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Iyer-Mahanthappa Duo, Tricky Sankaran To Perform in Windy City

A P Kamath

From the road music made popular by the group Musafir to the sounds of Palestinian oud to the mbira ensemble from Zimbabwe, Windy City denizens are in for a New Age treat next month.

Qawwals from Pakistan, the underground bands from England, and the fusion musicians from India and America are featured in the Festival, billed as the first of its kind when its magnitude is taken into account.

With nearly three dozen bands and musical groups from more than 20 countries, including Romania, Brazil, and the United States, the World Music Festival more than lives up to its name.

Similar festivals held in such cities as New York, San Francisco and New Orleans draw thousands of spectators. Often they offer opportunities for untried singers and musicians who are booked for extended performances by American firms. The group Musafir received excellent notices when it performed in New York City recently, and efforts are being made to bring it to a bigger venue in the Big Apple later this year.

The 10-day festival, which opens on Sept. 21 and will perform at several venues in the city, is already setting records.

The Chicago Tribune calls it the first civic music bash negotiated almost entirely in cyberspace. Indeed, if it weren't for the uniquely global access that the Internet provides, the folks trying to make contact with attractions such as the Zimbabwe Leaders Mbira Ensemble and the Indian folk ensemble Musafir might never have succeeded in signing them, says the newspaper.

As one commentator pointed out that many folk musicians who practice ancient musical arts in some of the more remote places on earth could not have been contacted efficiently but for e-mail.

"Some of the groups we've literally never even talked to. All our communication with them has been via e-mail," says Michael Orlove, co-ordinator of the festival for the city's department of cultural affairs.

"Ten years ago, planning a festival like this would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible. Certainly it would have been hard to arrange for so many musicians to come here from so many different places."

Involved in producing the Festival in Chicago are the Old Town School of Folk Music, the City of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, HotHouse and Field Museum of Natural History.

It is not just the logistics of organizing the mammoth festival that was daunting to the organizers. They had to vouch to the consular officials in many countries that the rugged looking men and women were coming purely for a musical sojourn - and that they would not be potential immigrants.

The American trade unions had to be convinced too that the musicians and singers were not taking away jobs from their American counterparts. And, finally, the documents have to be sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service that could take anything between a month to 45 days before taking a decision.

Chicago being one of the most cosmopolitan cities in North America is a natural venue for a Festival of this nature. The city, once known for its Irish and Polish heritage, today has more than 150 ethnic groups who use nearly 100 languages. Its universities and colleges have students from more than 100 nations.

World Music Festival Schedule

September 21: Noon, Daley Center: San Jose Taiko, a traditional Japanese drumming ensemble based in the US.
12.30 pm., Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR-FM 89.3 of Zimbabwe Leaders Mbira Ensemble, a rarely heard group of mbira, or "thumb piano". Players organized by Northwestern University professor Paul Berliner.

5 pm, Field Museum: Musafir, an 11-member company documenting the folk arts of Rajasthan, Olodum, a 19-member, Afro-Brazilian ensemble that plays samba-reggae; and Zimbabwe Leaders Mbira Ensemble.

9 pm, HotHouse: Shooglenifty, a sextet from Scotland merging traditional Celtic music, hip-hop, funk and other genres.

September 22

Noon, Daley Center: Olodum.
12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR of Shooglenifty.
6 pm, Chicago SummerDance: Olodum.
6.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Frifot, a traditional Swedish folk trio.
7 pm, HotHouse: The avant garde New Horizons Ensemble, led by Chicagoan Ernest Dawkins, with the Zimbabwe Leaders.
8 pm, Museum of Contemporary Art: Musafir.
8.30 pm, Old Town School of Folk Music: Llan de Cubel, acoustic folk music from the northern coast of Spain, with Shooglenifty.

10 pm, The Note: Paris Combo, a quintet exploring elements of jazz, Latin and Gypsy music.

September 23

Noon to 5 pm, Welles Park: Native American Equinox Celebration with a variety of Native American dance, instrumental and vocal music.
12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR of Waldemar Bastos, a singer-songwriter who combines African, Brazilian and Portuguese influences.
5 pm to midnight, Old Town School of Folk Music: Native American Equinox Celebration.
6 pm, Chicago SummerDance: Paris Combo.
6.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Llan de Cubel.
7 pm, HotHouse: Waldemar Bastos.
9 pm, HotHouse: Frifot.

