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Bluegrass 101

Bluegrass is characterized by masterful, often improvisational, instrumental performances combined with distinctive vocals and harmonies. This style of music is known to have a high-pitched intense delivery with heartfelt harmonies. In 1939, Bill Monroe, “Father of Bluegrass”, created the Blue Grass Boys, which is where this style of music got its emblematic name from.

BILL MONROE

Bill Monroe’s creation of this underground traditionalist sound was heavily influenced by sounds of the Appalachia and the rural south. The structure, delivery and repertoire of bluegrass are highly reminiscent of folk music brought to the Appalachia region by Scottish, English and Irish immigrants. The popularity of string bands from the rural south influenced Monroe to learn how to play the mandolin.

In 1948, it officially became a sub-genre of country western music heading for radio airplay. In 1960’s, it gained a large enough audience to be included in live country-western radio broadcast. Today, we can still enjoy many bluegrass radio programs, the most listened to being Into the Blue, airing weekly on more than 139 affiliated stations across the United States.

The instruments conventionally associated with bluegrass music are the mandolin, fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, and bass. The instruments alternate playing lead parts while the bass and the remaining instruments provide a rhythmic background. Traditionally, all instruments are acoustic, but efforts to attract broader audiences, has led to the incorporation of electric instruments.

We can all agree that the banjo is the star instrument in this genre. The first version of the banjo was created by Africans called banzas, banjars or bania. When African slaves arrived to the United States, they began creating a string percussion instrument out of gourd covered with pig or goat skin and added horse tail hair strings. In the 1800’s, Joel Walker Sweeney, a traveling blackface minstrel performer and musician, helped popularize the primitive version of the banjo in the United States through his characterization of African slaves. It didn’t take too long for him to create what we know today as the banjo. 

Music organizations have been created in the last few decades to promote bluegrass music around the world. In 1985, the International Bluegrass Music Association was created. IBMA mission is working together for high standards of professionalism, a greater appreciation for bluegrass music, and the success of the bluegrass community worldwide. In 1995, European Bluegrass Music Association was created to promote and facilitate the sharing of bluegrass enjoyment across borders.

Bluegrass was created to preserve the traditions of American folk music roots and we encourage everyone to embrace it when our Bluegrass album comes out May 22nd.

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Artist Profile: Mark Johnson-Co-founder of Playing For Change

In music, there is no such thing as boundaries. Playing For Change is a musical project started by American producer Mark Johnson with the mission to bring together musicians from around the world and inspire the development of music education programs in under- privileged communities. More than 20 musicians participated in the making of “Groove in G”, including: Tinariwen of Mali, Keb’ Mo, Washboard Chaz and Grandpa Elliot from the U.S., Spanish flamenco guitarist Niño Josele, Japanese shamisen player Hiromutu Agastuma and a number of musicians from India.

Putumayo got a chance to speak with Johnson about where he’s been and where he plans on going to next.

In 2005, you run into Roger Ridley playing “Stand by Me” in Santa Monica and it’s this moment that initially started Playing For Change. Six years, 5 continents, and many musicians later, did you think it was going to turn into this huge adventure?

A friend once told me when we were first starting Playing For Change, “The journey is the destination.” With the soul of Roger Ridley and a song like “Stand By Me” I knew we had a great start to build a family around the world through music but I never imagined it could reach so many people. We travel the world building connections from the heart and a journey like this never ends. There are always more songs to record, schools to build and people to connect. As Roger Ridley said, “We are in the joy business.”

What sparked your interest in world music and the idea to travel and film
for Playing For Change?

I first began to really connect to world music when I was in my early twenties working as a recording engineer in New York City. I had the chance to work with Paul Simon and some really diverse range of musicians. One day I was on my way to work in the subway station and I saw two monks painted all in white, dressed in robes and playing music on the subway platform. One of the monks was playing a nylon guitar and the other monk was singing in a language I didn’t understand. The melody was so beautiful, I had an epiphany that some of the greatest music I had ever heard in my life was on the way to the studio and not in the studio. This inspired me to bring the studio and cameras to the people on the streets, in subways, and everywhere people are playing music outside.

What is the method for finding these artists and filming and recording with them? Do you research locations first and go into find musicians? Or do you already have musicians in mind and go where ever they are?

