This week, I went to hear a fine Korean singer named Jang sa-ik, started reviewing the series on Central Asian music that we will be bringing you soon, and revisited the music of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, from Morocco, because they are performing in New York City this weekend. In the case of both the Central Asian and Moroccan music, there is no western harmony to speak of, and although the music of Jang sa-ik had been orchestrated, his most powerful songs were those which were sung against a drone, and unconcerned with harmony. I'm a harmony freak, so it wasn't  "easy listening."  But here is what I have found: the first time I heard Central Asian music I was at a festival in Samarkand, and after listening to it performed for a while, the western music played afterward sounded rather saccharine.

Similarly, I once went to a demonstration of the oud. After hearing a number of intricate melodies played, one of the audience members asked if it were possible to play chords on the instrument. Sure, said the lecturer, and strummed a "c" chord. It sounded positively mundane. What had changed in the way I heard music in that short space of time?  Perhaps music, like food or wine has "acquired tastes" and we just have to keep listening until we start to enjoy it. These days, though, when we tend not to make that effort…how many wonderful flavors do we miss out on?

We’re showing some fascinating music documentaries this week, and all of them deal in some way with cross-cultural influences. “Gilles Apap: Renegade Fiddler” spotlights a brilliant but controversial classical violinist whose musical interests are too eclectic to be contained by the western written tradition alone. “The Pied Piper of Hutzovina” focuses on the meeting point between “traditional” Russian Gypsy music and Punk. “Fangafrika” takes us to a huge hip hop festival in Burkina Faso, where that quintessentially American synthesis (rap) is being synthesized yet again. “Guca” introduces us to the brass band repertoire of the Balkans, a joyous offspring of the Turkish Janissary bands that accompanied the Ottoman troops so many generations ago. And as if to bookend our survey, “Brasileirinho” is about choro music, the cross between the western classical tradition, African improvisation and rhythms, and the saudade of Portuguese folk music. While we are sometimes daunted by the monolithic and jaded pop music of our time, it is incredibly refreshing to dip into these hybrids, and to know that music itself is always capable of infinite combinations, and that musicians will ever remain open to that process.

If you love Afropop, and enjoy the Afropop Worldwide radio shows that have pioneered the dissemination of the music throughout the US, AND if you're in the NYC area (or will be), come to the world-famous Tavern On The Green for a truly classy 20th Anniversary Gala, in which Angelique Kidjo and Harry Belafonte will be inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame. Here at Link we just have to tip our hats to the Afropop team, both as fellow world music crusaders and as co-producers with us for the film "Festival in the Desert: the Tent Sessions". They've worked tirelessly to bring the music they love to an ever wider audience. They're ready to go just about anywhere on earth to learn about, to collect, to archive and to trumpet every manifestation of the African musical diaspora and they've been doing it for twenty wonderful years. To find out more, click on the button just to my right…up a bit--- there you go... And Bravo!

In my last note, I talked about making connections through research.  Today I'd like to talk about the connections that you make that you may not know about for years, if at all. I was lucky this week; I encountered two of them.
Connection #1: In a former life I was a CD producer, and I produced a boxed set of international accordion music called "Planet Squeezebox." It was a mammoth effort in a small amount of time, and I came away regretting that I had been unable to include, among other genres, Afghani accordion music. Fast forward 14 years and we acquire the wonderful vignette "Afghanistan: An Accordion Journey" from Greg Warner. And in contacting him, I discover that "Planet Squeezebox" was an important part of his own accordion odyssey.

Connection #2:  I tend to find myself in unusual places following music around, and about 5 years ago, I attended a music festival in Samarkand. There were over 50 performers, and several stood out for me, even if they did not play the most accessible music.  One was Salamat Sadikova from Kyrgyzstan, one was a young man from Tibet, and another was Aygun Baylar from Azerbaijan (more on her later, I hope). I managed to get video of the festival, and much to my joy, found their performances well captured. For these past years, I wondered about putting the Tibetan's lovely songs on the air. Then, a press release that was sent to me connected me to his photo, I recognized him, and yesterday, I met him, (his name is Techung) and he was able to tell me what the song was about. You can see it right now, as our video premiere.