The World Fusion Show

Ep #164 with Glen Velez, frame drummer and composer. Glen Velez is a master of the frame drum and works with many people including Trio Globo with Howard Levy and Eugene Friesen. He has traveled to Egypt and Morocco to further his studies. His phenomenal technique on the frame drum always serves his expression and deep musicality. On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100063982602329/videos/133526...

Ep # 163 with Olox - Neo-Shamanic World Fusion. Olox is a very unusual duo that features Siberian singer Zarina and Armenian-Greek percussionist and singer, Andreas. They had a big breakthrough with an appearance on America’s Got Talent that blew away the audience and judges. Zarina grew up in the Sakha culture where the winters get down to 90 degrees below zero. Spending her youth in nature, imit...

Ep #162 with Taproots. Matthew King is the leader of Taproots, a 12 piece World Fusion group from MA. He joins me for the interview and talks about his background and love of rhythmic music from an early age. They combine Latin, funk, reggae and many other styles to create their highly danceable mix. Horns and lots of percussion fill out the sound of this group. Great energy! A Worldsoul Records p...

Ep #161 with Palaver Strings Ep #161 with Palaver Strings. Palaver Stings is a 13 piece String Orchestra based in Portland Maine. Elizabeth Moore, a member of the group, does the interview. They work with many World Music collaborators and have a very successful after school string program in Portland. Some of their many collaborators are featured on this episode including a piece written for them...

Ep #160 with Mathieu Borgne, steel pan player and composer Mathieu Borgne lives in Paris, France and plays the steel pan. I discovered him on Facebook when I heard his version of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and was blown away. That video is included in this episode. He works with a variety of World Fusion groups some of which are also included in this show. He does arrangements for steel pan orche...

Ep #159 with Sylvain Leroux, composer and Fula flutist Sylvain Leroux has been playing the Fula flute, a West African instrument, for many years. For a long time he was the only Fula flutist in North America. He has made many trips to Guinea where he is teaching the Fula flute to children there and helping them connect with their tradition. He created a chromatic version of the flute so he can get...

Ep #158 with Frank London, Klezmatics founder and composer Frank London is an eclectic composer who works in an extremely wide range of styles but he is mostly famous for his group The Klezmatics, which has been together for decades. This world-touring group's mission is all about fun, ecstasy and irreverence and it shows in their music big time. He is a trumpet player and is very well known in NY...

Ep #157 with Ruth Mendelson, film composer and multi-instrumentalist. Ruth Mendelson is an award-winning film composer who only works on meaningful empowering films. She has a new film that features Dr. Jane Goodall. Ruth teaches film composing at The Berklee School of Music, has performed for many years with gospel choir One Human Family and tells some great stories about how she got into music a...

Ep #156 with Yehuda Glantz, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Yehuda was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has lived for many years in Jerusalem. He is a wonderful songwriter and composer and has a very deep spiritual and uplifting energy in his music. He plays charango, accordion, guitar, piano and sings. In this episode he performs three of his songs with the Israeli Symphony Orches...

Episode #155 with Cecilia Zabala - Argentinian singer-songwriter and guitarist. She has released 8 CDs and has a strong Brazilian influence in her music. A Worldsoul Records production. derrikjordan.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100063982602329/videos/1302886897319632 YouTube: https://youtu.be/YXwxVWQuFLk Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hilljoy/ep-155-cecilia-zabala

Ep #154 with Christopher Adler, khaen player and composer Christopher Adler plays an unusual instrument - the khaen - an ancient free-reed mouth organ from Laos and Thailand that is able to create melodies and chords at the same time. He is the foremost player in the US and composes for the instrument and commissions works for chamber music groups to promote the spread of the khaen. The khaen has...

Ep #153 - Our Sampler #3 includes unreleased music by six of our previous guests. Pitz Quattrone, Elsa Nilsson, Pablo DeReyes, Eugene Uman, Mac Ritchey and Eshagh Shaoul perform on a wide variety of instruments in many styles and really show what makes World Fusion great. LIke us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, listen to the podcast on iTunes and Soundcloud. Share your favorite epis...

Kevin Nathaniel is a mbira player and percussionist from NYC. He is the host of AfroRoots Tuesdays, a live show devoted to presenting World Music. His show has been airing since 2013 and he has presented all kinds of music. He works with many musicians - in this episode he plays with Indian musicians and with his group AfricaForest Dance. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjordan.com Facebook: h...

