The Sharq Taronalari festival/competition takes place every two years in Samarkand and draws artists from all over the word with an obvious concentration on Central Asia. Personally I do not approve of musical "competitions" but that reservation can be overlooked given the spectacular setting of the Registan for the main venue, and the opportunity to experience the Uzbeki culture and people. This year saw Jivan Gasparyan the younger win the UNESCO prize there. He gave a wonderful performance for which the festive lights in the Registan were hushed to a dreamy ultramarine blue.

The name of Jivan Gasparyan (Sr.) has been synonymous with Armenian duduk for over 60 years. His exquisite tone, control and interpretations have garnered him countless accolades. Now in his eighties, he had the pleasure of being in the audience during his grandson's award-winning performance.

The duduk is a simple instrument; but deceptively so, in that it requires an embouchure (and diaphragm) of steel plus circular breathing to elicit its haunting, cool sound. The younger Jivan has all these attributes, as well as technical agility, as this piece demonstrates.

I was covering the festival, toting my trusty camcorder, and had the good fortune to arrange this spontaneous shoot with Gasparyan Jr. in a room just adjacent to the hotel kitchen. My thanks to his two stalwart accompanists, and to my various friends who guarded the doors and kept waiters and dishwashers at bay.

Gasparyan senior was there too, and at the very end of this video you can see Jivan Jr. slide his eyes sideways, to see if his grandfather approved of the performance.

He did.

For more of Michal's original music videos, visit inter-muse.com.

Maria Pomianowska Plays the Suka

I met Maria Pomianowska in Samarkand, where she attended the Sharq Taronalari festival as a guest speaker. But as you can see, this woman could well have been not only one of the musicians performing, but one of its finest. I heard her jamming out on the terrace of the Afrasiyob hotel, and immediately knew that I wanted to get her and that unusual instrument of hers alone for a solo videotaping. We found a room between the basement floor lobby and the kitchen that had decent acoustics and was reasonably quiet (considering its proximity to the kitchen). I just said "play" and off she went. The room was not that well lit, so please forgive the somewhat grainy image.

Maria's credentials are impressive. She graduated in cello at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. There she was granted a scholarship to learn the sarangi under the guidance of maestro Pandit Ram Narayan in India. From 1997-2002 she lived in Japan, and in 1999 she started composing cross cultural works which were commissioned by cellist Yo Yo Ma. In her continuing efforts to find connections between Asian music with her own cultural heritage, together with Dr. Ewa Dahlig and violin maker A. Kuczkowski she managed to successfully reconstruct a Suka from Bilgoraj, which is what you see and hear in this video.

There are many kinds of "fusions" happening in music these days. Maria seems to be her own personal reactor, following her love of western classical music to an equal devotion to Indian classical music, and then adding a dash of Polish gestalt to the mix.

Ms. Pomianawska teaches music and runs a festival of world music in Warsaw. For more information on this amazing woman and musician, click here.

For more of Michal's original music videos, visit inter-muse.com.

I just got back from covering the Sharq Taronalari festival in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.  That's where I met the Welsh group "Jadu" who were performing there. I had no idea what to expect when the group's music was first described to me, and admittedly I do have an initially suspicious response to musical hybrids. There are too many self-conscious ensembles cobbled together from different musical influences pushing themselves as credible fusions, (don't get me talking about the misappropriation of the term "gypsy" music!). At this point they must all prove themselves to me.

As it turns out, Jadu ("magic" in Hindi) is a band that has come together naturally and as a result the sound is completely cohesive. Pete Stacey on soprano sax and flute is a solid jazz musician who has studied the tonalities and rhythms of Indian music with the masters. Mumbai born Rajesh David  is a velvet voiced crooner whose renditions of the material give it much of its gravitas. Kelly Smith on tabla  Bryan Smith on tamboura are a son and father who have been playing -- and meditating -- together since 'way back.

Paul Uden on guitar rounds out the ensemble with sensitive rhythm and chords. His guitar work within this setting is completely about the instrument as a vehicle for the music, and it is a shame that the microphone on my camera did not pick up more of his sound... but that's as good a reason as any to check out the band’s latest LP "Aberaeron Sunset," where you can really hear his contribution.

