Farsighted Fly Girl

South Africa is an exciting country. No matter where you are, in a big city like Johannesburg , or a rural village, there's always music, dance or art incorporated into the environment, usually all three. African culture does not separate art and culture from everyday living but I was still taken aback by the exuberant sounds and dance I witnessed everywhere I traveled in South Africa. I love African music and dance, it connects on a deeper level than anything  I've seen in the West. So experiencing the varied rhythms, movements and emotions of live South African music and dance was a joyful treat. Check out a few of my faves from Durban , Isithumba and Cape Town , in the videos below. These Zulu women mesmerized me with the power of their harmonies and the emotions bursting through the song. I don't understand Zulu but I felt every single verse of this tune. Full of high spirits and excitement, these dancers in Isithumba cultural village called up the power of...

Music is one art form that transcends language, culture and location. If you want to understand a destination better, listen to the local music, preferably live. Jamaica is famous for reggae music and there's is absolutely no better place than the island's lively streets, beaches and clubs to hear the genre live. The breezy melodies and thumping rhythms of reggae jump to life in Jamaica. I was fortunate to hear legends like Mykal Rose , Beenie Man and Marcia Griffiths during VP Records 40th anniversary of classic reggae music.  You can check out my brief videos of the shows below but they don't even come close to the magic of hearing it live. I can't even describe the feeling of listening to live reggae in Jamaica. It's an integral part of the culture that dives right into your soul.  Jamaicans love their native music and you will always hear them singing along to live performances with as much passion as the singers. It's like a family reunion/neighborh...

At this time exactly six years ago, I was headed to one of my favorite islands. The land of wood and water is the translation from the original Arawak word, Xaymaca. I 'm returning again to Sweet Jamaica and it has been entirely too long. My pic above shows the famous Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay, which is where I will be staying at the brand new S Hotel . It's always special to visit Jamaica but I'm going for an extra special event, the 40th anniversary of iconic reggae label, VP Records.  As a reggae fan, this is a huge deal. I'll be documenting the opening of a special Reggae Music Journey exhibit at Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport as well as a live concert in conjunction with the launch of the Strictly The Best compilation album.   I'll also be attending the opening of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism's Association's travel marketplace opening ceremony featuring T arrus Riley and mento legends, The Jolly Boys. Look out fo...

Billed as the longest dance festival in the world, India's Navratri Festival is filled with color, music and dance. Running nine consecutive nights to honor the goddess Durga,   I was excited to witness this joyful celebration in person. From the minute that I landed in Ahmedabad,  which is noted for extensive and particularly dramatic Navratri festivities, I could feel the high energy. The opening ceremony exploded with a red carpet, spotlights, processions, video projections and a dizzying array of dancers and music. It was truly overwhelming just to keep up with the spectacles because dancers were on the stage, twirling through aisles and prancing on the side of the stage. I'm glad I had the chance to watch subsequent days of the festival because they were different from the opening night. The first night featured a swirl of professional dancers and singers but other nights displayed dance students and judges rating their performances. I got to congratul...

If you consider Las Vegas as the ultimate in over-the-top, showgirl performances, think again. The inspiration for Las Vegas shows and all its colorful, feathered glamor was Cuba, specifically the legendary Tropicana Cabaret.  Opened in 1939 on the grounds of a suburban Havana mansion, it evolved into the most spectacular open air cabaret ever seen. Music icons like Nat "King" Cole, Paul Robeson, Omara Portuondo, Carmen Miranda and of course, Celia Cruz, graced the stage and celebrities filled the seats. I  heard about the history of the Tropicana, including the darkers aspects like the mobsters that ran it and the racism that kept dark-skinned black performers off the stage unless they were superstars like Nat "King" Cole. I knew immediately that I had to see it in person. Walking into the huge outdoor space, I was handed a red chrysanthemum and men were given cigars. Swaying palms, stages at every angle and blinking lights were all I could make out in the ...

The best part of travel is meeting people who share experiences and stories that reflect how diverse and exciting the world truly is. On the flawless beach of Anguilla's Sandy Island , I met DJ Kristelle Morin, who performed as part of the Livin In The Sun EDM Festival. I'm not a huge fan of EDM (electronic dance music) unless it's the house music that I grew up with in Chicago. I need an element of emotion to enjoy music and most techno and electro music lacks that element. But I learned a few things when I met international DJs in Anguilla, especially a sunny-faced DJ named Kristelle Morin from Australia. Lounging on Sandy Island, Kristelle explained how she started out as a DJ in Sydney and travels between London where she works with   Tribe Records , and the rest of the world, spinning her music.  It's not easy for women DJs to establish themselves in the EDM industry and Kristelle explained the challenges of pushing past the sexism and misogyny. What really ...

