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New York ablaze with world music at the ninth annual globalFEST 2012

Diogo Nagueira’ sensual Brazilian samba

World music was ablaze once again at the ninth annual globalFEST 2012. The sold out event at New York City’s Webster Hall showcased 12 musical acts from 5 continents on 3 stages.

From early evening till past the wee hours of midnight, music fans shuffling up and down the stairs of the famous and majestic Queen Anne styled nightclub, from the cozier studio rooms to its art deco-styled ball room. Some sang along to the lyrics of their favorite musicians in diverse languages, while others swayed, bopped or danced frenziedly all night long.

From SMOD’s Malian roots rap to Diogo Nagueira’ sensual Brazilian samba; to Canzionere Grecanino Salentino’s 21st-century Italian tarantella; to The Gloaming’s Irish fiddle music; to M.A.K.U.’s Colombian Afro-beat rock grooves, there was a little of planet Earth's music for everyone to take home.

 globalFEST coincides with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ annual convention at New York’s Hilton Hotel where musicians and artists agencies convene to network. The aims of globalFEST founders since its post 9/11 creations, remains bringing world music to all audiences in the US despite prohibitive costs and political instabilities.

For some musicians it was their debut in the US. SMOD, 3 Malian folk rappers, energized the crowd as they afro-rapped against corruption and poverty. High jumping on stage in Olympian feats, the group was led by Samou Bagayoko, the son of famous Malian pop singers Amadou and Mariam. The Gloaming, an Irish with American Indie inspirations, blended fiddles, guitars, piano, and a Swedish hardangar fiddle, combining age-old harmonies with new tunes. Wang Li, a France-based Chinese jaw harp master-improviser created wild, deep meditative melodies, using his breath, tongue, and throat.

 Belo, a Haitian innovative singer and social activist based in France, mixed Creole with reggae and Afro-Caribbean beats. Cuban born Mayra Andrade from Cape Verde, illustrated her cosmopolitan roots in her sultry voice and her band’s jazz, samba and Cape Verdean funana. Among her fans’ cheers, she said, “We are always in such awe when we come to America, where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone live.”

 The traditional Canzionere Grecanino Salentino from Salerno, southern Italy’s hottest band tantalized the audience, revitalizing the ancient ritual pizzica tarantata. Its tambourine filled music and strong song ritual is meant to cure the deadly spider’s bite as Southern Italian beauties spun in frenzied trance dances. Debo Band, a Boston-based crew recreated the Golden Age of Ethiopian and East African funk and jazz of the 60s and 70s.

 There are no limits, as most artists were rewriting music history with original new sounds. The Silk Road Project Ensemble, an international collective of 15 virtuoso musicians from Japan to the Mediterranean, merged East and West, exploring the famous ancient trade routes. Originally founded by Yo-Yo Ma, musicians played string instruments, tablas, a Galician gaita (bagpipe) and a Chinese sheng (mouth organ).


 Opening the ballroom acts and setting the stage for a night of sweaty dancing, Yemen Blues with Yemeni-Israeli Ravid Kahalani’s electrifying voice and body moves set the night’s agenda. This global band oscillated from Mediterranean rock to Arab pop and rap, to North African trance music using the traditional oud, jazzy horns, flute solos and a multiple percussion set, including an instrument with dangling keys.

 “In addition to summer rock and folk music festivals, we’ve started to see an embracing of world music throughout the performing arts field, including more traditionally classical venues,” explains festival co-organizer Bill Bragin of Acidophilus: Live and Active Cultures. Accessibility has been at the heart of the festival’s mission since it was founded post-9/11, when dedicated global music presenters looked to restart the crucial stalled influx of international music. globalFEST remains committed to supporting exchange—both cultural and economic—and has emphasized artists of note from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and from Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Artists are spotlighted who globalFEST believes presenters will want to book, and will be successful in their venues bringing new audiences. With support from the Ford Foundation, the globalFEST Touring Fund is launching to support festival alums on U.S. tours, as well as creating a new program to reimburse festival performers for expenses related to their globalFEST appearances.

 By Dina Pinos – MercoPress - New York Correspondent