Happy birthday Angélique Kidjo, JazzCorner roster cellist Akua Dixon, and Todd Coolman. We remember the great drummer and teacher of Tony Williams, Terri Lyne Carrington, Sawyer Brown, Vinnie Colaiuta and others - Alan Dawson. Born in Benin, Angelique Kidjo is a activist and vocalist. Time Magazine has called her Africas premier diva. The BBC has included Kidjo in its list of the African continents 50 most iconic figures. The Guardian has listed her as one of its Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World and Kidjo is the first woman to be listed among The 40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa by Forbes Magazine. She is an occasional contributor to the New York Times. On June 6, 2013, Kidjo was elected vice-president of CISAC. Her musical influences include the Afropop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba, jazz, gospel, and Latin styles; as well as her childhood idols Bella Bellow, James Brown, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Miriam Makeba and Carlos Santana. She has recorded George Gershwins Summertime, Ravels Bolero, Jimi Hendrixs Voodoo Child and The Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, and has collaborated with the Dave Matthews Band, Kelly Price, Alicia Keys, Branford Marsalis, Robbie Nevil, Philip Glass, Peter Gabriel, Bono, Carlos Santana, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, Dr John, The Kronos Quartet and Cassandra Wilson. Kidjo is fluent in Fon, French, Yorùbá and English, and sings in all four languages; she also has her own personal language, which includes words that serve as song titles such as Batonga. Malaika is a song sung in the Swahili language. Kidjo often utilizes Benins traditional Zilin vocal technique and jazz vocalese.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 07:13:05 +0000
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