World Music Day at Queens Gardens Saturday 19th June By Jane Foster Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1   Gallery 2

I'd been praying that the rain would hold off for this very special event at Queens Gardens. Luckily it did for most of the day, and with bands from as far afield as Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, we all ended up dancing our little socks off.. The day was organised by Chris Smith at the Warren centre, and hats off to him for putting on a great event such as this.

The day started with Hosham from Afghanistan. One man and his keyboard, but what an amazing sound. He sang along to the pulsating beat with a voice full of passion and emotion. You could see the intensity in his face. There's a certain style of singing in Eastern music, with undulating melodies and scattered scales. I love this style.

How they do it I don't know, it must be some kind of movement in the throat. Anyway this guy reminded me of one of my favourite singers, Cheb Mami, who is Algerian. He was just as good looking as him, if not better.. Anyway I will move on before I get carried away.

Next, we were treated to some belly dancing by a local dance team. They looked the part in their jangly hip scarves, and added a certain exotic something to the occasion.

They were led by Louise, a very sensuous lady if ever I saw one, who runs their classes.

Then we saw Uzizo, a locally based band from Zimbabwe. They sang uplifting acapella harmonies, starting off with their national anthem. Although they pointed out that they were an amateur group, it didn't show. Their voices were spot on. One lady in the group was an energetic dancer. At one point in their set she seemed to go into some kind of trance, rolling around on the dance area with an ecstatic gaze in her eyes. A great performance.

Quinteto Mambo Jambo were next, playing infectious Cuban Brazilian rhythms. They've been going for a long time. I've seen them a few times before, Pete on guitar or some other instrument, and Frankie on sax, or some other instrument! But this was the first time I've seen them perform as a quintet, and they were as excellent as ever.

Always a crowd pleaser and a very photogenic band, they established a good rapport with the audience. I've got their album Rum 'n' Rhythm, which I'd recommend wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately about this time the English weather intruded upon the atmosphere and it started to shower a bit. But this didn't put off the next performers. Local Bollywood dancers Amit and Neha put on a great performance and got the crowd up dancing too. I was particularly pleased with the song they chose to dance to - a Bollywood style version of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. I heard this song a few weeks back in Lakh Kushia on Newland Avenue, and it had stuck in my mind. I loved it! So it was good to hear it again.

Next up were Batanai Marimba, another band from Zimbabwe. They played catchy and rhythmic tunes that you could dance to. They had some very impressive instruments including the one pictured here, which was huge and took up nearly half the stage. Don't ask me what it is but it sounded great. After this the clouds were creeping in and a lot of the audience had started trailing off. But this was the moment that members of the local Kurdish community had been waiting for - a Kurdish dance team and a local Kurdish band, Gul Naz.

The dance team wore traditional Kurdish dress and performed a dance linked together in line. This seems to be a common feature of their style of dancing, with men linking hands. They also performed with walking sticks and handkerchiefs, which to me has certain things in common with English Morris dancers, though they might not be pleased with that comparison!

Gul Naz finished off the day's events, and with an enthusiastic audience they were on top form. I admit I may be biased but I can't get enough of Eastern style singing, and very good it was too. An internationally acclaimed band, they had us all up dancing. So I ended up literally rubbing shoulders with lots of Kurds, which is the perfect end to any day in my book..

So, I'm looking forward to next year's event with baited breath, who knows what delights it may bring?... Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Jane thisisUll.com

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