September 24
12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Live broadcast on WNUR of Transglobal Underground, London dance music combining deejay and live music.
6 pm, Chicago SummerDance: Yuri Yunakov Ensemble performs improvised, ethnic folk music from Bulgaria and Macedonia.
8 pm, Old Town School: Waldemar Bastos on a double bill with Chicago folk-jazz troubador Terry Callier.
8 pm, HotHouse: Hamid Drake-Michael Zerang Duo, Chicago percussionists.
9 pm, Park West: DJ Cheb I Sabbah and 1002 Nights, Fun da Mental and Transglobal Underground in a triple bill of rap and hip-hop offshoots.

10 pm, HotHouse: The Hamid Drake-Michael Zerang Duo shares a bill with Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca, an octet merging Afro-Cuban music with soukous music from Congo-Kinshasa.

September 25

Noon, Hothouse: Workshop with Ricardo Lemvo.
Noon, Harper Court: Alpha Yaya Diallo, a Guinean guitarist who mixes African and Western musical elements on acoustic and electric guitar, as well as other instruments.
1 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Royal Lao Orchestra, refugees from Laos who extend ancient classical music and dance rituals.
4.30 pm, Field Museum: Harvest Moon Celebration with Rhythm Revolution, a drum circle ensemble based in Chicago.
6 pm, Chicago SummerDance: Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca.
8 pm, Old Town School: Ne Kai Oxi and Pralas Rroms, Greek and Romanian folk music from two local ensembles rarely heard outside their communities.
8 pm, Museum of Contemporary Art: Rizwan-Muezam Qawwali Group (qawwali singers from Pakistan) and Fun da Mental.
8 pm, HotHouse: Trio Globo, a world-music chamber group including Chicago multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy.
10.30 pm, HotHouse: Alpha Yaya Diallo.
Midnight, The Note: Transglobal Underground.

September 26

1 pm, Field Museum: Family concert, to be announced.
2 pm, Chicago SummerDance: Alpha Yaya Diallo.

2 pm, Field Museum: Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, an ensemble featuring players from multiple ethnic traditions.
2.30 pm, 57th Street Children's Book Fair: Royal Lao Orchestra.
3 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Taipei Cheng Hsing Cheng Music Orchestra, Taiwanese orchestral repertoire.
7 pm, Old Town School: Muzsikas and Marta Sebestyen, Eastern European folk music.
7 pm, HotHouse: Iyer-Mahanthappa Duo with Tricky Sankaran. Indian classical music meets jazz.
7 pm, Museum of Contemporary Art: Sainkho Namtchylak Trio (Tuvan throat singing meets traditional Russian folk music) and the White Hole (a new ensemble created by Chicagoan Gene Coleman).
9.30 pm, HotHouse: Pierre Dorge's New Jungle Orchestra, a revered Danish band exploring avant garde jazz.

September 27

12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Live broadcast on WNUR of Muzsikas and Marta Sebestyen.
6 pm, Field Museum: Eric Bibb, an acoustic blues singer-songwriter, and the Zimbabwe Leaders Mbira Ensemble.
6.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Iyer-Mahanthappa Duo with guest Tricky Sankaran.
7 pm, HotHouse: Sainkho Namtchylak Trio.
9 pm, HotHouse: Marilyn Crispell, avant garde American pianist, and Lotte Anker, experimental saxophonist.

September 28

Noon, Daley Center: Pierre Dorge's New Jungle Orchestra.
12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Live broadcast on WNUR of Kayhan Kalhor, virtuoso of the kamancheh, a Persian spike violin; and Eric Bibb.
5 pm, Humboldt Park: Percussion workshop with Afro-Latin percussionist John Santos.
6 pm, Field Museum: Kayhan Kalhor and Palestinian oud player Issa Boulous' quartet.
6.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Eric Bibb and Brazilian singer-songwriter Vinicius Cantuaria.
7 pm, HotHouse: Fantcha, a Cape Verde singer who is a protege of Cesaria Evora.
8 pm, HotHouse: Paranda, an ensemble of guitarists playing 19th century music derived from West African traditions, and John Santos in a duo with Latin pianist Omar Sosa.

September 29

12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: WNUR live broadcast with Vinicius Cantuaria.
5 pm, Humboldt Park: Workshop with William Cepeda, a trombonist who explores Puerto Rican folk music with jazz techniques.
5.30 pm, Harper Court: Fantcha.
6.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Kayhan Kalhor.
6.30 pm, HotHouse: Vinicius Cantuaria.
8.30 pm, Old Town School: John Santos-Omar Sosa Duo and Paranda.
9 pm, HotHouse: Willem Breuker Kollektief, an admired European avant garde ensemble.

September 30

12.30 pm, Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR of Willem Breuker Kollektief.
8 pm, HotHouse: Willem Breuker Kollektief.
9 pm, Park West: Jimmy Bosch, a trombonist who plays "salsa dura", or hard salsa, along with William Cepeda.

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