World Music

May is “Canary” month – the month in which The WholeNote publishes its annual Choral Directory – so I thought it fitting to first mention what some of the choirs are doing with world music. Echo Women’s Choir (directed by Becca Whitla and Alan Gasser) celebrates spring, freedom and the outdoors with “Throw the Window Open,” May 16 at Church of the Holy Trinity. Among others works, the programme will include songs from South Africa and the Republic of Georgia sung in the original languages, as well as Holly Near’s Hay una mujer, which commemorates women who were “disappeared” during the Chilean junta of the 1970s. Toronto’s Afrocentric choir, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, performs May 26 and 29 at the Glenn Gould Studio. “And Still We Sing...Steel Singin,” features the new steel pan ensemble Legacy Groove Pan. The programme will showcase Trinidadian Calypso rhythms, West Indian folk music, works by David Rudder, and more.

The Toronto Jewish Folk Choir presents its 84th spring concert at Walter Hall, May 30. The concert which celebrates the memory of Emil Gartner, the choir’s longest serving conductor, will feature his daughter, Toronto Symphony cellist Esther Gartner, in Srul Glick’s Yiddish Suite No. 1, composed to poems by Yiddish-Canadian poets. She’ll also premiere a new work by Raymond Luedeke, commissioned for this concert, as well as perform in Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes with a chamber ensemble. The programme also features classical works, as well as songs in Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish.

As much a world-music concert as an early music one, “Lutefest” closes the Toronto Consort’s season with performances on May 7 and 8. I won’t go into detail here as it’s the topic of our cover story, but I couldn’t leave it out entirely. The programme features three instruments that are essentially cousins: the Middle Eastern oud, played by Bassam Bishara; the western lute (whose name is derived from the French “l’oud”), played by the Toronto Consort’s Terry McKenna; and the Chinese pipa, played by Wen Zhao. Do read the cover story for more!

Presented by Small World Music, the Gundecha Brothers present an evening of Indian Dhrupad music. Dhrupad is a slow, meditative, deeply spiritual ancient vocal music tradition, and Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are, like the Dagar brothers before them, two of India’s leading artists in this style of music, performing both at home and internationally. You can hear them at The Yoga Sanctuary (2 College St.) on May 7.

Toronto’s Lula Lounge is a well known hotbed of musical activity, and this month they present “Lulaworld 2010,” a festival of world music running May 5 to 30. This concert series presents both Canadian and international artists, representing a truly global array of musical identities, with a special focus this year on Latin America. The festival opens with Latin jazz ensemble Bomba with bassist Fito Garcia and vocalist Marlin Ramazzini. There are too many artists to list here, so please visit Lula’s website at www.lulalounge.ca.

Here are some highlights of “Lulaworld 2010.” Afrolatino Dance Company and Roberto Linares Brown present a Cuban Cabaret, “I am Cuba,” with show-girls, a Cuban orchestra and dance lesssons, May 8. Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa perform Ugandan roots music and original compostions, May 13. Colombia Mon Amor with Orquesta Fantasia present Colombian music, featuring a salsa ensemble with dance lessons by Bailaboogaloo, May 15. Son Jarocho with Cafe con Pan and Yohualichan offer an evening of Mexican music in honour of the bicentennial of Mexican independence, May 16. (This is preceded the afternoon before with a film screening of Los Soneros del Tesechoacan, followed by a dance and music workshop.) Mondo Uke features world music for the ukulele, with a bossa nova workshop for uke players followed by a concert of global ukulele music, May 17. Viva Celia presents a tribute to Celia Cruz, “Queen of Salsa,” featuring vocalists Patricia Cano, Alberto Alberto and Luis Mario Ochoa, May 22. And there’s a whole lot more!

Caribbean/Latin Jazz ensemble CaneFire launches its second CD, Pandemonium, May 19 at the Glenn Gould Studio. This Toronto group has been around for the past five years, and has won praise in Trinidad and Tobago after appearing in festivals there. I’ve had a listen to some of the album, and can testify that this is top-notch, polished performing of instrumental and vocal jazz, with the virtuoso steel-pan playing of Mark Mosca as one of the many highlights. Headed by pianist and composer Jeremy Ledbetter, the band features well-known guest musicians David Rudder and Hermeto Pascoal, as well as Alexis Baró (trumpet), Braxton Hicks (saxophones), Yoser Rodriguez (bass), Alberto Suárez (percussion) and Chendy León (drums). This promises to be a lively evening!

Opening May 19 and running to the 23rd, Seventh Stage Theatre presents 9 Parts of Desire by Heather Raffo. The play presents a portrait of nine Iraqi women, “a timely meditation on the ancient, the modern and the feminine in a country overshadowed by war.” The production features an all-star cast including someone who neeeds no introduction here, Arabic singer Maryem Hassan Tollar, who wrote the music for the production as well as acting in it.

