Imagine you’re an impresario trying book more than 30 bands from at least 20 countries for next month’s World Music Festival.
How do you get in touch with a traditional mbira ensemble in Africa or discuss contracts with a folk art band on the road in India?
With e-mail, of course.
It’s fair to say that the new World Music Festival, which opens a 10-day run in several venues on Sept. 21, is 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.
The irony is inescapable: To reach folk musicians who practice ancient musical arts in some of the more remote places on Earth, state-of-the-art computer technology is essential.
“Some of the groups we’ve literally never even talked to. All our communication with them has been via e-mail,” says Michael Orlove, coordinator 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.”
Indeed, though they have been masterminding the event since last August, the planners of the World Music Festival still have a sea of red tape ahead of them. Much of it involves obtaining work visas for foreign musicians, many of whom have never been in North America.
“You would not believe how intricate it can be to get permission for them to play in the States,” says Juan Dies, director of community outreach at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Long a focal point for world music in Chicago, the Old Town School is one of several arts institutions collaborating with the City of Chicago on the new festival. (The others are the Museum of Contemporary Art, HotHouse and Field Museum of Natural History.)
“For the folk musicians themselves it’s very difficult,” continues Dies, “because some of them come down from the mountains in their traditional clothing to be interviewed and scrutinized by the consular officers (U.S. officials who grant or deny permission to perform in the States). But because of the way the musicians look, they often are taken as potential illegal immigrants and have to persuade the authorities that their mission is purely musical.”
And that’s not the half of it.
“You also have to check with the American Federation of Musicians (union) to persuade them that an American cannot perform the work that the folk musician you’ve hired is planning to do,” adds Dies. “Finally, you have to gather up all your paperwork and documentation — that takes about eight hours per application — and you send it to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Lincoln, Neb., then wait between 45 and 60 days for them to process the requests.”
All the while, there’s the issue of arranging connecting flights, hotels and ground transportation for performers, who may not understand English.
“Actually, we’re not quite that far along yet. We’re starting to make contact with the bands regarding travel arrangements right now,” says Sherie Piecuch, hospitality coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, which is collaborating with Cultural Affairs on the new festival.
“I can tell you this much: Once we start working on the travel arrangements, it will have to fall into place real fast. This is the other side of show business: getting the musicians onto the stage.”
All of which makes one wonder why anyone would want to go to all this trouble to present performers that most American listeners have never heard of in the first place.
“Because of the incredible beauty and originality of the music,” replies Orlove. “What surprised me when I first started getting into world music, in the last three years or so, was the vast amount of bands and types of music that exist that we never even hear about. It’s mind boggling.
“But once you hear a Palestinian oud player or a Bulgarian folk band, you want everyone else to hear them too.”
So Orlove and friends began brainstorming ways of bringing these novel sounds to one of the most ethnically vibrant cities in the world. They hit the jackpot when they came upon the idea of bringing the City of Chicago and various non-profit arts institutions together to stage the fest.
For the city, the collaboration was appealing because venues such as the Old Town School and the MCA would pick up production costs, making the World Music Festival less burdensome to produce than the Grant Park music festivals staged entirely by the city. For the participating arts institutions, the partnership proved equally enticing, since a great deal of the promotion, marketing and talent costs would come from the city.
Most promising of all, however, is the potential reward for the music lover, who will not have to endure the often-rowdy crowds and generally poor acoustics that can mar the Grant Park music festivals.
“This festival is different from the jazz and blues fests in another way: There are no real headliners that automatically bring in audiences,” Orlove says. “Most people won’t know most of these groups. So I’m hoping people will approach this festival with a very open mind. The idea is to sample sounds you’ve never heard before, to experiment with something new.
“But we live in a city that has so many different ethnicities that I’m hoping people will be naturally inclined to explore this music.”
To assist in that exploration, here’s a complete, annotated schedule of the festival. About two-thirds of the events are free. Top price for ticketed events is $10.
Events take place at these venues: Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St.; Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; Field Museum, Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive; HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo Dr.; Chicago SummerDance, 601 S. Michigan Ave.; Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.; The Note, 1565 N. Milwaukee Ave.; University of Chicago’s Harper Court, 52nd Place and Harper Avenue, and 57th Street Book Fair, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave.; Humboldt Park, 3015 W. Division St.; Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., and Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.
For more information, call 312-742-1938 or visit www.ci.chi.il.us/world music.
Sept. 21
Noon, Daley Center: San Jose Taiko, a traditional Japanese drumming ensemble based in the U.S.
12:30 p.m., 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 p.m., Field Museum: Musafir, an 11-member company documenting the folk arts of Rajasthan, India; Olodum, a 19-member, Afro-Brazilian ensemble that plays samba-reggae; and Zimbabwe Leaders Mbira Ensemble.
9 p.m., HotHouse: Shooglenifty, a sextet from Scotland merging traditional Celtic music, hip-hop, funk and other genres.
Sept. 22
Noon, Daley Center: Olodum.
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR of Shooglenifty.
6 p.m., Chicago SummerDance: Olodum.
6:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Frifot, a traditional Swedish folk trio.
7 p.m., HotHouse: The avant-garde New Horizons Ensemble, led by Chicagoan Ernest Dawkins, with the Zimbabwe Leaders.
