Monday, July 13, 2009

Global Groves at the Kimmel Center




My home is a hotbed of all kinds of music and music from Africa dominates. I especially love music from Zaire because it demands that you be joyous and last Thursday I was ecstatic. It’s one thing to hear music from your ipod or CD player and it’s a whole other, awesome experience to hear live the music you love. And that’s what happened to me last Thursday at the Kimmel Center. As part of its annual summer series-Global Groves-the Kimmel Center presented Samba Mapangala and his band Virunga . Samba is a phenomenal singer from Zaire(The Democratic Republic of the Congo) and his band is banging. If you know anything about Congolese music, you know it’s driven by guitars, percussion and horns and you have to move to it-you have no choice. The music is that compelling and Samba and Virunga had the Kimmel Center audience out of its seats and dancing. Samba sung in Lingala and Swahili and these languages are mesmerizing .

The whole concept of Global Groves is in sync with the idea that we are a global village and we should know about one another and what better way than through music. These concerts are held in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theatre where an audience member can sit and listen to the concert or go in front of the performance stage ,where there is a huge dance floor for you to bust your moves. That’s what I did last Thursday as did many others. Old and young and all ethnicities came together and jammed. It was so amazing and moving.

In addition to Samba and his band, there were these beautiful dancers who made you see how incredible and elastic the human body is. You must check out the rest of the Global Groves series. This Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Cu Cu Diamantes, a fun and vibrant singer from Cuba, will give a concert with her band. I have my dancing shoes ready and I hope you do, too. Here is a link to Cu Cu Diamantes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcfIoZxPCaM&feature=channel


For more information about the Kimmel Center and its Global Groves series contact the following:

Kimmel Center, Inc.
260 South Broad Street,
Suite 901
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Administrative Offices: 215-790-5800 Fax: 215-790-5801
Tickets: 215-893-1999
Visitor Services: 215-670-2327 Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm

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