The process of finding different artists around the world begins with a look at a map and discussions about what instruments and vocal styles we can put together to create something new. With PFC, world music is the world playing music together and so we select diverse places and search for a music guide that can introduce us to musicians within each community. We usually show some of our videos with an iPod to explain the concept of the songs around the world and then one musician gets inspired and tells their friends and it spreads from there. One heart and one song at a time.

Through the Playing For Change Tour, you are able to bring together a number of these musicians that you’ve met through your travels. What is it like to see these artists play together on one stage?

The Playing For Change Band serves as a tangible example of musicians from all over the world uniting together for a common mission of connecting the world through music. They have so much love and respect for each other through the PFC videos and this energy they create gets transmitted to the audience and together they build a world where we are going to make it as a human race. Each musician brings his or her own unique musical style and life philosophy to the band and these components combine together to create something new. The PFC band shows the world that no matter how many things divide us, they are never as strong as the things that bring us together. This is the power of music.

Is there a location in the world that you haven’t been to yet but are anxiously waiting to visit and film in?

We are currently working on our new PFC 3 Songs around the world CD/DVD and plan to visit Congo, Australia and New Zealand in the near future. We will get back to the roots of music and record indigenous musicians and ancient instruments and continue to build the global family everywhere we go.

Please provide a little background about your song, “Groove in G” featured on the African Blues CD.

“Groove in G” began on a very hot afternoon in Bamako, Mali. We started recording the track with the group Tinariwen, in the back yard of a little house under a mango tree. We had been huge fans of the band and wanted to include them on our PFC 2 songs around the world album. We set up a few microphones and unplugged the outdoor washing machine so we could power a few guitar amps and a bass amp. We then asked the band to play a groove in the key of G. Once we recorded and filmed this initial track we traveled to other countries around the world putting headphones on musicians and adding them to the song. We headed from Brazil to New Orleans and from Spain to India and finally Japan. The structure of the song evolved from place to place and it turned into a global blues jam with so much soul.

Putumayo was established to introduce people to other cultures through music. How does Putumayo’s philosophy of exposing people to new cultures, sounds, and ideas, relate to your own music?

Putumayo has always served as one of the main sources of inspiration for Playing For Change and in fact we have used many of the Putumayo albums to discover new musicians around the world that eventually end up in our videos. Music is the greatest tool we have to inspire us as a human race and the more we can expose people to the music of the world, the better our future will be.

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Come join us at KindieFest- the Family Music Festival!

Entertaining today’s kid is not an easy task. Especially in regards to music, it can be difficult to find quality and age appropriate selections for younger audiences. KindieFest is the world’s first-ever family music conference and festival that fully embraces today’s market in all its diversity. Taking place April 27-29^th at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY, this weekend long event has become known as the place for everyone involved in music for kids and families.

Sunday’s public family festival will feature some of the most talented acts in Kids Music. If you’re looking for some awesome fun for the entire family and a great way to wrap up the weekend, check out the diverse line up of Kindiefest performers. You won’t want to miss any of them!

Steve Songs:

Steve Roslonek of SteveSongs has been writing and performing his award-winning music for kids and families for the past eleven years. Best known for his role of ”Mr. Steve,” cohost of the PBS KIDS preschool destination, Steve has performed at over 3000 shows across the country and has won numerous prestigious awards, including 2 Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, a Nappa Honor, 2 iParenting Media Awards, and 2 Children’s Music Web Awards.

Bari Koral:

Bari’s catchy, pop friendly tunes have dubbed her the “‘IT girl’ in kids/family music” by NY Magazine and the “Sheryl Crow for kids” by the NY Post. Her band’s music is loved by all ages. Her new album Anna and the Cupcakes covers all ear-pleasing genres from roots pop-rockers to blues to country-tinged kickers.

Moona Luna:

Moona Luna is the passionate second project of New York-based songwriter Sandra Velasquez. For the last five years, latin band Pistolera has toured extensively, delighting fans of all ages around the globe. After writing exclusively in Spanish for Pistolera, she decided to make Moona Luna’s songs bilingual so that her simple messages of joy, discovery and perseverance would reach more young ears. The band includes Maria Elena on accordion, Inca B. Satz on bass and Sebastian Guerrero on drums.

“I am thrilled that in the span of two years I went from being a festival attendee to a festival performer! We are excited. This is our hometown!” says Sandra.

