Monday February 18
Global Village celebrates Gambian Independence Day with rarely heard music and musicians from that small West African country. Highlights include popular early post-Independence bands like the Super Eagles, acclaimed pioneering ‘roots’ band Ifang Bondi, U.S. based Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso (with the groundbreaking Mandingo Griot Society), Gambian griot and bluesman Juldah Camara with Justin Adams, and Gambian kora player Dembo Konte with Kausu Kuyateh & the Jali Roll Orchestra (featuring members of 3 Mustaphas 3).
Tuesday February 19
Global Village heads to Sweden for music from Garmarna, Den Fule, Groupa, and Lena Willemark with Ale Moller. We’ll also hear English folk great Bert Jansch, Italy’s Officina Zoe, and the African-Scandinavian band Monoswezi.
Wednesday February 20
Global Village marks birthdays of indigenous artist Buffy Sainte-Marie and Buena Vista Social Club member Ibrahim Ferrer. We also remember Kenyan artist Ayub Ogada and Malian singer Sali Sidibe, who both passed away recently. Also music from the Grammy-winning Anniversary album from the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and more harp music for the February feature, this time from Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda.
Thursday February 21
A number of birthdays marked in this edition of Global Village including the great Nina Simone, roots artist Rhiannon Giddens (with former Carolina Chocolate Drops partner Leyla McCalla), Ranking Roger (with the English Beat), Jerry Harrison (solo and with the Talking Heads), and also Corey Harris (including a song he did with Malian legend Ali Farka Toure). Plus more harps for the February feature, this time from the acclaimed Welsh mother-daughter fiddle and harp duo of Delyth & Angharad and also early music from the Chieftains with harpist Derek Bell. We’ll also hear the latest from Benin International Musical and Scottish band Breabach.
Friday February 22
In conjunction with the February Harp feature, Global Village features a related instrument, the West African kora. We’ll hear music from the first full album of kora music recorded in the early ‘70s, and a tribute to it recorded some three decades later by the sons of those musicians and two of the premier kora players of today – Toumani Diabate and Ballake Sissoko. (Sissoko is the featured artist for this month’s Global Village at the Savannah Music Festival program later this month.) We’ll also hear the kora in some different settings: with the jazz group the Kora Band, with classical harp (from one of several critically acclaimed albums from Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita), and with contemporary classical ensemble, the Kronos Quartet (we’ll also get to some music from the Landfall album Kronos did with Laurie Anderson which just won a Grammy – along with new music from Italy’s Bandadriatica and from the new Rough Guide to Scottish Folk).
