Parallels in the development of Jazz and Ghanaian Brass Band music – a lecture of John Collins

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It is fascinating to see musical changes in society. Sometimes these changes are linked to sociopolitical or economical motivations. Sometimes a culture tries to superimpose other cultures. Or sometimes music from other cultures is just a source of inspiration. It is never a one-way track, but rather back and forth, upside down, and inside out. In this article John Collins is going to enlighten us about the roots and the routes of African rhythms. This is a transcription (edited by Collins) of the lecture held at the World Blend on June 28, 2013, during the Jazz Days in Rotterdam. This World Blend carried the smart title: Bye Jazz, Hello World.
Mind you, this is a long read with lots of pictures and music.

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Cuban band leader suspended

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The government of Cuba organized an event to mark the 15th anniversary of the arrest in the United States of the Cuban Five at the Tribuna Anti-imperalista on the 12th of September. The popular Funk/Timba band Interactivo was invited as the closing act. It is a huge stage, opposite of the Special Interest Section, an official American building, and among thousands of people, the family members of the five imprisoned Cubans were present. Frontman, Roberto Carcassés took this opportunity to criticize the Cuban authorities. Now it seems that he and Interactivo are suspended to perform at any state facility in Cuba, which practically means that they are “separated from the industry” for an indefinite time period (Havana Times).

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Salif Keita pressured to cancel Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival

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An open letter addressed to the Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival, the Hadassah Hospital and the fans of Salif Keita is circulating on Facebook. The famous Afropop singer-songwriter from Mali cancelled just a few hours before his departure for Jerusalem Festival due to threats by BDS. On the official fan page of the festival you can see the different reactions. News and Noise! had been talking to festival organizer Dubi Lenz about his view on such boycotts. We also interviewed Yvonne Kahan who is the manager of some Israelian artists. Both concluded that boycotting is not the answer. In this post you can read the open letter coming from the managers of Salif Keita.

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“Open up your mind” – an interview with Dorsaf Hamdani

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‘Stemmerett og stemmeprakt!’ celebrates 100 years anniversary of women’s right to vote in Norway. To draw a line to the present, an encounter has been organized between the well-known Norwegian singers Berit Opheim and Unni Boksasp, together with prominent vocalists from countries of the “Arab spring”, Dorsaf Hamdani from Tunisia and Waed Bouhassoun from Syria. Norwegian folk and Arabic art music alternate and mingle. The performance with support from Fritt Ord took place at the Førde Festival, July this year. A few days before the concert there was a debate about the situation for female artists in countries in the “Arab spring”, with Samara Sallam, Dorsaf Hamdani and Fawzia Baba-Aissa. In the previous post you can find the interview with Samara Sallam. After the concert we asked Dorsaf Hamdani about the project and her work. This (short) interview is held in English.

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Russian oil industry new target Pussy Riot

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Two members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot are serving a two years sentence, but it doesn’t stop the band to keep on criticizing Putin. On the contrary, they just released a new video “Like a red prison” with the Russian Oil Industry as a new target. In the video they dance on an oil pipe and throw oil at a picture of Igor Sechin, chairman of state oil giant Rosneft.  Putin is compared to an Iranian ayatollah and the Roman Catholic church to the United Arab Emirates.

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