It's been a rough week so I'm especially excited to head to the gorgeous British Caribbean island of Anguilla.  It would be enough just to experience the laid back culture and famous beaches of Anguilla but I'm going to be covering the inaugural Livin In The Sun Music Festival.  The three day event kicks off this weekend and focuses on DJ's from around the world playing on Anguilla's pristine beaches. The multi-sensory experience combines music, art and since Anguilla is considered the Caribbean's culinary capital, food. I can't even wrap my head around all of the highlights but I'm looking forward to exploring a few of the island's 33 beaches, sampling local dishes and hearing DJ's from Italy, France, South African and Anguilla. The head-liner is Walshy Fire of Major Lazer so I don't expect to be off my feet very much. Please stay tuned for posts and videos!

To me, nothing reflects a place and its essence more than the music that originates there. If it's hard to understand or explain a destination, you only need to listen to it's native rhythms for answers. Cuba has son. Jamaica has reggae. Spain has flamenco and Portugal has fado. What is fado? It's the passionate, dramatic music of longing that exemplifies the Portuguese spirit. Some call it Portuguese blues music. Fado singers or fadistas  are usually accompanied by Portuguese guitar (12 strings), viola and eight string bass. The tradition dates back to the 1820s and is usually performed in bars and cafes. The queen of fado or  Rainha do Fado,  is the legendary Amalia Rodrigues,  , whose brilliant voice helped popularize fado internationally. I have been lucky to see contemporary fado singers Martiza and Ana Moura perform but I wanted to hear the music in it's home. So I walked through Lisbon's hilly cobblestone streets to Adega Machado , a popular fado h...

I remember clearly the first time I heard about Prince. Every girl in my class was totally in love with this cute guy that sang in a breathy, sexy falsetto. But it wasn’t immediately clear that he would kick down so many barriers with his stiletto-clad feet and permanently tattoo his mark on music, when Prince arrived on the scene in 1978. His lush afro and bedroom eyes captured the imaginations of teen girls who helped make his first release, ‘Soft & Wet,” a minor R&B hit from his debut album, “ For You” . Filled with sexual references and coos and moans, it was a telling indicator of the musician’s future status as a sex symbol and provocateur but nothing more. The fact that the 19-year-old had produced, arranged and played every instrument on every song should have been a clue to his greatness but it was the end of the '70s. Music genres were strictly defined and its stars neatly boxed in. But things were shifting. Rock was embracing elements of new wave , funk was bl...

I've been writing for a slew of new publications this year, including a few international sites. I was excited to be contacted by Brilliant Noise Media to craft a story about the best places to hear classic Chicago music for London's Heathrow site, Good to Go . You know I was pumped about sharing Windy City sounds! I supplied details about where to hear signature Chicago blues and jazz. Check out my post here.

There's no person that has done more to promote Jamaica and her culture than Robert Nesta Marley. My exploration of Kingston and Port Antonio involved many standout experiences but I have to start with the island's most famous son. The Kingston house that Bob lived in during the height of his career has been transformed into a museum . It holds his recording studio, gold and platinum records,original bedroom and an eerie hologram image. Photos aren't allowed inside but there's more than enough to document outside.  The bronze statue of Bob stands atop of a painting of his "three little birds" the I-Threes backing group that consisted of Judy Mowatt, Bob's wife Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths. On the side of the structure are paintings of significant Rastafari figures: Haile Selassie who represents God and Marcus Garvey, the Jamaica born cultural activist. Lions representing Selassie's lion of Judah flank both sides of the statue. There ...

In Whitehorse, the capitol city of the Yukon, the Yukon River commands much of the city's focus. Running along the town in untamed waves, it really represents why Whitehorse is called "Wilderness City."  I strolled the boardwalk near the river and was excited to see a musician playing his guitar. He had come from Montreal to play for his cousin's wedding that night. He was practicing by the river and the guitar rhythms seemed to flow at the same pace as the waves. Check out my video to hear a portion of  his soothing tune.

It's a thrilling experience to watch flamenco dancing . The rhythms, the dramatic flourishes and chants capture you immediately. I climbed the steep cobblestone hills of Granada, Spain to watch a flamenco performance in the famous caves of Sacromonte . Formed around ravines and supplying striking views of the Alhambra Palace, this historic neighborhood is worth a visit even without flamenco but the dance and the music is closely tied to the area. The area was settled by Roma, Moors and Jewish people fleeing persecution. The derogatory term of gypsy is still used but Roma is the preferred name for these nomadic people who arrived from India in the 15th century. It's said that elements of Indian dance can be glimpsed in flamenco as well as Moorish and Jewish influences. What I recognized was the strong connection between cultural expression and systematic oppression. Many of the movements and phrasing reminded me of American blues culture and I think that there are many histo...

If you've ever heard his music, you'll never forget it. If you ever met B.B. King in person, you'll never forget it. B.B. King was truly unforgettable not just because he was the King of the Blues but because he remained a loving and humble spirit throughout his stunning 67-year career. B.B. is universally acknowledged as the most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century and I think his humility sometimes obscured that fact. He wasn't flashy, he wasn't boastful. But if you heard the first few notes of a B.B. King song, you recognized it immediately The resonance of his guitar riffs and his commanding vocals ripped right through you. Buddy Guy, a far flashier blues guitarist, famously described B.B's skill this way: "We've got all kinds of special effects on guitars now. You can push a button. B.B's special effect was his left hand." Like most of the great blues masters, he was born in the Mississippi Delta as Ril...