“Kindiefest is great for the obvious reason that it is the ONLY music conference of its kind. The people behind it have been building and participating in the family music world for a long time, so they know what they are doing. I think more and more people are recognizing the growth and potential of family music as its own thing. I have played so many festivals both here and abroad, with Pistolera, and most great festivals have a family music or kids tent. Kids need great music too! And let’s face it, at the end of the day it has to be great music period. Kids are not driving themselves to concerts, so parents need to be able to enjoy it as well. As a parent myself, I make sure our concerts are enjoyable for all ages.”

KBC Kids (with members of Us3):

Kobie Powell, Brian Rund and Clair Reilly-Roe met, connected, and committed to making fun music for everyone. Their fresh Hip Hop sound is filling a major void in the children’s market and allowing parents everywhere to get their groove on, too. As well as their pop/hip hop/dance music production has landed their tunes all over the net and TV!

Apple Brains:

Looking for an enjoyable way to get kids to eat healthy? Meet Apple Brains. Their mission is simple: Get kids, adults, and everyone in between to discover and sing the joys of fruits and vegetables! Based in Los Angeles, Apple Brains first started performing songs as a “Nutrition Musician” in the greater LA area school system. Now Apple Brains is bringing his message far and wide with his debut album “Get Fruity!!”

Big Bang Boom (lead by Chuck Folds brother of Ben Folds):

What happens when professional musicians become parents? They play and write children’s music. This is the path taken by Big Bang Boom, a children’s music group from Greensboro. After 20 years touring clubs and playing parties, Chuck Folds(younger brother of piano rocker Ben Folds) and Steve Williard decided to expand their horizons and play for kids. Together with drummer Eddie Walker they have become the parent friendly kid’s rock band alternative.

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s WeBop:

WeBop is an early-childhood jazz education program in which children (ages eight months – five years) and their parents/caregivers learn about jazz’s improvisation, creative process, instruments, styles and great performers. The classes provide a creative outlet for parents and children to explore jazz as a tool to educate and express themselves together.

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Cowboy Playground to be released May 22nd

Putumayo Kids captures the freedom of the cowpoke’s life with Cowboy Playground, a galloping collection of songs by artists such as Western music stalwarts Riders in the Sky and Don Edwards. Children’s cowboy music star Buck Howdy sings his funny tall tale tune “Pecos Bill” while classics including “Home on the Range” (recorded by Oregon children’s artist Victor Johnson), “Whoopie Ti Yi Yo” (performed by Canadian artist-rancher Ian Tyson), and “Don’t Fence Me In” ( jazzily arranged by Seattle kids’ artist Johnny Bregar) are familiar even to city slickers. At the end of the day, as millions of stars twinkle in the sky, the Dale Evans-inspired band Cowboy Envy wishes everyone “Happy Trails.”

A 24-page booklet featuring archival photos from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, is included in the Cowboy Playground package. Holly George Warren, renowned music critic and author of The Cowgirl Way, contributes charming liner notes that introduce the whole family to the rollicking world of cowboy music.

For more information about this release or any other Putumayo Kids titles, visit: http://www.putumayo.com/kids/home

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Putumayo World Music to Collaborate with International Rescue Committee

We are pleased to announce our collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for our upcoming African Blues release.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a respected, non-profit organization that helps refugees to survive and rebuild their lives.

Putumayo will contribute $5,000 from sales of African Blues to the International Rescue Committee in support of their humanitarian work helping refugees to survive and rebuild their lives.

For more information about IRC please visit: www.rescue.org

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Artist Profile Series: Quentin Dujardin of Kalaban Coura

Belgian guitarist Quentin Dujardin travels the world with his acoustic guitar in search of exceptional artists with whom to collaborate. In 2008, Dujardin’s luggage was lost on a flight from Casablanca to Bamako, and during the three days he was waiting in Mali for his bags to show up he met guitarist Kalil Sidy Haïdara. Dujardin was enchanted by Haïdara’s unique guitar style, which is inspired by the sound of the n’goni, a banjo-like stringed instrument common in local music. Joined by Moroccan violinist Jalal El Allouli they formed Kalaban Coura, a name that was inspired by the neighborhood in Bamako where Dujardin and Haïdara first met.  We got a chance to speak with Quentin on how his musical journey has been effected by this chance encounter.

1. The collaboration of Kalaban Coura ultimately came together all because of lost luggage. Looking back now, do you consider it just pure coincidence?

