African Music Concerts Week of Mar 14 - Mar 20

The spiritual musics of the world unite every year in Fès, Morocco for a festival. The best performers meet and create an unique collection of very distinct sounds. This year a collection of the festival participants will perform in Los Angeles. The groups are from France, North Carolina, Palestine, and other countries featuring Sufi, Sephardic, Muslim and Gospel music. The lone African group travelling here is Hadra des Femmes de Taroudant of Morocco.

Congolese rumba meets Cuban salsa when Ricardo and friends hit the stage. Join them at their home stage and favorite place -- the Conga Room -- where the dance floor is just big enough for all the fans to gather at once and feel the beat.

Guitarist and singer from Cameroon, winner of the 2000 Kora Award for best artist from Central Africa, Tala performs for the first time in Los Angeles. He is quite famous in Cameroon and with the backing of Manu Dibango, he moved to Paris and sold several hit albums. He is the "Stevie Wonder of Africa" and plays a style of music call benskin. The show will be opened by Dumazz, the band of Cameroonian bassist Andre Manga, who was once musical director for Manu Dibango. This promises to be a rare and very high caliber show.

Straight from Ghana comes the pop sounds of Nat "Amanzeba" Brew. Amanzeba produces a modern mix of highlife, soca, soukous, roots and pop music using an 11-piece band for this performance. Also featuring francophone artist Kwesivi Tollo.