8 p.m., Museum of Contemporary Art: Musafir.
8:30 p.m., Old Town School of Folk Music: Llan de Cubel, acoustic folk music from the northern coast of Spain, with Shooglenifty.
10 p.m., The Note: Paris Combo, a quintet exploring elements of jazz, Latin and Gypsy music.
Sept. 23
Noon to 5 p.m., Welles Park: Native American Equinox Celebration with a variety of Native American dance, instrumental and vocal music.
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR of Waldemar Bastos, a singer-songwriter who combines African, Brazilian and Portuguese influences.
5 p.m. to midnight, Old Town School of Folk Music: Native American Equinox Celebration.
6 p.m., Chicago SummerDance: Paris Combo.
6:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Llan de Cubel.
7 p.m., HotHouse: Waldemar Bastos.
9 p.m., HotHouse: Frifot.
Sept. 24
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Live broadcast on WNUR of Transglobal Underground, London dance music combining deejay and live music.
6 p.m., Chicago SummerDance: Yuri Yunakov Ensemble performs improvised, ethnic folk music from Bulgaria and Macedonia.
8 p.m., Old Town School: Waldemar Bastos on a double bill with Chicago folk-jazz troubador Terry Callier.
8 p.m., HotHouse: Hamid Drake-Michael Zerang Duo, Chicago percussionists.
9 p.m., 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 p.m., 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.
Sept. 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 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Royal Lao Orchestra, refugees from Laos who extend ancient classical music and dance rituals.
4:30 p.m., Field Museum: Harvest Moon Celebration with Rhythm Revolution, a drum circle ensemble based in Chicago.
6 p.m., Chicago SummerDance: Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca.
8 p.m., Old Town School: Ne Kai Oxi and Pralas Rroms, Greek and Romanian folk music from two local ensembles rarely heard outside their communities.
8 p.m., Museum of Contemporary Art: Rizwan-Muezam Qawwali Group (Qawwali singers from Pakistan) and Fun da Mental.
8 p.m., HotHouse: Trio Globo, a world-music chamber group including Chicago multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy.
10:30 p.m., HotHouse: Alpha Yaya Diallo.
Midnight, The Note: Transglobal Underground.
Sept. 26
1 p.m., Field Museum: Family concert, to be announced.
2 p.m., Chicago SummerDance: Alpha Yaya Diallo.
2 p.m., Field Museum: Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, an ensemble featuring players from multiple ethnic traditions.
2:30 p.m., 57th Street Children’s Book Fair: Royal Lao Orchestra.
3 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Taipei Cheng Hsing Cheng Music Orchestra, Taiwanese orchestral repertoire.
7 p.m., Old Town School: Muzsikas and Marta Sebestyen, Eastern European folk music.
7 p.m., HotHouse: Iyer-Mahanthappa Duo with Tricky Sankaran. Indian classical music meets jazz.
7 p.m., 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 p.m., HotHouse: Pierre Dorge’s New Jungle Orchestra, a revered Danish band exploring avant-garde jazz.
Sept. 27
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Live broadcast on WNUR of Muzsikas and Marta Sebestyen.
6 p.m., Field Museum: Eric Bibb, an acoustic blues singer-songwriter, and the Zimbabwe Leaders Mbira Ensemble.
6:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Iyer-Mahanthappa Duo with guest Tricky Sankaran.
7 p.m., HotHouse: Sainkho Namtchylak Trio.
9 p.m., HotHouse: Marilyn Crispell, avant-garde American pianist, and Lotte Anker, experimental saxophonist.
Sept. 28
Noon, Daley Center: Pierre Dorge’s New Jungle Orchestra.
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Live broadcast on WNUR of Kayhan Kalhor, virtuoso of the kamancheh, a Persian spike violin; and Eric Bibb.
5 p.m., Humboldt Park: Percussion workshop with Afro-Latin percussionist John Santos.
6 p.m., Field Museum: Kayhan Kalhor and Palestinian oud player Issa Boulous’ quartet.
6:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Eric Bibb and Brazilian singer-songwriter Vinicius Cantuaria.
7 p.m., HotHouse: Fantcha, a Cape Verde singer who is a protege of Cesaria Evora.
8 p.m., 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.
Sept. 29
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: WNUR live broadcast with Vinicius Cantuaria.
5 p.m., Humboldt Park: Workshop with William Cepeda, a trombonist who explores Puerto Rican folk music with jazz techniques.
5:30 p.m., Harper Court: Fantcha.
6:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Kayhan Kalhor.
6:30 p.m., HotHouse: Vinicius Cantuaria.
8:30 p.m., Old Town School: John Santos-Omar Sosa Duo and Paranda.
9 p.m., HotHouse: Willem Breuker Kollektief, an admired European avant-garde ensemble.
Sept. 30
12:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center: Live radio broadcast on WNUR of Willem Breuker Kollektief.
8 p.m., HotHouse: Willem Breuker Kollektief.
9 p.m., Park West: Jimmy Bosch, a trombonist who plays “salsa dura,” or hard salsa; and William Cepeda.
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For audio samples of World Music Festival performers and continuing updates about the festival, go to http://metromix.com/go/worldmusic.
