release on http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/riffatsultana5 and on the latest song on the Benefit album for DJ Cheb i Sabbah
CHEB I SABBAH
We are thrilled announce a very special upcoming show with DJ Cheb i Sabbah and look for more cities and dates coming to a city near you… On tour 2012-2013
DJ Cheb i Sabbah is currently working on his new compilation album set to release in first quarter 2013. Click here for updates
CHEB I SABBAH – SAMAYA – Benefit Album
Of Samaya’s two discs, the first jumps with more dance beats, while the second turns inward with more reflective tempos and tones. The contributors include all of Sabbah’s regular collaborators and favorite performers over the years, such as Bill Laswell, Karsh Kale, Transglobal Underground and tabla master Zakir Hussain. Sabbah himself offers one original track and some sinuous remixes. He always includes a surprise you think can’t possibly work, but it does.
Of course, Samaya easily clears the basic hurdle of a benefit album – it’s a compelling journey all the way through, and the good cause it aids is a bonus. But delicate moments on the second disc, many based on Indian forms, do indeed touch on mortality and the transcendence of spirit. Though spoken passages are often a liability, the prayer-like lines in “The Lonely Chamber” remain a comfort through repeated listenings. And the uplifting cuts are full of sweet reassurance, none more so than Jai Uttal’s “Maha Maya,” which does hit that elusive goal of dreamy ecstasy.
Sometimes global-culture advocates get carried away into fancies of universal harmonies, or at least understanding through music. Cheb i Sabbah has never quite suggested that. He delivers a much more certain and earthy message: All peoples have music from the spirit, and through music all peoples can communicate. What you make of the conversation is up to you, but Cheb i Sabbah makes sure you know the path is there. His life demonstrates it.
Paying Tribute To San Francisco DJ Cheb I Sabbah – NPR.org
Jody Sperling & Time Lapse Dance Company
Dawn Elder Management is proud to welcome Jody Sperling and the Time Lapse Dance Company as one of our newest artists – Look for upcoming tour dates, residencies, and the locations/Cities and dates of their latest production clients & Booking.
May 10-13, 2012
Joyce SoHo, New York, NY
Jody Sperling /Time Lapse Dance company presents the Loie Fuller Celebration-
To celebrate the 150th birthday of modern-dance pioneer Loie Fuller (1862-1928), Time Lapse Dance presents a season honoring her legacy at Joyce SoHo, May 10-13, 2012. In tribute, Artistic Director Jody Sperling — internationally-recognized as the foremost interpreter of Fuller’s genre — offers a range of works varying in approach from reverential to experimental. The program features revivals of Roman Sketches (2007) and Turbulence (2011) as well as the premiere of a new biographical theater work for the first time in the US. In conjunction with the season performances, the company will also present a lecture considering Fuller’s life and art in relation to contempoary cultural movements in dance, the visual arts and cinema.
Simon Shaheen
Touring 2011, 2012 & 2013
Berklee College of Music announces new professorship and studies program by Dr. Simon Shaheen- “I teach violin, cello, and mandolin. And soon, hopefully we are going to incorporate some Middle Eastern instruments, like the oud, the qanun.
“What I’m bringing to Berklee is my experience as a Western classical musician, Arab traditional musician, and this eclectic fusion of music from around the world, which I grew up with. I speak five languages because I grew up with it; it’s not like I learned in later stages. So it’s part of me. Berklee is the place where I can bring all this experience, because the idea is not to create compartments of music, but to open the walls and let all these experiences seep into each other.
CONCERTS
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Abduction from the Seraglio (Overture)
Simon Shaheen: Oud Concerto in C Minor
William Levi Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony
Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor
Friday, April 19, 2013 @ 7:30PM – Harris Theater , Chicago, IL 60601
Saturday, April 20, 2013 @ 8:00PM – Wentz Concert Hall
SIMON SHAEEN – Ud Concerto from Dawn Elder.
Touring 2012-2013 Middle East, North Africa and Europe
The Bassam Saba Ensemble & NY Arab Orchestra
Check back for details.
Enzo Avitabile & Bottari
On Tour 2012-2013. Check back for dates in North America.
News Updates:
Jonathan Demme Directing Documentary On Italian Jazz & Fusion Musician Enzo Avitabile set to release later this year. Enzo Avitabile is the Soul & Spirit of Southern Italy – the keeper of the music.
For Jonathan Demme, who has vacillated between feature films and documentaries for his entire career, music has played a vital part of his non-fiction works. Having directed films/concert movies for Neil Young and the Talking Heads, music videos for Bruce Springsteen and The Pretenders and more, Demme’s personal playlists have been as vital as any screenplay that he’s written. And while we’re still no closer to a feature film followup to “Rachel Getting Married,” the director is once again following his musical muse.
