Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, and film composer. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.
Kevin Roosevelt Moore, known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that travelled up the Mississippi River and across the expanse of America". His post-modern blues style is influenced by many eras and genres, including folk, rock, jazz, pop and country. The moniker "Keb Mo" was coined by his original drummer, Quentin Dennard, and picked up by his record label as a "street talk" abbreviation of his given name.
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos.
Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane is a Sotho South African singer-songwriter.
46664 was a series of AIDS benefit concerts played in honour of Nelson Mandela by South African and foreign musicians between 2003 and 2008.
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony is a 2002 documentary film depicting the struggles of black South Africans against the injustices of Apartheid through the use of music. The film takes its name from the Zulu and Xhosa word amandla, which means power.
The Best of What's Around Vol. 1, also known as TBOWA Vol. 1, is a greatest hits compilation album by the Dave Matthews Band that was released on November 7, 2006. The two-disc set is the Dave Matthews Band's first ever greatest hits album featuring 12 studio tracks on the first disc, and eight previously unreleased live tracks on the second disc.
Awake is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban. Announced on September 13, 2006, it is his third studio album, and a follow-up to his multi-platinum album Closer. Awake was released on November 7, 2006.
Wrasse Records is a British record label based in Ashtead, Surrey. It was started in 1998 by Ian and Jo Ashbridge. Both had been involved in the music industry prior to them starting up their own company. Its offices are based in the UK, but it distributes its CDs all around the world. In 2005, it licensed most of Universal Music's world music releases for distribution in the United States and the UK.
Naledi Ya Tsela, is Vusi Mahlasela's sixth studio album. Songs on the album are sung in five languages: English, Sepedi, Sesotho, isiZulu, and seTswana. There also a number of guest singers, including Dave Matthews and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and many other guest performers - whose contributions are not listed in the tracks only in the liner notes.
The Live Earth concert in South Africa was held at the Coca-Cola Dome, South Africa on 7 July 2007.
Louis Mhlanga is a Zimbabwean artist based in South Africa, an award-winning guitarist and producer. Mhlanga taught himself to play the guitar at a young age and is considered one of the best Southern African guitarists.
Maestro is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. It was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director Mark Johnson and film producer/philanthropist Whitney Kroenke. Playing For Change also created in 2007 a separate non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music and art schools for children around the world.
Cobhams Asuquo is a Nigerian musician, producer, and songwriter. In 2005, Asuquo was signed on with Sony ATV London as a songwriter. After working as Head of Audio Productions at a local label, Questionmark Entertainment, he set up his own recording facility in 2006. He is the former CEO/ Head of Productions of CAMP represented himself, Bez Idakula and Stan Iyke. He was responsible for Aşa's highly acclaimed international album ASA and has been mentioned on many artists' sleeve credits as producer and writer. He is now the Founder/CEO of Vintage Grey Media.
Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions is an album by banjoist Béla Fleck. Nicknamed "Throw Down Your Heart" after one of the songs, the album is actually a soundtrack for a film of the same name, released by Docurama Films, which he produced, about travelling through Africa, recording with many musicians from that continent as he searched for the origins of the banjo.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on 11 June at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, two hours before the opening match of the tournament. The ceremony started at 2pm local time and lasted 40 minutes. The ceremony involved 1500 performers, including Thandiswa Mazwai, Timothy Moloi, Hugh Masekela, Khaled, Femi Kuti, Osibisa, R. Kelly, TKZee, Hip Hop Pantsula and the Soweto Gospel Choir.
Iyeoka Okoawo is a Nigerian-American poet, recording artist, singer, activist, educator and TEDGlobal Fellow. Her music includes elements from soul, R&B, rock, hip hop, and jazz.
The 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute: Live from the Beacon Theatre, NYC is a compilation tribute album to John Lennon by various artists, released in November 2011. Proceeds from the album benefit the Japanese Red Cross. Not all songs from the concert are included here, such as Cyndi Lauper's covers of "Across the Universe" and "A Day in the Life".
Pedrito Martinez is a Cuban percussionist, drummer, singer, dancer, bandleader, songwriter, composer, and educator. He was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He is a Cuban Conguero performing classic Cuban Rumbas, Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music. He is a Santería priest. He came to the United States of America from Havana in 1998. He plays the Batá drum, conga, cajón, timbale, and bongo drums, among other percussion instruments. Pedrito learned his craft from the streets of Havana, Cuba. He has performed with Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo O'Farrill, Brian Lynch, and Bruce Springsteen. He settled in the New York City - New Jersey area in 1998.