Here’s some news about world renowed mrdangam player and and professor of south Indian music at York University Trichy Sankaran: “I wanted to let you know that my father is releasing a book, The Art of Konnakkol (Solkattu – Spoken rythms of south India),” writes his daughter Suba, of Autorickshaw fame. “It’s a groundbreaking work and educational manual, including accompanying CD”. Both father and daughter, members of Autorickshaw and other special guests celebrate with a free concert at the Music Gallery, May 27. The book will be available at a reduced price, this time only!

And heading to the traditions of North India, the Toronto Tabla Ensemble performs at Harbourfront’s Enwave Theatre, May 28 and 29. They join forces with two dance companies, Chhandam and Lavish. For more info, visit www.tablaensemble.com.

Coming up in June is another Small World Music presentation, in partnership with Roy Thomson Hall, Persian vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian performs with Shahnaz Ensemble, June 6. One of the most well known artists of Iranian classical music, Shajarian has had a career spanning over 40 years, both at home and internationally. He’ll be accompanied by an ensemble of 15 instrumentalists.

Karen Ages can be reached at worldmusic@thewholenote.com

This month opens with the lively sounds of Klezmer music. April 1, the University of Toronto Klezmer Ensemble presents “Klezmer Trajectories: Old World Jewish Fusion meets New World Surprises!”, as part of the noon-hour free concert series at the Canadian Opera Company’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. These concerts are always well attended, so it’s advisable to arrive early to get a good seat. There will be more Klezmer later in the month – Off Centre Music Salon presents “Klezmer...on the Roof!”, April 11 at the Glenn Gould Studio, featuring mezzo Annamaria Popescu, accordion virtuoso Joseph Macerollo and the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band.

Roy Thomson Hall presents a concert of Indian vocal music, April 3. Born in 1933, the legendary Asha Bhosle is best known as a singer for numerous Bollywood films, and is said to have recorded over 12,000 songs in her 65-year career. In addition to film music, she sings ghazals (poetic songs), bhajans (Hindu devotional songs) and folk songs, as well as traditional Indian classical music. More vocal music follows on April 6, this time from Senegal. Baaba Maal mixes the tradition of griot songs with rock, reggae and Afro-Cuban music. He’ll be performing with his nine-member band at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall.

Dubbed “Queen of the Toronto Cajun scene,” vocalist and fiddler Soozi Schlanger has been branching out on her own lately. Known primarily as the driving force in the band Swamperella (where, in addition to singing and fiddling, I’ve also witnessed her play a mean washboard!), this Canadian powerhouse of art and music first learned Cajun music at Ashokan, a fiddle camp in upstate New York. Out of that experience Swamperella was born, and the band has performed extensively, their dedication to authenticity garnering comments such as, “Now where all in Looziana y’all from?” Recently, she’s been going solo with “Soozimusic,” developing a repertoire of her own songs. Along with musicians Emilyn Stam and Victor Bateman, she’ll be performing at Slacks (562 Church St.) on April 4, the Tranzac Club on April 25 and the Moonshine Cafe in Oakville on May 2. You can check her out at www.myspace.com/soozischlanger.

Recently back from performing at the Olympic Games, Juno award-winning Cuban musician Alex Cuba has a busy touring schedule this month. In Ontario, he’ll be performing at London’s Aeolian Hall on April 6, the Brock Centre for the Arts in St. Catharines on April 7, Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre on April 9, the Mod Club in Toronto on April 10 and the Neat School Stage in Burnstown (an hour northwest of Ottawa) on the 11th. After several performances in Quebec later in the month, he’ll be heading to Europe in May. His newest CD will be released on June 8.

On April 24, the Music Gallery presents two artists visiting from Berlin: Amelia Cuni and Werner Durand in “Ancient Trends & New Traditions in Indo-European Music.” Cuni is a vocalist trained in the traditions of Indian classical music, while Durand is a multi instrumentalist who also explores digital sound. Together they blend the old and the new, ranging from traditional music to microtonality. The concert is preceded on April 23 by an artist talk featuring Amelia Cuni, who shares experiences of her 30-year journey between European and Indian cultures. Visit www.musicgallery.org for more details.

Also on April 24, Music on the Donway presents “Journey to Andalusia,” a blend of Jewish, jazz, Indian and Arabic music featuring Toronto’s own Jaffa Road, headed by lead vocalist Aviva Chernick. Jaffa Road will also perform at Hugh’s Room on April 25, where they’ll be joined by Iraqi-Israeli oud/violin master Yair Dalal. This is one of Toronto’s most exciting up-and-coming fusion bands – not to be misssed!

Karen Ages can be reached at worldmusic@thewholenote.com.