There was no way I was going to pass up videotaping them in a perfect place like Samarkand; as a crossroads of religions and cultures it is an uncanny match for the music. When the opportunity presented itself to do a shoot in the gorgeous setting of the courtyard of Tamerlane’s Mausoleum, we jumped. It was a sunny, hot day and as we taped the band, a small group of folks gathered around and listened attentively. It was a magical session. But then again, "Jadu" means magic.

About the music: Kabir was a great mystic poet saint in India in the 15th century. Rajesh sings Kabir's words:
 'When the mind is immersed in the Divine, there are no words, only Silence. All saints and wise men say your God is within you, then why are you looking outwards?'

For more about JADU go to jadumusic.co.uk

For more of Michal's original music videos click here.

The Black Earth Boys are Justin Adams, Juldeh Camara and Ben Mandelson. The band is an aggregate of two others- with Adams as the link between. Justin and Juldeh -- now touring internationally under the name "JuJu" have recorded two CDs, "Soul Science" and "Tell No Lies."  Camara, who is from the Gambia, is a singer, instrument maker, and master of the ritti, a single stringed, violin-like instrument. Adams is well known for his long association with singer Robert Plant. His great strength is groove; no flashy mile-a-minute riffs, simply a guitar style that FEELS just right, and is an excellent partnering with Camara's flights of improvisation.

Ben Mandelson is not just a fine musician, he is a real life hero of world music. Back when I was first listening to recordings of what would eventually be called "world music" it was Ben's productions I often found myself checking out. Here we see him comfortably supplying tasty fills, textural motifs and rhythmic drive on mandolin. Adams, Mandelson and Lu Edmonds (unavailable for this performance) have their own ensemble "Les Triaboliques," a project that has them gleefully galloping through all the musical influences they have gathered in their past and present lives.

This performance, from Lincoln Center's Out of Doors series took place in Damrosch Park. The repertoire was primarily a melding of American folk and blues with Camara bringing the West African flavor. His ritti at times sounded like a fiddle, and eerily, at times like a harmonica. It was a surprisingly cohesive sound, reminding us once again of the debt that our music owes to African culture. While Adams' gritty voice sang a simpler, countrified interpretation of this Carter Family standby "Sow 'Em on the Mountain," Camara's vocal takes a soaring, melismatic approach. Great stuff.

For more of Michal's original music videos click here.

CD release parties abound here in New York, and my favorites are those for the self-released artist's efforts. Pistolera's latest CD, "El Desierto y la Ciudad" has been garnering praise from the press, and they are a busy and industrious band. I first encountered Pistolera years ago, through their righteous video "Cazador" about the contradictions in our immigration policies and attitudes, and so was intrigued to see and hear their latest sounds. The party was at the East Village club Drom; throw into the pot the most excellent local band Nation Beat as an opener, and I was definitely going to attend!

Pistolera's leader and main composer Sandra Velasquez has created a melange culled from her musical memories growing up in San Diego and her singer-songwriter sensibilities. So although the lyrics are in Spanish, and there is an accordion in there, these are not corridos, and the accordion is not diatonic, nor is it playing conjunto riffs. It's very much it's own animal, and I like that it does not fit easily into categories.

Velasquez's' lyrics are full of positive energy; they speak of empowerment and life spirit. Such a song is "Vieja" presented here as they performed it at Drom (apologies for the room's boomy sound). It's a cumbia, (the propulsive Colombian beat that is wildly popular in Mexico) and it is simply about living life to the fullest. Here is the translation:

One day I will be an old woman. I will have few years to live.
My skin will have more wrinkles. My hair will have more gray.
But I will be able to say that I lived.
One day I will be an old woman. There will be few years left for me to live.
My children will have grown. The house will be empty.
But I will be able to say that I lived.
Look how time passes. Look at everything you've done.
I have a long list of things I still want to do.
I want to take advantage and enjoy all of life until the very end.

The high octane evening featured Sandra Velasquez on vocals and guitar, Maria Elena on accordion, Sean Dixon (sitting in for Inca B. Satz) on bass, Sebastian Guerrero on drums, and the formidable Mark Tewarson on lead guitar.

The song "Vieja" is from their previous CD,"En Este Camino" which can be purchased or listened to here.

For their latest CD, "El Desierto y la Ciudad" click here.

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