Shakti NPR Tiny Desk Concert (2023)

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Here is Hussain reuniting with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin for their project Shakti at NPR’s Tiny Desk.

NPR’s Felix Contreras says:

“It's hard to get past the significance of this performance by the Indian jazz fusion band, Shakti. Initially formed in 1973 by jazz guitarist John McLaughlin with virtuoso traditional Indian musicians, the band opened the doors for others to expand their musical appreciation beyond Western music. 50 years later, as guitarist McLaughlin reunites with tabla player Zakir Hussain to take Shakti on another world tour, the group stopped by for a magically inspiring performance behind the Tiny Desk.”

Setlist:

  1. "Shrini's Dream"

  2. "Lotus Feet"

  3. "Bending the Rules"

Players:

  • John McLaughlin: guitar

  • Zakir Hussain: tabla

  • Selvaganesh Vinayakaram: kanjira, ghatam

  • Shankar Mahadevan: vocals

  • Ganesh Rajagopalan: violin

  • Visit Zakir Hussain’s official website

  • Follow Zakir Hussain on Facebook

  • Purchase Zakir Hussain’s music at Amazon

  • Listen to “Raga Kedar: Gat In Ektaal” by Pandit Shivkumar Sharma & Ustad Zakir Hussain on Episode 17 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Superhsow.

Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (2010)

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As we continue to mourn Zakir Hussain, we also celebrate his life and legacy through the wonderful music he left us. Wildly innovative and a master of his craft Hussain often collaborated with unlikely partners, blending musical styles.

One of his better known cross-genre projects was with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer. The trio stopped by the NPR studios for a Tiny Desk performance in 2010.

Setlist:

  1. "Bubbles"

  2. "Bahar"

  • Visit Zakir Hussain’s official website

  • Follow Zakir Hussain on Facebook

  • Purchase Zakir Hussain’s music at Amazon

  • Listen to “Raga Kedar: Gat In Ektaal” by Pandit Shivkumar Sharma & Ustad Zakir Hussain on Episode 17 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Superhsow.

Alsarah and The Nubatones: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

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I first encountered Alsarah and The Nubatones when doing the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow. I immediately fell in love with their music and featured their track "3roos Elneel" on Episode 16 which originally aired September 24, 2018. Back then, I wrote:

According to the group's Facebook page: "Alsarah & The Nubatones came together out of a collective love for Nubian music and a genuine belief that Soul transcends all cultural and linguistic barriers. Inspired by the pentatonic scale they blend a selection of Nubian 'songs of return' from the 1970s-today with original material and traditional music of central Sudan. Their set is a musical journey through diaspora and migration from an urban lense."

NPR adds:

“When singer Alsarah left her native Sudan, she was just a child who'd shown an interest in music. She's said it served as her coping mechanism during a subsequent transition to life here in the U.S. That passion led her to a university degree in ethnomusicology.”

The group stopped by NPR’s Tiny Desk in 2016 for three songs.

Setlist:

  1. "Ya Watan"

  2. "3roos Elneel"

  3. "Fulani"

Players:

  • Alsarah (vocals)

  • Nahid (backing vocals)

  • Rami El Aasser (percussion, backing vocals)

  • Mawuena Kodjovi (bass, backing vocals)

  • Brandon Terzic (oud)

Other Important People:

  • Producers: Felix Contreras, Niki Walker

  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin

  • Videographers: Niki Walker, Nicole Boliaux

  • Production Assistant: Jenny Gathright

  • Photo: Raquel Zaldivar/NPR

Wu Man :: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (2011)

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“Watch the world's reigning pipa virtuoso play ancient music from her Chinese homeland in the NPR Music offices. When her fingers start to fly, Wu Man can create scenes of cinematic grandeur or serene, moonlit moments.”

  1. Setlist:
    "Ambushed From All Sides"

  2. "Night Thoughts"

  3. "White Snow In Spring"

Bob Weir And Wolf Bros: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

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Bob Weir And Wolf Bros: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert.


Setlist:

  1. Only A River

  2. When I Paint My Masterpiece

  3. Ripple

  • Visit Bob Weir’s official website

  • Follow Bob Weir at Facebook

  • Follow Bob Weir at Twitter

  • Purchase Bob Weir’s music at Amazon

Roy Ayers: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

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Roy Ayers’ stopped by the NPR Tiny Desk in March 2018 with keyboardist Mark Adams, bassist Trevor Allen and drummer Christopher De Carmine.



Setlist:

  • "Searching"

  • "Black Family"

  • "Everybody Loves The Sunshine"

Musicians:

  • Roy Ayers, Mark Adams (keyboards)

  • Trevor Allen (bass)

  • Christopher De Carmine (drums)

Important People:

  • Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith;

  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen;

  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin;

  • Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kara Frame, Bronson Arcuri, Dani Lyman;

  • Production Assistant: Joshua Bote;

  • Photo: Jenna Sterner/NPR.

  • Visit Roy Ayers’ official website

  • Follow Roy Ayers at Facebook

  • Follow Roy Ayers at Twitter

  • Purchase Roy Ayers’ music at Amazon

The Comet Is Coming: Tiny Desk

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Since you, dear friends, trust my musical explorations, I know you remember my recent post about Shabaka and the Ancestors: Soul Jazz For The End of Days.

Between Shabaka and the Ancestors, Sons of Kemet, and The Comet is Coming, I dig the musical universe of Shabaka Hutchings in a way I have dug a musical universe in quite a while. While Shabaka and the Ancestors scratch my soul/spiritual-groove-roots-jazz itch, The Comet Is Comet channels my Quarantine angst with electronics, pulsating beats and skreeking skronks and some of the most evocative playing I’ve heard in a while.

The group’s Facebook page says:

“The Comet is Coming to destroy illusions. It will manifest new realities, perceptions, levels of awareness and abilities to coexist. It is a musical expression forged in the deep mystery. It is the overcoming of fear, the embracing of chaos, the peripheral sight that we might summon the fire.

Through the transcendent experience of music we reconnect with the energy of the Lifeforce in hope of manifesting higher realities in new constructs. Because the end is only really the beginning.”

Late last year, the group recorded an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, performing tracks from Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery.

Setlist:

  1. "Super Zodiac"

  2. "Summon The Fire"

  3. "Blood Of The Past"

Musicians:

  • King Shabaka: saxophone;

  • Danalogue: synthesizer;

  • Betamax: drums

  • Visit the official Shabaka Hutchings website.

  • Visit the official website for The Comet Is Coming.

  • Follow The Comet Is Coming at Facebook.

  • Visit The Comet Is Coming’s Bandcamp page.

  • Purchase The Comet Is Coming’s Music at Amazon.

  • Visit Shabaka and the Ancestors’ Bandcamp page.

  • Follow Shabaka and the Ancestors at Facebook.