You may not have heard of Enzo Avitabile, but thanks to Demme, now you are. The world music and fusion jazz musician has worked steadily, building his name for years, gigging for folks like James Brown and Tina Turner, and in 2005, earning a nomination for an Audience Award in the BBC Awards For World Music in 2006, a nod for his album Salvamm’ o munno followed. Well, Variety reports that Demme has taken a shine to his work and is now filming a documentary on the artist. But Songlines Magazine (who also took the image above) have already been on set, and have further details on the project.
“I was driving home one night and John Schaefer’s programme ‘New Sounds’ came on and I remember his voice saying ‘Tonight we’re featuring new sounds from Naples, Italy’ and I didn’t think much of it,” Demme explains about how he first heard Avitabile. “But then suddenly one of Enzo’s pieces with Bottari comes on and I was looking at the George Washington bridge and it was a life changing moment.”
When Demme was next in Naples he requested a meeting with the musician and the rest, as they say, is history. Filming has already started on the project which includes a recording session with a plethora of world music stars including Toumani Diabaté from Mali, Daby Touré from Mauritania, Eliades Ochoa from The Buena Vista Social Club, Palestinian singer Amal Murkus, Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, Iranian sitar player Hossein Alizadeh and Spanish guitarist Gerardo Nunez.. Filming has been taking place in some fabulous locations including the Salone Margherita and Cimitero delle Fontanelle, where vicitims of the plague in the 1600s were buried, and which inspired a song and lyrics by Avitabile.
No word yet on when this project might see the light of day, or even how it will be structured, but Demme remains optimistic. “Until we edit I don’t know how it will begin or end, but I’ve made a lot of documentaries and I know if the characters are strong and the terrain is rich then something terrific will happen. I love that,” Demme told Songlines. We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes and ears open.
AMINA
Touring 2012-2013
New album release in 2013
Videos of AMINA:
http://vodpod.com/watch/15416892-amina-annabi-hymne-national-tunisien
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ysOkiS3_tU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jUvV0lKtIQ
Dawn Elder set to speak at Second Forum on Festivals in the Arab Countries
Celebrating Manama the Arab Capital of Culture in 2012
The Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Bahrain
in coordination with
The Arab Administrative Development Organization-ARADO
LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES
The Second Forum on Festivals in the Arab Countries is the only state-level Arab Festival event hosted in the Arab region. With a galaxy of experts in various fields and masters of great wisdom, this Festival Forum is another highlight of the festivals in the Arab countries. In its second version, this festival forum is organized by the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in coordination with the Arab Administrative Development Organization, to celebrate Manama Capital of Arab Culture for the year 2012. This forum is committing itself to both innovation and originality as successfully held in its first version in Beirut in December 2009.
Over two days, a bunch of festival presidents, organizers, managers, and art directors will gather to exchange information and expertise about different issues of festivals exploring the way to improve and upgrade the levels of festivals in the Arab countries.
This forum will highlight the latest thinking and festival business insights in addition to reviewing the key achievements and challenges facing festivals nowadays with more emphasis on Cultural Economics and Social Media for Festivals. In view of this, we sincerely invite you to attend this 2012 Forum of Festivals in Manama on March 1st & 2nd.
Forum Languages
Arabic and English are the accredited languages for the forum with simultaneous interpretation from Arabic to English and vice versa.
Participating Countries
|
Kingdom of Bahrain |
Lebanon |
Egypt |
|
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
Palestine |
Qatar |
|
United Arab Emirates |
Libya |
Kuwait |
|
Tunisia |
Mauritania |
Algiers |
|
Morocco |
The Sudan |
Germany |
|
Syria |
Oman |
France |
|
Jordan |
Iraq |
Spain |
|
England |
Turkey |
We believe that the 2nd Festival Forum is not only a gathering for festival organizers, artists, even governmental officials, enterprisers, and celebrities, but will become one of important means for intercultural communication as well.
http://www.manamaculture2012.bh/en/forum/Speakers/
Remembering the Legendary Mohammed Wardi
“We are so deeply saddened by recent passing of Mohammed Wardi, and so honored to have had the opportunity to work with him. His presence, music and talent was bigger than life and impacted so many….. His music will be in all our hearts and memories forever. RIP ! Sending prayers to all his family and friends in Sudan and throughout the world.”
