World Music Central (WMC) News Headlines:
Plena Libre Summer Tour Supporting New Live in Monterrey Release
 Plena Libre will be touring this summer to support its new live album Plena al Salsero - Live in Monterrey, Mexico. The next concerts will be Saturday, July 19 in Ithaca, New York at Grass Roots Festival and Sunday, July 20 in the Bronx, New York.
Founded in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by bass player/composer Gary Núñez, Plena Libre is well into a 15-year voyage that has seen the orchestra re-invent the sound of Puerto Rico’s plena and bomba traditions. During that time, Gary and his group have recorded 12 stellar albums which have garnered four Grammy nominations. In taking their unparalleled live show to the world, the group has spread the gospel of their unique Afro-Rican sound on internation... Nigerian Wood, the New Album from Nigerian Keziah Jones
 Paris, France - This summer, Keziah Jones is back with a new album, ‘Nigerian Wood’ (Because Music) coming out in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Canada and Japan on September 1st. A single from the album, ‘My Kind of Girl,’ has already been released in digital format; and following the September 1st release the album will be available in the UK and US in the spring of next year. And that’s not all – Keziah Jones will be touring all this summer and autumn.
Keziah Jones is every inch an original. Born in Nigeria, educated in England and starting his musical career in the streets, clubs, and subways of London and Paris, Keziah Jones’ distinctive musical style of “Blufunk” caught the right people’s attention and helped launch his first real tour in England.... Kaweh on Tour to Promote Live In San Francisco CD/DVD
 San Francisco (California), USA - In his new live release Kaweh sings in Spanish and Italian and he captivates the audience with his fast rasgueado, his combination of picado and western picking. Live In San Francisco includes songs like “Marina” by Rocco Granata, “Parla Piu Piano” (from the movie “Godfather” by Nino Rotta), Cumbanchero (Rafael Hernández) and Canción del Mariachi (from the movie “Desperado” by César Rosas) have long been anticipated.
Internationally acclaimed belly dancer “Sandra” and Israeli educator percussionist Dror Sinai mesmerize the audience as Kaweh opens up the concert with “Persia” from the “Play Spanish” album. Sandra and Dror return mid set to give yet another powerful perfo... Serbian Brass Masters Boban i Marko Markovic Orkester Tour North America July 2008
 The Boban i Markovic Orkestar, led by father and son trumpet virtuosos, will be performing in Manhattan, Chicago, Philadelphia, Montreal, Springfield and Evanston this July.
The aural assault from this raucous brass band has earned them the title of “best band in Serbia” for nearly 20 years running. Feted at home and abroad as the greatest of Balkan trumpeters, Boban Markovic is the scion of a long line of gypsy musicians. From his home town of Vladicin Han in Serbia’s gypsy brass heartland, he has led his Orkestar to international acclaim, boldly going where no other brass band has gone before, enhancing the traditional repertoire with elements of the wider world from jazz to Latin to pop.
This trail-blazing mix has brought him legendary statu... Rachid Taha Touring North America in July 2008
 Paris, France - Rachid Taha will be touring the United States and Canada in July. The tour coincides with the July 1 North American release of The Definitive Collection, which hit England in April and will appear in France in October. The tour will start off on July 5th in New York at Central Park’s annual outdoor SummerStage concert series. On July 7th and 8th Taha will perform in Ottawa and Toronto respectively, at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest and the Phoenix Concert Theatre. He’ll give a July 10th concert at the Philadelphia arts haven, the Kimmel Center, before swooping west to California. There, he will perform o...
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