Good question. That was my first funny story in my 10 years of traveling. Thankfully my guitar was with me on the plane. For sure, without that lost luggage, I wouldn’t have been staying in Bamako for so many days. Just saying it was “pure coincidence” meeting Kalil Sidy Haïdara would sound great to the audience but I don’t believe in coincidence.Life helps you sometimes to write new cool stories, in this case that was a fantastic musical meeting. I was caught immediately by his way of riffing the guitar. Not in that Farka Touré’s style that everybody knows but in a way giving me a new fresh sound to my ears inspired by a traditional instrument called n’goni.

2. In 2008, you went on this musical journey to make a documentary. What inspired you to make this trip?

In 2004, I met the French producer, Philippe Renaux who I did lounge remixes for.  Knowing my passion for musical journey, he proposed that I travel for him in to Morocco with the single condition to write everyday about my musical stories on paper, which I did during 2 months. Coming back in Belgium, I sent him the manuscript- a little book of 115 pages about the Moroccan people, different places, and of course musicians I met there. Philippe had the idea to share the notebook with the French director, Freddy Mouchard who was very quickly excited to join me on my next journey.
At that time, I wasl also preparing for the production of my fifth personal album called Veloma. So Freddy followed me for two years everywhere from the recording sessions and the musical meetings in Belgium to Madagascar, Morocco, Spain  and finishing in the US. Just a great adventure with some amazing stories happening On the Way – that’s the name of this documentary. I had the chance to work with some of the greatest Malagasy musicians such as Njava, who are featured in that album, but also with some beautiful unknown musicians like Remanindry or Daminazy. That was also around the time of another musical meeting with the Moroccan violin player, Jalal El Allouli who’s on Kalaban Coura album.

3. You’ve been classically trained from the time you were a child. How has traveling around the world impacted and shaped your formal music training?

Yes, I have studied classical music since I was 6 years old. Then I discovered Jazz music and improvisation at the age of 14.  It was a big clash for some of my classical teachers! So I jumped into Jazz for 10 more years following my studies at the Conservatory of Brussels. But after all those years, I was very tired about learning music in a very traditionally modern way: sitting at a bench, writing notes and listening to convinced musicians. It was time to change the story. That’s why I decided to travel without any goal, a new fresh way to blow my mind. I was feeling the street, catching musicians at the corner and trying to share my musical vibe. When Jazz musician goes in clubs to learn music, a world musician goes to the street or the desert to keep up their musical training.

4. The origins of blues are greatly linked to the music of Africa. Has your time spent in there with Kalil Sidy Haïdara and Jalal El Allouli help you better understand the genre?

They are more than 1300 miles passing by a desert between Kalil & Jalal and their way of riffing is still the same. Isn’t it amazing? That would for sure not be the same feeling between a Flemish musician compared to a Romanian musician. Excepted if they were probably Gypsies!I’ve got one anecdote about the blues. I was at home with Kalil listening to music. Kalil didn’t know the guitar player. So after a while, he asked me: “ Which album of Ali Farka is it? Strange, I don’t know that one.” I answered him laughingly, “It’s not Ali but John Lee, man!” It was a live recording at Newport from the 60′s. Just goes to show that Blues is everywhere and probably will still be for years.

5. Who are your influences and/or inspiration in regards to your music? Nylon strings is something special in the history of guitar.

For me, that instrument offers melodies combining beautiful sounds and great grooves. As you know, my relation with music covers a large spectrum of styles but to give some names:  Heitor Villa Lobos, Augustin Barrios Mangoré, John Mac Laughlin, Bach, Miles Davis, Jan Garbarek, Pat Metheny, John Dowland, Zakir Hussain, Gnawa music and ofcourse one of my great inspirations: Bill Frisell among many others…

6. Please provide a little background about your song, “Mali” featured on the African Blues CD.

It is simply a song dedicated to one of the most intense vibes I had the chance of encountering.Watching the children how they move their bodies when they dance. Like nowhere else! Groove is in the air. Thank you Mali!

7. Putumayo was established to introduce people to other cultures through music. How does Putumayo’s philosophy of exposing people to new cultures, sounds, and ideas, relate to your own music?

The company has provided for years a fantastic opportunity to discover great music. Like any human being, I need to catch new things everyday to grow up. In my case, it is new sounds that help my musical inspiration. I feel grateful to be a part of Putumayo now as an artist sharing the same philosophy. Being on the road with a guitar is a magical key to be exposed to new cultures and assimilate new ideas. I look forward to seeing that brand new African Blues Compilation!