WPR: Higher Ground - Interviews

#944 Danny Mekonnen

Thu, 2 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Jonathan interviews Danny Mekonnen, founder of Debo Band, an 11 member Ethiopian pop music group. Mekonnen and Overby discuss the influences and inspiration of Debo's founding.

#923 "Brasa Music" with Dr. Richard Miller

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks again with Dr. Richard Miller, a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology and researcher in Asian popular music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison about the history of brass bands and their relationship with military and religious music.

#917 Fela Kuti with Tejumola Olaniyan

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks again with Tejumola Olaniyan, the Louise Durham Mead Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin and co-editor of the West Africa Review, about Fela Kuti.

#915 Polish folk music with Szymon Wozniczka

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:00:00 -0600

Jonathan Overby interviews Szymon Wozniczka, one of the founding members of the first Polish folk music news forum "Muzykant", about Polish folk music.

#912 Fela Kuti with Tejumola Olaniyan

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 11:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks with Tejumola Olaniyan, the Louise Durham Mead Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin and co-editor of the West Africa Review about his book "Arrest the Music! Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics."

#909 Koo Nimo

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:00:00 -0600

Jonathan interviews musican, professor and ethnomusicologist Koo Nimo who recently played in concert with Atimevu Drum and Dance Ensemble in Madison's Music Hall. He is a master of West African Palm wine or Highlife guitar music.

#908 Jennifer Cutting

Sat, 3 Dec 2011 11:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to composer, arranger, producer and instrumentalist Jennifer Cutting who's known for her award-winning original yet traditional British & Celtic music.

#906 KoTolan with Otto Granillo

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Jonathan interviews trombonist and songwriter Otto Granillo from the Latin and World music group KoTolan. The group, led by Japanese born accordianist and singer Junko Seki, sings in Japanese, English and Spanish.

#902 "Moliendo Cafe II" with Dr. Richard Miller

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 18:00:00 -0600

Jonathan Overby continues his discussion with Dr. Richard Miller about "Moliendo Cafe" including its arrival in Japan and how various translations changed the perception of the music and how it appealed to the Japanese working class.

#901 Micheline Cardoso with Miguel Ivery

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to Miguel Ivery aka "DJ Seduce", founder of Afro:Baile Records, a world music label, about his newest project with Brazlian bossa nova singer Micheline Cardoso.

#899 Nawal

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 15:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to international singer and songwriter Nawal, known as the "Voice of Comoros islands." She draws on traditional Comorian influences for her music and incorporates sounds from African and Arabic culture.

#898 "Moliendo Cafe" with Dr. Richard Miller

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:00:00 -0600

Jonathan continues his discussion with Dr. Richard Miller about Moliendo Cafe or "Coffee Grinding" composed by Venezuelan Hugo Blanco in 1958 when he was just 18 years old.

#897 Asian music with Dr. Richard Miller

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to Dr. Richard Miller, a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology and researcher in Asian popular music at the UW-Madison. He has traveled extensively in Asia conducting research on the wide variety of music and cultures in that region.

#890 Nisos with Nikos Koulouris

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:00:00 -0600

Jonathan interviews clarinetist and composer Nikos Koulouris, one of the founders of the group Nisos which plays traditional music from Greece and Turkey.

#889 Klezmer with Roger Davidson and Frank London

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to pianist and composer Roger Davidson, and Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Frank London about Klezmer music.

#888 Amina Alaoui

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 06:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to singer, songwriter and poet Amina Alaoui who was born in Fez, Morroco and is a interpreter of Andalusian classical music.

#880 Chie Sato Roden

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:30:00 -0600

Jonathan Overby talks with pianist Chie Sato Roden, a passionate proponent of American and Japanese piano repertoire.

#878 Amarpal Gaind

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:30:00 -0600

Jonathan Overby interviews music producer Amarpal Gaind about the new compilation album 'Sufis at the Cinema' and how the music of mystical Muslims became integral to the sound tracks of the Bollywood film industry.

#876 "Dub is a Weapon" with David Hahn

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:00:00 -0600

Jonathan talks to David Hahn, guitarist and leader of the band 'Dub is a Weapon'. They have just released their CD called Vaporized.

#874 Sambossica with Miguel Ivery

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Jonathan Overby interviews Arizona native Miguel Ivery aka 'DJ Seduce' about the 3rd installment of the Sambossica series with his new release Brazil:Sambossica 3 from Afro:Baile records.