The World Fusion Show

Ep #119 with Annette Philip, singer, pianist and composer Annette Philip was born in India and grew up in Singapore and India, eventually moving to the US. She discovered harmony at an early age and has gone on to work with celebrated composer A.R. Rahman, which was her dream as a child. She is the founder and director of the Berklee Indian Ensemble in Boston and one of their pieces is included in...

Ep #138 with Moonlight and Morningstar, singer-songwriters. Moonlight Davis and Morningstar Chenven spread their messages of love and harmony through their visionary songs. Moonlight is one of the finest gospel and R&B singers I have ever worked with. They are environmental activists and even wrote a song that helped stop the pipeline going through Massachusetts. You will love this episode! Facebo...

Ep #137 with Derrik Jordan's CD "Hanyaks" which features his original Appalachian, Bluegrass, Cajun and Americana tunes. He is playing most of the instruments and is joined for a few of them by banjo player Bruce Stockwell and pedal steel player Barry Hyman. A Worldsoul Records production Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100063982602329/videos/3279914108933370 YouTube: https://youtu.be/NHzFa4FWB...

Ep #136 with Dave Kobrenski - multi-instrumentalist and artist Dave Kobrenski is a musician, artist, writer and multi-instrumentalist from New Hampshire. He plays Fula flute, kamale ngoni and djembe and spent many years making trips to West Africa to study the music and culture of the region. He also makes beautiful Fula flutes that he sells on his website. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjor...

Ep #135 with Mike Rivard, sintir player and composer Mike Rivard has had a long career in World Music playing the sintir, a bass lute from Morocco. He also plays the bass and works with some great players like John Medeski. He is very influenced by the Gnawa music of Morocco which uses the sintir as its primary instrument. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjordan.com Facebook: https://www.faceb...

Ep #134 with Ian Ethan Case, composer and multi-neck guitarist Ian Ethan Case is a multi-neck guitarist and composer who plays with a unique technique of strumming and tapping. He works with some fantastic musicians who are featured on this episode. He thinks of himself as a “transparent window” and the music he writes comes through him quite effortlessly. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjord...

Episode #133 with The Sultans Of String. I interview Chris McKhool who is the violinist for the group, based in the Toronto area. They are working with a wide variety of refugee musicians and present them to the world via their latest CDs and their TV show they created during the pandemic called “Backstage.” Wonderful music and a very inclusive concept representing world culture. A Worldsoul Recor...

Ep #132 with Ruben Monteiro, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Ruben Monteiro lives in Portugal and is a life-long composer. He plays hurdy-gurdy, saz, rebab and oud. His World Fusion inspiration comes from many cultures and he blends them with progressive rock. He got interested in these ancient instruments by studying archeology and the cultures that had come through Portugal. A Worldsoul Reco...

Ep #131 with Gharana Fusion, Indian World Fusion trio. Gharana Fusion are based in Calcutta, India but have brought their music all over the world. They are a trio of electric guitar, bansuri flute and percussion. I am joined by their guitarist Susnata Har for the interview. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjordan.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/109866072979176/videos/1065694820996806 Y...

Ep #130 with Steve Shehan, composer, multi-instrumentalist and percussionist - Part 3. We continue our interview with Steve Shehan where he talks about another magical encounter in the desert in Algeria. Also his work with Paul Simon and many other musical luminaries. Lots of his music is included of course. A wonderful musician and an extraordinarily generous spirit! A Worldsoul Records productio...

Ep #129 with Steve Shehan, composer and multi-instrumentalist - Part 2 Steve Shehan is an eclectic composer in World Fusion music and has traveled to many places on the planet to learn about global music on a deep level. He became a pilot to be able to travel to these places and brought medical supplies and bought instruments to bring home. He has been in high demand as a percussionist with people...

Ep #128 with Steve Shehan, composer, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist. Steve Shehan is legendary for his pursuit of World Music throughout his life. He used his pilot’s license to travel to far flung places and meet musicians and bring back instruments. He has worked with Paul Simon, Paco de Lucia, John McLaughlin and many more. He has made many recordings which feature his innovative World...

