Something REALLY great, Something Rather Awful and Mama E. gets Schooled

Well, you know, you set out to learn something online to share with your readers.  You surf around, refining your search terms, cross-referencing and checking carefully to avoid information that is copied verbatum from other sites.  You put up what you hope is a helpful blog post on an instrument we don't see everyday, like the Ngoni, and apparently you get it all wrong!

Here's an excerpt from an email the Cedar received regarding my post "Know your Ngoni" last week.  "The kamele ngoni is a harp, not a lute- and the instrument that Keletigui's son plays with Habib is the regular ngoni lute- it is the bass player who plays the kamele ngoni (which is the "youth harp", also played by Issa Bagayogo, also Haruna Samake in Salif Keita's group, and musician in Oumou Sangare's band. It is a smaller version of the donso ngoni, which translates as the "hunter's harp". Ngoni is a Bambara word for a stringed instrument- but the instrument that Bassekou plays is totally different than the kamale ngoni, or the donso ngoni..."  This from Jon Kertzer, African music expert and manager of the new SubPop label which released the new Bassekou Kouyate recording. 

Did you get all that?  Me neither.  Did I ever refer to the instrument as a lute?  I did not.  Maybe he had read my oud post? Because as we all know, the oud is a lute. Anyway...let's just go with what Bessekou told the audience Saturday night. "This is not a guitar," he called out.  'This is an African banjo!"  Fun, fun show.  Loved the solos and interplay between the four various ngonis.  Loved the drumming.  LOVED the dance moves!! Really loved the wah-wah pedal.  Thank you all.

So I am jumping up and down here.  I am telling everybody I can think of who might know what a cumbia is.  I am thinking of all the places where I can put up a poster and tell even more people and invite them to the party! 

Alright already, Mama E! What are you going on about?

I was already quite excited that the Cedar is bringing Austin, Texas Latin soul/funk/brass/psychedelia/cumbia big band Grupo Fantasma to town June 10.  When I found out Saturday night that we have secured Chilean brass-n-cumbia veterans Chico Trujillo as support, I was over the moon!  Two Latin big brass bands with tons of grooves, moves and percussion, one night, our stage.  I cannot summon the proper superlatives to express my unbrindled glee at the prospect of this night of music.   DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? 

And you know Grupo Fantasma is Prince's favorite brass backup band?  As in they've played private parties for the former symbol?  Should we just start the rumor right now that he might stop by the Cedar that night?  C'mon!  It'll be their Minneapolis debut...he just might!  We'd better put him on the guest list just in case.  But you didn't read it here...

I love the plug that DJ Juan Data gives the new Chico compilation on his "Latin but cool" blog.  So guess who is finally giving the Chico Trujillo guys their long overdue U.S. release?  None other than our pal in Brooklyn, Olvier Conan at Barbes records. (As in  Olivier from Chicha Libre and Las Rubias del Norte as well as Club Barbes.  Oh yeah, that guy.)  Nice back story on the band and the tunes at the Barbes link - "superheros of cumbia" indeed! It's not just that Chico Trujillo can rock the cumbia in a stadium or a sweaty club.  It's the sneaky little bits of punk and ska that grace the tunes like a subtle wink at a pretty girl.  Not to mention the colorized retro album art! The Grupo / Chico tour intersection will happen for two night only and the first of those is at our place.  Who knows what kind of over-the-top Latin brass craziness could break loose?  Tell everybody you know and get your tickets now.

Now about that bad news I promised you.  Our independent radio neighbors across the street at KFAI are considering some big programming shifts.  At a meeting last night they outlined some of the changes they're talking about. The one that concerns me is the revamp of the morning drive time slot.  Gone will be the quirky, eclectic music mixes and support of local bands.  Instead we can wake up to cheerful Amy Goodman on Democracy Now and a canned syndicated news show called The Takeaway. The 6-9 a.m. hosts are being offered slots around the noon hour now that Amy'll be on earlier.

Know what?  When I want the news, I'll listen to MPR in the morning.  They mix up the local content and the NPR Morning edition stuff nicely.  When I want music in the morning, I want my KFAI!

I don't know where they're getting the intelligence that their demographic wants more canned news in the morning, but take this from a long time member.  DON'T DO IT! KFAI has something unique in their morning show lineup.  Nobody else in town comes even close to the mix of stuff those folks dare to play at 6 a.m.  Why go away from one of the things that makes your station unique, funky, even a little weird, to try to tap into safety?  To try to steal listeners away from the big guys? Get more pledges?  Younger listeners?  "Growing" your market share? (That's actually from their online focus group report.) 

If you want to shake up your morning shows or revamp them a little, that's one thing.  But to totally trash all five shows is a move I think the programming committee will regret.

Right now, KFAI has something their competition will never have.  Please don't throw that away.

It was a little weird to be at the meeting last night and watch the administrators and music geek djs go at each other.  I was very thankful that at the Cedar everybody is a music geek!

Nothing final has been decided yet.  Got an opinion? Next meeting on the programming shift is Tuesday, April 27 at 7:00 at the African Development Center down Riverside a couple of blocks in the old Meridel le Seur/North Country Co-op building.