Dreams and chiefs and magical instruments: From tradition to today with Mbira Renaissance Band

A recent conversation with another musical obsessive (because that’s really what we are!) finished with MUSICAlive! wishing that our interviewees included more artists from south of the equator and east of Europe: not because of any talent lack in our pages, but simply because of an exposure lack on our behalf. His response was “How about Zimbabwe?” … Continue Reading >Dreams and chiefs and magical instruments: From tradition to today with Mbira Renaissance Band

‘Drumming is the Boss’: According to the powwow singer who started off dancing!

Firstly, I need to reinforce a bias I have for drummers, as more than one are mentioned in this article: drummers get *gold stars*. I can’t always manage the gold part, but that’s what’s happening. I mention this because both *Clarence M. Wolf Leg* and his father are drummers from Siksika. and because I ask him why powwow music is so powerful, you are about to learn a bunch of new stuff, … Continue Reading >‘Drumming is the Boss’: According to the powwow singer who started off dancing!

From the Great Lakes to the Amazon River with the Third Coast Percussion Ensemble

MUSICAlive! asks David Skidmore of the Third Coast Percussion Ensemble what instruments he’ll be playing when they premiere their “Paddle to the Sea” performance in Calgary (8:00 pm, April 8 at the Rozsa Centre), and he goes on, and on, and on . . . listing 16 different instruments! … Continue Reading >From the Great Lakes to the Amazon River with the Third Coast Percussion Ensemble