Ep #127 with Kaoru Watanabe, flute player, taiko drummer and composer. Kaoru Watanabe was born and grew up in the US but after studying classical and jazz flute he got very interested in exploring his traditional Japanese culture. He has gone on to work with luminaries like Baryshnikov, Yo Yo Ma and many musicians all over the world. He was a member of Kodo, the leading Japanese Taiko ensemble in...

Ep #169 with Barbora Xu. singer, guzheng player and composer Ep #169 with Barbora Xu, singer, guzheng player and composer. Barbora Xu was born in Czechoslavakia and lives in Finland. She studied in China where she discovered the guzheng, a Chinese zither, that reminded her of her Finnish kantale. Her music is inspired by her love of nature. She works by adapting ancient Finnish song lyrics to her...

Ep #125 with Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Fusion. From the Southwest of the US, Miquel grew up playing guitar from a very early age, accompanying flamenco dance classes and touring with flamenco dance groups. The group includes a cellist, Dianne who is also featured in this interview, a bass player, percussionist and sax player. A Worldsoul Records production derrikjordan.com Facebook: https://www.fac...

Ep #124 with Derek Gripper, guitarist and composer. Derek Gripper, who is from Capetown, South Africa, discovered the music of Toumani Diabate, a kora player from Mali and it changed his life. He decided to transcribe the music by this African Griot for the classical guitar. Toumani is an true innovator on the kora and developed a style where he plays 3 parts at once - bass lines, accompaniment an...

Ep #123 on The World Fusion Show brings you Max ZT, a hammer dulcimer player and composer who has been deeply influenced by his travels and studies in Senegal and India. He has a multi-layered approach to the hammer dulcimer based on his study of the kora, where each of the fingers play a different role in the music. Many cool vids in this episode - with his trio House Of Waters, a collaboration w...

Ep #122 with Tone Of Voice Orchestra, World Fusion pop Tone Of Voice Orchestra is a very unusual band with 10 members that include 4 female singers who sing together in a choral style. They also have some unusual instruments - hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, fiddle, sax, bass and 2 drummers. They love a good groove but what really sets them apart is their very strong songwriting. They are living in Denmark...

Ep #121 with Ara Dinkjian, oud player and composer Ep #121 with Ara Dinkjian, oud player and composer. Ara Dinkjian is steeped in the Armenian tradition but he is a World Fusion artist in the way he brings Western harmonic influences into the modal and microtonal music of his heritage. He is a wonderful oud player and his compositions are very memorable. He is the founding member of the band Night...

Ep #120 with Mamak Khadem, singer and composer Mamak Khadem was born in Tehran, Iran and came to the US when she was a teenager. It was a very hard transition for her - having no friends and not speaking the language. Music was always her happy place and always got her through. Her music is quite diverse - sometimes trance-like and sometimes with a strong message. She performs on this show with a...

Ep #119 with Annette Philip, singer, pianist and composer Annette Philip was born in India and grew up in Singapore and India, eventually moving to the US. She discovered harmony at an early age and has gone on to work with celebrated composer A.R. Rahman, which was her dream as a child. She is the founder and director of the Berklee Indian Ensemble in Boston and one of their pieces is included in...

Ep #118 with Derrik Jordan - World Fusion Classical This episode features a selection of my World Fusion Classical music - compositions of mine for classical groups that are influenced by a wide variety of World Music styles. “Suite For An Imaginary Country” is a piece for string orchestra performed in May 2021 in Brattleboro, VT by Juno Orchestra under the direction of Zon Eastes. It is in 3 move...

Ep #117 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 #116 with Shane Shanahan. percussionist and composer. Shane Shanahan is a frame drummer and composer and is a founding member of The Silk Road Ensemble. He has travelled all over the world with them for the past 20 years and has studied drumming in many of the countries he has visited. He is greatly influenced by his mentor Glen Velez who has also been a guest on The World Fusion Show. You will...

Just out! Ep #115 - 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 developed 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 re...