Travel Notes Grace McNally

This week on Travel Notes, Grace talks with the groundbreaking Gambian kora virtuoso, Sona Jobarteh! Sona is breaking barriers as the world’s first professional female kora virtuoso from the West African Griot dynasties. With a lineage of renowned Kora masters, including her grandfather Amadu Bansang Jobarteh and cousin Toumani Diabaté, Sona's talent is unmatched. Her distinctive voice, infectious melodies, and onstage grace have garnered international acclaim. Beyond music, Sona is a dedicated humanitarian, founding The Gambian Academy and advocating for social change on global platforms. Join us as we dive into Sona's inspiring journey and discuss her impactful work as a global changemaker. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Travel Notes highlights the LEAF Global Arts retreat happening May 9-12 in historic lake Eden, NC and talks with special guests, Jennifer Pickering who is the co executive director of LEAF Global Arts non-profit based in Asheville NC and Adama Dembele, LEAF Cultural Ambassador who is also a talented djembe and balafon player from the Ivory Coast. They listen to some of Adama’s music and dive into everything you need to know about LEAF Global Arts Retreat and the organization as a whole!

In today’s episode of Travel Notes we are talking with Derek Gripper who has been on the show before and a renowned South African guitarist, whose love for the kora set him to transcribing and recording some of its greatest works. He is joined by Malian kora virtuoso, Ballaké Sissoko for their upcoming performance at the Savannah Music Festival this weekend, March 30th at 5:30 PM and 8PM. For their performance, Sissoko and Gripper explore the ancient musical traditions of the griots of Mali in their performance titled: The Art of the Kora.

This episode features an unreleased bonus track at the end of the program which will be on Derek & Ballaké album, 'Derek Gripper & Ballaké Sissoko' coming out in early May 2024

Join us on today's episode of Travel Notes as we journey to Uppsala, Sweden to chat with folk musician Gabbi from the Nordic folk/rock band, FRÄNDER.
I was lucky enough to catch FRÄNDER live at the Scandinavia House in New York City earlier this year and I can tell you first hand that you guys are in for a treat. Not only is their music dynamic and fantastic live, it’s also very thoughtfully rooted in Nordic folk music traditions which we dive into in more detail in today’s show.

On today’s episode of Travel Notes, we are featuring a musical group that had humble beginnings on a farm in South Africa some 63 years ago. Today, they are living legends whose music has played a pivotal role during the apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela listened to their music while he was imprisoned during the apartheid citing their music carried a powerful message of peace. 
Today’s featured guest is the legendary group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo
 We dive into their origin story, the style of music they sing, their new 2023 album ‘Soothe My Soul: Songs From Our South African Church’ and revisit some of their most memorable moments throughout their incredible six decade long career. They’ve won more grammys than any other world music group in recorded music history - and today I’m honored to have Albert Mazibuko who is celebrating his 55th year as a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo on the show.

Drum roll….it’s the first episode of Travel Notes for 2024! I’m so excited about this year’s first guest - Clay Ross, a multi-grammy award winning guitarist/vocalist, composer and educator about his group American Patchwork Quartet or APQ. I saw the American Patchwork Quartet perform at the APAP conference in NYC this past January and was absolutely blown away by their live performance and music.
This dynamic and virtuosic group binds timeless American folk songs with jazz sophistication, country twang, West African hypnotics, and East Asian ornamentation on their debut self titled album which comes out Friday, February 9th. 
Throughout the album, we find potent symbols of unity in diversity, exploring universal truths through a range of musical languages and cultural lenses - themes like longing, heartbreak, desire, fulfillment, tranquility and love...ultimately revealing the joys, sorrows, and unwavering hope of a nation crafted by shared dreams and diverse histories.