One of my most fond memories, was during our final mix sessions together when we were playing back the final mix of “Altair Almajir” (Migrating Birds), Almajir” a signature piece originally out in 1963. The track, shifting in emotional color and emphasis, articulates the poignant reality of an artist forced out of his beloved country, yearning to return. With more than a bit of self-revelation, Wardi sings the poetic lyrics of Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, and the room went silent with all the musicians and friends in shedding tears of both Joy to hear such a beautiful voice, and tears of sadness understanding the words so well. — Dawn Elder
A foreigner
A loner in his own foreign-nest
At a loss, he wipes a tear
He’s sad, struggling to diminish his anguish
He only wants to be home
The yearning has taken so long, the emotion is now unbearable
He could not but sing…
Read more about Mohammad Wardi
Afropop.com Coverage: http://blog.afropop.org/2012/02/mohamed-wardi-dies-in-khartoum.html
QUINCY JONES
Global Gumbo Group Productions in Association with Dawn Elder World Entertainment present,
QUINCY JONES (www.quincyjones.com)
&
The Global Gumbo All Stars
Featuring Special Guests.
Richard Bona, Paulinho Da Costa, Lionel Loueke,Francisco Mela, Alfredo Rodriguez, Bassam Saba, Greg Phillinganes
Sample Song – Quincy Jones- new album Q -Soul Bossa Nostra “Tomorrow”
Special Guest Appearances By Multi Grammy Award Winners & Vocal Sensations:
Patti Austin
Siedah Garrett
Gregg Phillinganes
Naturally 7
Riffat Sultana
And the Arab world’s most Celebrated composer and singer
Kadim Al Sahir
May 25th. 2011
Mawazine Festival
Rabat Morocco
http://www.festivalmawazine.ma/en/artists-2011/quincy-jones.html
America’s most legendary producer, Quincy Jones, now 78, has been a real presence at this 8-day festival in Rabat, Morocco. I’ve seen him take the microphone on various stages, in press conferences, and in a brief one-on-one interview, and he never fails to point out that Morocco has been on his radar screen since 1953 when he first visited as a trumpeter in Lionel Hampton’s band. Jones also never failed to speak a little Arabic to the crowds he addressed. Where other international stars came and went during the cultural hurricane that is Mawazine, Jones set up camp and stayed from start to finish, becoming a friendly and benevolent presence wherever he turned up.
Jones and his entourage stayed long in Rabat to work on a new project, a re-make of his Grammy-winning 1989 song “Tomorrow,” with Arabic lyrics and a host of Arabic singing stars, including Kadim Al Sahir of Iraq and Majda Roumi of Lebanon. This song, intended to be something like an Arabic “We Are the World” for the Arab Spring, will be released this summer. (Stay tuned.) But on Wednesday, May 25, Jones also presented a remarkable, 2-hour long concert at the largest festival stage, OLM Souissi. Despite a light rain–unusual for this time of year–another enormous crowd gathered. They could hardly have known what to expect, but remained rapt and rowdy until the end. Jones acted as MC for a remarkable musical journey, which began with a complex and subtle Arabic orchestration of a composition by Lebanese maestro Bassam Saba, continued with Pakistani Sufi songs sung by Riffat Sultana, and wound up with soul diva Siedah Garrett regaling the crowd with 2 Michael Jackson hits she co-authored, notably the timeless “Man in the Mirror,” which got an extended and ecstatic treatment.
Backing up most of these performances was Jones’s incomparable Global Gumbo All Stars, a powerhouse multi-national ensemble including, among others, Lionel Loueke on guitar, Richard Bona on bass, Paulino Da Costa on percussion, Greg Phillenganes on keyboards, and on piano, a young Cuban artist named Alfredo Rodriguez–a man Jones described as a “genius” and “the hardest working musician I have ever met.” The unusual Arabic-Pakistani opening to this wide ranging concert was the inspiration of one of the show’s behind-the-scenes producers, Dawn Elder, who brought Saba and Sultana into the mix, providing the Eastern flavors in the Global Gumbo.
Read more about this show’s review
On tour in the Middle East and North Africa check back for tour dates in 2011 -2012
MORY KANTE
Touring 2012-2013.
Cheng Lin
On Tour in the Middle East, China and India this Summer.
World tour planned for Fall and Winter – 2012-2013.
New album due out this fall
Check back for details.
MAGIDA EL ROUMI
On tour 2012-2013. Check back for dates.
HAKIM
On tour soon on the heels of the release of his new album check back for more updates
Flying Machines
Now Touring. Check www.flyingmachinesmusic.com.
Kadim Al Sahir
Check back for North American tour dates.
Assala
In tour in the Middle East. Check back for updates.
Citizens of the World
Touring 2012.