Femi Kuti World Music Foundation Podcast | Season 1, Episode 13 "We have to see the beauty of Africa through the music." About this Episode  As a renowned Afrobeat and Jazz musician with four GRAMMY nominations, Femi Kuti is well-respected around the world for opening minds through the power of his music. John spoke with Femi from the Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria, where he shared the details of his musical upbringing and the importance of different music cultures. He also gets into his life-changing transition from the Saxophone to the Trumpet and the effect [...]

Hill Country Music World Music Foundation Podcast | Season 1, Episode 12 "This is sacred ground." About this Episode John travels down to Coldwater, MS for the 69th Annual Goat Picnic in honor of fife & drum legend, Otha Turner. What started off as something else, ends up being a a good handful of great conversations with musicians (and even some audience members) about the Hill Country Music of Northern Mississippi, USA. R.L. Boyce, Earl “Little Joe” Ayers, Dom Turner, and Ricky Stevens are all featured. (Intro Music Plays) John Gardner: [...]

Mei-Ann Chen World Music Foundation Podcast | Season 1, Episode 11 "Conducting is being the music." About this Episode Praised for her dynamic, passionate conducting style, Taiwanese-American conductor Mei-Ann Chen is acclaimed for infusing orchestras with energy, enthusiasm and high-level music-making, galvanizing audiences and communities alike. In our conversation we follow her musical evolution from shy violin player in her birth country, Taiwan, to dynamic, trailblazing, internationally sought-after conductor. Mei-Ann also shares the inspirational interaction with Martin Luther King that inspired the creation of the MacArthur Award-winning, Chicago Sinfonietta, the nations most diverse orchestra, [...]

Mile of Music Festival World Music Foundation Podcast | Season 1, Episode 10 "Everybody can feel music...." About this Episode Last week, we spoke with Brian & Leila Pertl, and members of the Music Education Team, who have helped design the Mile of Music Festival, especially the cultural education components. This week, we’re speaking with the teaching-musicians themselves to learn about Afro-Cuban Drumming, Mariachi, Ghanaian Drumming, and Native American Flute. We attended a few sessions ourselves during the festival and spoke with these artists afterwards. (Intro Music Plays) John Gardner: [...]

Mile of Music Festival World Music Foundation Podcast | Season 1, Episode 9 "Music is a birthright." About this Episode We were delighted to discover the Mile Of Music Festival, which curates international music workshops alongside concerts of Americana and Folk music. Several of the Americana acts were imported nationwide and even internationally, but all of the international music is taught by people from within their small Appleton community. So which music is ‘local’?? We attended this 3 day festival, attended the workshops and spoke with the organizers to fully understand the blurring of [...]

Jess Sah Bi & Peter One World Music Foundation Podcast | Season 1, Episode 8 "It made a different touch on people’s hearts." About this Episode Jess Sah Bi & Peter One, musicians from Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa, recall hearing the harmonies and guitars of Simon and Garfunkel and Cat Stevens for the first time and how that impacted their music from that point onward. In our conversation they take us through the creation of their landmark African-Country-Folk inspired album Our Garden Needs Its Flowers from their initial search for a producer to [...]