Down by the Bahia: Angélique Kidjo and "Bahia"

The legendary Angélique Kidjo sings the random tune for today, Bahia. A Grammy award winning singer-songwriter from Benin, Kidjo regularly makes world lists of notable and inspiring African women and as one of the world's greatest musicians. She is known for an astonishing variety of musical influences from diverse musical personalities and an array of genres. She sings in four languages (Fon, Yoruba, French and English) as well as her own personal language. After a childhood in Benin listening to traditional Beninese music as well as other world stars such as Fela Kuti, James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Jimi Hendrix, Hugh Masakela and Stevie Wonder, among others, she began her musical career in Benin before moving to Paris in 1983 where she was discovered and signed to a major label. She has put out at least 15 albums. She does various forms of advocacy for UNICEF, African girls' education, hunger and third world health, among other things. Bahia can be found on her 2002 album Black Ivory Soul, and on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Women of Africa (2004). This video is from a live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. Bahia refers to the state in Brazil, where Kidjo teamed up with Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian musicians to write songs for the album.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang%C3%A9lique_Kidjo

In a Brazilian State: Angelique Kidjo and "Bahia"

Happy birthday to my partner in this show, the legendary Megan Kamerick! The equally legendary Angélique Kidjo sings the random tune for today, Bahia. A Grammy award winning singer-songwriter from Benin, Kidjo regularly makes world lists of notable and inspiring African women and as one of the world's greatest musicians. She is known for an astonishing variety of musical influences from diverse musical personalities and an array of genres. She sings in four languages (Fon, Yoruba, French and English) as well as her own personal language. After a childhood in Benin listening to traditional Beninese music as well as other world stars such as Fela Kuti, James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Jimi Hendrix, Hugh Masakela and Stevie Wonder, among others, she began her musical career in Benin before moving to Paris in 1983 where she was discovered and signed to a major label. She has put out at least 15 albums. She does various forms of advocacy for UNICEF, African girls' education, hunger and third world health, among other things. Bahia can be found on her 2002 album Black Ivory Soul, and on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Women of Africa (2004). This video is from a live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. Bahiarefers to the state in Brazil, where Kidjo teamed up with Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian musicians to write songs for the album.

Africa's Premier Diva: Angélique Kidjo and "Bahia"

The legendary Angélique Kidjo sings the random tune for today, Bahia. A Grammy award winning singer-songwriter from Benin, Kidjo regularly makes world lists of notable and inspiring African women and as one of the world's greatest musicians. She is known for an astonishing variety of musical influences from diverse musical personalities and an array of genres. She sings in four languages (Fon, Yoruba, French and English) as well as her own personal language. After a childhood in Benin listening to traditional Beninese music as well as other world stars such as Fela Kuti, James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Jimi Hendrix, Hugh Masakela and Stevie Wonder, among others, she began her musical career in Benin before moving to Paris in 1983 where she was discovered and signed to a major label. She has put out at least 15 albums. She does various forms of advocacy for UNICEF, African girls' education, hunger and third world health, among other things. Bahia can be found on her 2002 album Black Ivory Soul, and on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Women of Africa (2004). This video is from a live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Getting Religion: Metá Metá with "Logun"

I'm pretty open to religious practices, and today's random selection of a song taught me about a religion that I didn't know about. Candomblé is a religion based in West African tradition and brought to Brazil by slaves. It is native to the Bahia region. It is often celebrated concurrently with Christianity, and in fact it was necessary for adherents to do so because those who practiced it were subject to persecution until the 1970s. The religion has no writings and is therefore passed through oral tradition. Adherents believe in a Supreme Being who is served by lesser gods called orishas or orixás, who also serve as individual tutelary gods to humans. Music and dance are valued quite highly in Candomblé as they are ways in which individuals can become possessed by the orishas.

Metá Metá is a Brazilian band from São Paulo with musical roots in the Candomblé religion. This song is called Logun and it's from album Metá Metá's album Metal Metal (released 2014). The album starts with a religious chant, then switches into songs dedicated to the orixás, or gods. Throughout the album are echoes of freeform jazz and punk rock, with cool vocals and passages of jazz saxophone and percussion. In other words, a holy melange that will once again make you marvel at the wonders of Brazilian music.