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Congolese Rumba and Savannah Music Festival, Highlife, Brazilian Piano and New Releases

Monday, June 27

On the final Monday of every month, we present our award-winning monthly concert series showcasing top world music artists and groups. This month we head to the Savannah Music Festival, the prestigious and eclectic annual event that takes place each spring in Savannah, Georgia.

This time, in conjunction with the June feature, it’s the young Zimbabwean band Mokoomba. Along with musical influences from their home county, the award-winning group draws on Congolese Rumba, Afrobeat, reggae, and more for an infectious sound and a non-stop, high-energy concert performance.

Tuesday, June 28 

It’s highlife time this time in the Global Village! We’ll hear music from Ghanaian artists, including ‘The King of Highlife’ E.T. Mensah and the Highlife Stars, London-based Ghanaian bands Osibisa and Hi-Life International, and the ‘burgher-highlife’ of German-based Ghanian artist George Darko. Plus, highlife inspired jazz from Randy Weston, Pharoah Sanders and Marcus Miller, and early highlife from Afrobeat pioneer Fela.

Wednesday, June 29

This time in the Global Village, we feature Brazilian pianists. We’ll hear Antônio Carlos Jobim, Eliane Elias, Antonio Adolfo, Tania Maria, and Jovino Santos Neto. We’ll also get to some other Brazilian sounds from Stan Getz with João Gilberto and Aquarela with Oboman.

Thursday, June 30

Global Village wraps up the June Congolese Rumba feature with a celebration of Independence Day of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We’ll hear music from some of the many great artists and bands that have come from that country, including:

  • Soukous giants Franco and Tabu Ley Rochereau
  • The all-star lineups of the Four Stars and Kékélé
  • One of the great female stars of Congolese music M’Bilia Bel
  • The father of Congolese Rumba Wendo Kolosoy
  • Two contemporary bands that harken back to the classic Congolese rumba sound, Black Bazar and Mbongwana Star

Friday, July 1

It’s New Month/New Music time in the Global Village. Each month, Global Village devotes the entire show to the best of recently released and forthcoming world music albums. Among the highlights this time:

  • New sounds from Mali, including Oumou Sangaré, Vieux Farka Touré and Black Mango
  • Afro-Brazilian music from Dende & Band and Maga Bo
  • Afro-Colombia band Rebolu
  • The Trinidad and Caribbean-inspired music of Kobo Town
  • Cuban-Jamaican mashups from Havana Meets Kingston
  • And reggae veteran Clinton Fearon
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Chris Heim produces and hosts Global Village, a nationally and internationally distributed world music show; the nightly jazz show Night Train, and Crossroads, KMUW’s twice-weekly blues and R&B show. Chris is also a critic and freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Utne, Global Rhythm, Dirty Linen, and Option, among others.