It's been three years since I've dipped my feet into the European charm of Montreal. I love the city's dynamic energy and elegant architecture. Of course, I also love the legendary Montreal Jazz Fest, the world's biggest jazz festival. Thanks to Tourisme Que'bec , I'll experience more of the city's gifts, from the also legendary circus arts festival, Montreal Completement Cirque, pictured above, to the museums and bustling neighborhoods. Montreal nightlife is the focus for this trip so I'll be documenting the exciting foodie scene as well as the nightclubs and non-stop festivals. I'm especially excited about pedaling through a night bike tour of the Mount Royal neighborhood and a visit to Bota Bota, the floating spa fashioned from an old ferryboat and boasting sublime views of the St. Lawrence River. So stay tuned for culinary, music and arts posts soon.

The breadth of the beauty and the richness of the culture that I experienced in Andalusia is overwhelming. I took 732 photos on my DSLR, 200 on my point and shoot camera and 100 on my phone. It was hard to decide what to share first so I thought about the essence of Spanish culture. I observed a great respect and value for family, food and music. So I decided on one of my most memorable experiences, listening to live flamenco in the garden patio of Alcadima Hotel , in Lanjaron. It's a family run hotel that sits surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the Alpujarra region. We were treated to a nine course dinner prepared by the owner himself and served by his son.The lush gardens that encircled the patio are tended by his grandmother. He invited a local flamenco guitarist who was accompanied by his mother, who danced the stomping rhythms along with his playing. If you can imagine the heady sensations of a striking landscape, rich food, warm hospitality and hypnotic music a...

It has been 40 years since the quintessential reggae band Third World, graced the globe with its smooth and spirited rhythms. Debuting  live as the opening act on Bob Marley's 1974 European tour, they have maintained an international presence ever since. One of the most enduring and popular reggae acts in the world, they spread the music as Jamaica's official reggae ambassadors. A genre-defining musical mix of cultural lyrics and contagious melodies laced with funk and soul,  the Third World sound was personified by Bunny Rug's rich and commanding vocals. I have been very lucky to have experienced the magic of Third World many times, the most recent at Jamaica's Jazz and Blues Fest last year. A third World concert always features thrilling musicianship and lots of  high energy. I watched as Bunny, also known as William Clarke, pushed the dancing crowd into a frenzy, belting out hits like "Try Jah Love," "Reggae Ambassador" and "1865 (96 deg...

In South African indigenous cultures, death is only reserved for animals. The human spirit lives on so it is said that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela has passed on, he has gone to join the ancestors, he has gone home. I have spent the last few weeks mourning this  inevitable fact, along with the rest of the world. Madiba (his Xhosa clan name) represents so much more than a political leader to me.  The brutal inhumanity of apartheid that he and his people braved, from being torn from his ancestral land to being imprisoned for 27 years because he had the audacity to protest, is inspiring not because he survived but that he refused to surrender his dignity or humanity during the process. He goes down in history for his formidable feat of forgiveness and reconciliation but he was also a  seasoned fighter who knew when to wage a battle and when to fall back. My own political awareness began with images of the children of Soweto fighting off armed police, posting "Free Mandela" p...

June officially opens the summer season in Chicago and that means a schedule packed with street festivals, outdoor cafes and of course, the beach. I don't know what it is but whenever the weather turns balmy, my thoughts turn to Brazil.  Memories of salty air swirling over my skin, sipping fresh cashew juice and samba beats vibrating through the air, keep running through my mind. For me, nothing captures the energy of Brazil like the music so I've been listening to one of my favorite Brazilian artists, Ceu.  Her name means sky in Portuguese and her easy blend of bossa nova, African rhythms and jazz stylings recalls the the dreamy blue Brazilian sky I remember, pictured above. Check out her video for "Malemolencia" below. What's your soundtrack for the summer?

The sheer force of passion and pain that pushed through Etta James' voice transcended genres, eras and cultures. She was known as a singer's singer who could sing rock, r&b, blues and jazz with equal ease but Etta earned the title of blues diva long before the term became popular.  She believed in the honesty of blues music. I'll never forget when I first saw her perform live in Chicago, she declared, "Blues is life. People who don't like the blues are phony people." That may be a highly generalized statement but that was Etta, she didn't mince words or hold back what she felt. And neither did her music. Her voice could roar with authority, it could purr with sultriness. Whatever she sang, from covers like her signature "At Last" which was a Glen Miller tune, to the songs that she wrote like "I'd Rather Go Blind,", she stamped them with the undercurrent of sass and ache in her voice and made them her own. With four Grammy Awar...