Global Music, Local Dates: Must-See World Music
Cities that are international destinations -- like Paris, Barcelona, London, and San Francisco -- have international reputations for the arts. The world's best artists want to perform in these metropolises, which is why San Francisco and the greater Bay Area always draw the crème de la crème of world-music stars. This fall, the crème is magnifique. Acclaimed musicians from Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Iran, Israel, Ireland, and Mali are turning the Bay Area into a global village. Here are nine world-music concerts you won't want to miss:
Jimmy Cliff
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Sept. 11
The Fillmore (1805 Geary Blvd., SF)
It doesn't matter that Jimmy Cliff hasn't had a major hit in 30 years. In the 1970s, Cliff hit it big with songs like "Many Rivers to Cross," "The Harder They Come," and "You Can Get It If You Want," which combined reggae aesthetics with pop sensibilities. The songs appeared on the soundtrack to The Harder They Come, the 1972 drama that also starred Cliff. Like Bob Marley, Cliff is one of Jamaica's historic musical figures -- someone whose songs will always seem fresh and oh-so relevant to the times that people live in.
For tickets and information, visit thefillmore.com.
Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club
Sept. 22
Davies Symphony Hall (201 Van Ness Ave., SF)
Surviving members of the Cuban group that re-emerged in 1996 -- and became a musical sensation across the world -- are reuniting for a tour that takes them around the United States. Key members of the group (most notably singer/guitarist Compay Segundo and singer Ibrahim Ferrer) have passed away, but vocalist Omara Portuondo (at age 82) and vocalist/singer Eliades Ochoa (a young 67) lead a revamped ensemble that (God bless 'em) is thriving anew.
For tickets and information, visit sfjazz.org.
The Waterboys
Oct. 6
Great American Music Hall (859 O'Farrell St., SF)
Celtic music meets rock 'n' roll with the Waterboys, a band with origins in Ireland and the greater U.K. that has been drawing audiences for 30 years. The music of the Waterboys is made for dancing and for feeling deeply about the subjects the group sings about – whether it's relationships or matters of history. There's a good reason the Waterboys have endured with fans: Their music is entirely authentic and full of passion. As always, singer/songwriter/composer/founder Mike Scott leads the group's high-stepping ways.
For tickets and information, visit gamhtickets.com.
The Idan Raichel Project
Oct. 12
Nourse Theater (275 Hayes St., SF)
The great Israeli keyboardist with dreadlocks, who fuses music from Arab, Israel, Ethiopian and other cultures to create his own distinct music, is the living embodiment of “globalized culture.” Raichel composes songs in Hebrew, French, English and other languages, and he brings on swaths of other musicians whose worldviews are also directed outward. The result is what he calls “The Idan Raichel Project,” which lets him veer off into many different directions -- often in a way that inspires his audience to dance the night away.
For tickets and information, visit ciis.edu.
Sussan Deyhim
Oct. 27
Yoshi's San Francisco (1330 Fillmore St., SF)
A master of mystical/experimental music, Deyhim has a voice that sounds like it was gifted to her by angels. She can go fast. She can go slow. Whatever speed Deyhim goes with her music, it's a chance to get lost in a feeling of wonder. You don't have to understand Persian to understand that Deyhim is exposing herself and her audience to songs that bring out highly rapturous emotions.
For tickets and information, visit yoshis.com.
Mariza
October 30
Zellerbach Hall (UC Berkeley campus)
Mariza has helped bring fado music to dizzying new heights. Fado is often called Portugal's version of the blues. It's about surviving hard times, but it's also infectious and thrilling. Whether she sings with Sting or with a full orchestras or by herself, Mariza inhabits fado in a way that gets under your skin. And that's a good thing.
For tickets and information, visit calperfs.berkeley.edu.
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán
Nov. 3
Zellerbach Hall (UC Berkeley campus)
There's Mariachi music and then there's mariachi music by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, a group that was founded more than 100 years ago in Jalisco, Mexico. Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán has made more than 50 albums, and its performance at UC Berkeley is a chance to see why it's considered the best mariachi group of its kind. When Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán gets on stage, its violins, trumpets and other instruments -- not to mention the shout-outs from its singers -- work in kinetic harmony.
For tickets and information, visit calperfs.berkeley.edu.
Kayhan Kalhor and Ali Bahrami Fard
Nov. 14
SFJAZZ Center (201 Franklin St., SF)
The most important musician to have emerged from Iran in the past 20 years, Kalhor usually plays kamancheh, a Persian spike fiddle, but for his 2012 album, I Will Not Stand Alone, he debuted a shah-kaman, a new version of his instrument that has sympathetic strings. The album also saw Kalhor working with Ali Bahrami Fard, who plays bass santur. Kalhor, who has performed regularly with Yo-Yo Ma and a who's who of other big U.S. names, performs with Fard for this concert, which showcases Kalhor's ability to pair his instrument with perfectly complementary sounds.
For tickets and information, visit sfjazz.org.
Rokia Traore
Nov. 22
Nourse Theater (275 Hayes St., SF)
One of Mali's foremost singer-songwriters -- and one of the country's select women to tour internationally -- Traore worked most recently with Toni Morrison and Peter Sellars on a new Shakespearean version of Desdemona. Traore's instrument of choice is the guitar. She often sounds folky, stripping a song of all pretensions and leaving a sparse instrumentation that accentuates a voice that yearns in the best way imaginable.
For tickets and information, visit ciis.edu.
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