Small Roots - World Roots concert at Bristol
Top-flight world music artists from three continents will converge on the Colston Hall in Bristol on Saturday the 8th of October for a special concert in celebration of the centenary of “green” pioneer E.F. Schumacher, the man who coined the phrase “small is beautiful.”
The Saturday, October 8 evening concert- Small World - will complement the two-day Schumacher Centenary Festival taking place in Bristol and will be a highlight of the weekend which also features lectures, workshops and a mini film festival – all celebrating the life and vision of Fritz Schumacher, founder of the Soil Association and author of Small is Beautiful – one of the Times Literary Supplement’s 100 most influential post-war books.
Organised by The Schumacher Society and programmed by WOMAD’s former Artistic Director Thomas Brooman, Small World will bring six key global acts to Bristol, some making their debuts at the Colston Hall.
The vibrant line up of global musicians will see one of the world’s finest percussionists -Indian master musician Trilok Gurtu - travelling to the UK for an exclusive performance at the Small World concert. The inspirational Mumbai-born multi-Grammy winner is a sensation, moving freely between pop/jazz/classical and world genres. www.trilokgurtu.net
Senegal’s outstanding and elegant exponent of the 21-stringed kora, Seckou Keita - a highlight of this year’s HOME world music festival at Devon’s Dartington Hall - will make a triumphant return to Colston Hall where he last appeared with Youssou N’Dour in 2002 while Johnny Kalsi’s dynamic The Dhol Foundation, with their thundering Dhol drum sound, will show just why their bhangra music has gone down a storm with audiences around the world. www.seckoukeita.com www.dholfoundation.com.
The concert will also feature one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters, Patrick Duff (left). The Bristol-based artist appeared at the 2010 HOME world music festival and was previously lead singer of the alternative rock band Strangelove who had Top 40 singles and album chart success. A solo performer since 2000, Patrick has travelled the world appearing at numerous WOMAD festivals and touring Europe and the USA. www.patrickduff.com.
The final act on the main stage will be Jamie Smith’s Mabon (JSM) – the high energy band from Wales whose last recording was voted Best Instrumental Album of 2010 in the Spiral Awards and who prompted a standing ovation at their Colston Hall debut at April’s Bristol Folk Festival.
Formerly known simply as Mabon (meaning autumn equinox), the prodigiously talented JSM sextet are fast making their unique mark on the roots scene with a vibrant fusion of InterCeltic music, led by tunesmeister and accordionist extraordinaire Jamie Smith.
Smith’s inspired, eclectic tunes dominate the material that delves into every Celtic corner – from their native Wales to Brittany, Scotland, Ireland, Galicia and beyond, taking the audience on a magical whistle-stop Euro tour with jigs and reels jostling for space alongside other dance-related forms including Breton an dro, French mazurka, Galician muinera and even shades of klezmer in an exuberant, feelgood show. JSM’s website - in Welsh, English and French - can be found at www.jamiesmithsmabon.com
Bringing colour and driving rhythms to Colston Hall foyer during the evening will be Colores de Colombia with their exuberant dances and melodies from Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The sound of voices, tambores, flutes and guitars revive a rich culture with mixed roots in African, indigenous Indian and European influences.
This rare one-off concert with a festival flavour will encapsulate all that’s best about roots music, fusing diverse global talent and shrinking the world for one night, thereby proving the truth of another popular phrase “it’s a small world”.
•Tickets for the 7.30pm Small World concert, price £15 (£10 under 25s and pensioners) and are available from the Colston Hall box office on 0117 922 3686 or online at www.colstonhall.org and www.schumacher.org.uk – the latter site providing more information about the whole weekend Schumacher Festival.