Well, that was a whirlwind.
I started the day playing for Lara McIntosh’s Wassa Dance class. Musicians today were Denny Stern, Thierno Diop, Naby Camara, Shemayim, and me. We had one really sweet groove early on. I turned on my recorder hoping the catch some of the magic, but the rest of the class was only above average, not sweet and specatacular. Oh, well, maybe I’ll catch it next time.
Headed for the Ballard outdoor market after class and met up with a group of friends that included Middle Eastern and Central Asian dance expert Helene Eriksen.
Then it was off to Seattle Center for Brasilfest, where I caught Eduardo Mendonca’s group Show Brazil, Kofi Anang’s Ocheami, and the samba band Vamola. As soon as my computer and internet connection start behaving, I’ll put up some videos from Brasilfest, including a great one of Daniel Pitta Santos choreographing a dance for the crowd at the Show Brazil performance.
From the Seattle Center, I went to Hidmo to catch the African All-Stars. The group is different almost every time Mohammed puts on a show, and tonight’s orchestration was really nice. Mohammed Shaibu on guitar and talking drum, Jimmy Free on bass and vocals, Etienne Cakpo on percussion and vocals, and Shemayim on percussion. Mohammed was using the wah-wah pedal a lot, to very nice effect, and by the end of the night everyone in the place was up dancing.
Sorry, but I’m tired of fighting with my computer, so I won’t be able to get videos uploaded tonight. Heading off to bed with visions of a MacBook dancing in my head (and of this old Windows laptop being shipped off to a friend in Guinea).