I knew I couldn't be the only person doing video journalism in world music. Sure enough, meet Toni Polo, founding member of the Groovalizacion collective, and co-director of the webradio www.groovalizacion.com who is also a filmmaker. He recently contacted me about a series of short portraits he is doing of artists in Bamako, and I found them to be charming and informative. Most of the pieces will need subtitling, but he sent me a few that already had English subitiles, so here is an engaging look at a duo from Italy and Cape Verde who seem to read each other's minds.

Duonde, músicas populares de Brasil a Cabo Verde from Toni Polo on Vimeo.

About Groovalizacion radio:
24h Internet radio about multicultural vibes, peripheral music, suburban grooves, nomadic sounds, tribal and regional blends... These are the soundtrack of migrations and cultural fusions, the voices of ethnic groups which animate our cities. Music is a white flag brandished at racial tensions, insufferable religious or economic wars and the closure of borders....Groovalizacion breaks the digital frontiers and brings people together: artistes, listeners, displaced citizens. Also with podcasts, videos, agenda and articles in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese.

I got the chance to catch Cape Verdean diva Lura performing at the party for her latest CD "Eclipse." She gave a terrific show -- a kind of survey of the many kinds of song and dance rhythms from the island. I wish I could have gotten better footage (had to use the awful "zoom" on the Flip) but I think you'll get the idea. She's a great dancer and her singing, which was uniformly excellent, communicated her love of the Cape Verdean heritage. The band was as solid as it gets, and played a wonderful lilting version of "Mascadjon" from the new CD.  We end with a snippet of the very sexy "Vazulina."  Enjoy.