Ep #151 with Opium Moon, World Fusion Quartet bring a seamless blend of Middle Eastern and Asian music. They all have solo careers and work in the film industry. For this episode I am interviewing Lili Haydn and Itai who sing and play violin and bass in the group. The other members play santoor and percussion. They recently won a Grammy and have a very spiritual approach to their music. A Worldsou...

Ep #150 - The World Fusion Show brings you Fula Brothers, a duo of kamale ngoni and guitar with Mamadou Sidibe (Mali) and Walter Strauss (US). Mamadou was the inventor of the kamale ngoni and which he develped from the dusngoni, the original hunter’s harp with 6 strings from Mali, which had previously been used only for ceremony. He added more strings (14 now) and in spite of ongoing resistance fr...

Ep #149 with Mei Han, zheng player and composer. Mei Han grew up in China during the cultural revolution and her exposure to music was limited to propaganda songs praising Mao and the Communist Party. She started learning the ancient zheng which was considered to be a dying instrument. She directs a Chinese World Fusion Quartet called Red Chamber and has worked with musicians from all over the wor...

Ep #148 with Okaidja Afroso, singer songwriter and percussionist. Okadjia Afroso was born and raised on the coast of Ghana in a fishing village. His music reflects the songs and culture of his people. He plays guitar, sings and also percussion and was a member of the Ghanaian National Dance company. He also worked with legendary percussionist Oboade and toured with his group. Although ifluenced by...

Ep #147 with Issa Ndour, Fulani flute player. Issa Ndour plays the traditional Fulani flute which combines flute tones with vocal shrieks and singing to create an ear-catching musical dialogue. He is from Senegal where this flute style is popular. He works with his group Noudoumbelane which includes kora, sax, bass and drums. This episode was shot in Senegal at Sobobade and is guest hosted by Tony...

Ep #146 with Yulia Musayelyan, flutist and composer. Yulia Musayelyan grew up in Russia and started playing classical music at a very early age. She has been deeply influenced by the music of Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil and teaches at Berklee in Boston. She has a beautiful sound and is a very adept improviser. The World Fusion Show brings you interviews, video clips and live in the studio perf...

Ep #145 with Mal Maiz - Latin World Fusion band. Maiz Vargas is the founder of Mal Maiz, a Latin World Fusion band from Burlington VT. Maiz grew up in Costa Rica and started performing at an early age with his musical family. He is a bass player, singer, songwriter and percussionist. He tries to bring his Costa Rican culture to people through his lyrics into the songs. A Worldsoul Records producti...

Ep #144 with John Sheldon, guitarist and singer-songwriter. John Sheldon was childhood friends with James Taylor and played guitar with Van Morrison. He has created a very successful one man show called The Red Guitar about his musical journey. He recently went to Standing Rock to support the Lakota in their communal prayer to stop the pipeline. He has a deep and beautiful sound on his guitar. A W...

Ep #143 with Stefanie Sylla, composer, violinist, singer and visionary musician. Born in Germany, Stefanie has traveled to India and Senegal to experience a deeper connection with the music of other cultures. Tony Vacca is our guest host for this one - the first in a series of on location shows shot in Senegal in Jan 2018. Video and sound recorded by Craig Norton. A Worldsoul Records production de...

Ep #142 with Pablo DeReyes, singer-songwriter and guitarist. This week on The World Fusion Show we feature Pablo DeReyes who was born in Mexico and grew up in Brazil. He writes stunningly beautiful songs and has a very unique style. He is a visionary artist with a poetic sensibility and we had a great time playing together. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjordan.com Facebook: https://www.face...

Ep #141 with Loire Cotler, rhythm vocalist. Loire Cotler has a unique way of singing that draws on the ancient Konokol tradition of Indian vocalization that is used in the training of percussionists. She also combines that style with many other influences creating a true World Fusion of sound. She has a degree in Music Therapy and works with film composer Hans Zimmer. Her new CD “18 Wings” is a re...

Ep #140 with Randy Armstrong - composer and multi-instrumentalist Randy Armstrong is a long time member of the World Fusion tribe. He began his journey in the 70’s with Do'a which also included Ken LaRoche. They were one of the very first World Fusion groups. He is a multi-instrumentalist and plays guitar, sitar, djembe, mbira, flute and many more. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/10006398260232...