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The Jazz Playground Tour: Oran Etkin, Live from Philly!

Oran Etkin just dropped by the office with a great live clip from the February 28th Jazz PG tour stop at the Please Touch Museum. Read more below to hear what Oran had to say and check out the great live concert clip!

We had a lot of fun out in Phillly at the please touch museum! What a great place and great audiences. I came with my band with Jeremy “Bean” Clemons on drums, Mamiko Watanabe on piano and “Tuba” Joe Exley on… you guessed it… but my friend Clara Net was too sleepy and came to the concert in her bed. We had to wake her up, and she called for her mama. Big Mama Tuba came out and played with us and helped us take Clara Net all around the world to Duke’s Place in Harlem, Cuba, Mali, France and New Orleans! We’ll be taking the show to New York next on March 13th at the Scholastic Store. Looking forward to seeing the New York crowd then. I put up some lyrics and recordings of some of the tunes in the show on my website, www.oranetkin.com, too if you want to check it out.

March 13 - New York, NY
Oran Etkin
Scholastic Auditorium
11 am  & 1 pm
557 Broadway
www.scholastic.com/sohostore
Free - Reservations required
212-389-3800

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Putumayo Kids Presents: Jazz Playground New CD Release & Free Song Download!

Jazz Playground is out now!  From bebop and swing to Latin and African jazz, this multicultural CD celebrates the vibrant diversity and global influence of jazz and will get the whole family grooving!

To download the FREE song “Little Lamb Jam” by Oran Etkin with Charenee Wade, click here.

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Benefit Concert for Haiti in NY, featuring Angelique Kidjo and others!

Just Announced!
Benefit Concert for Haiti
Featuring Angelique Kidjo, Yannick Noah, Emeline Michel,
BélO, Mino Cinelu, and Surprise Special Guests
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 8pm

“Co-presented with The Cultural Services of the French Embassy
Presented as part of the international month of La Francophonie with the generous support
of Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank

Venue
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022

Prices
$50 & $150

Buy Tickets
Online: Ticketmaster.com
Call: 212 307 4100

Internationally acclaimed, Grammy award-winning musician Angelique Kidjo, French superstar Yannick Noah, esteemed Haitian vocalist Emeline Michel, up-and-coming Haitian singer-songwriter BélO, French multi-instrumentalist and singer Mino Cinelu, and surprise special guests will share the stage of Florence Gould Hall at this unique benefit concert for Haiti.

The performers have generously agreed to donate their time and talent to raise funds for two distinct, focused organizations, in an effort to make a real and sustained difference: Ciné Institute and the French Heritage Language Program.

Ciné Institute seeks to educate and empower Haitian youth with the creative, technical, and business skills necessary to grow local media industries that can provide jobs and spur economic growth in Haiti. It is located in the town of Jacmel, which was completely devastated by the January earthquake. The French Heritage Language Program is run by the non-profit French American Cultural Exchange foundation (FACE), and plays a vital role in educating young Haitian refugees in Miami and New York.

All proceeds benefit Ciné Institute and the French Heritage Language Program.

For more information visit the French Institute Alliance Française

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Putumayo Celebrates International Women’s Day 2010!

On March 8th, women all over the world celebrate International Women’s Day. A national holiday in many countries and commemorated by the United Nations, International Women’s Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history. Though often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, this day allows women everywhere to look back on a tradition of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

This classic Putumayo World Music collection Women of the World: Acoustic, was created in part as a tribute to International Women’s Day.

For more information on International Women’s day please visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com/.

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The World’s First Global Musical Instrument Museum Opens April 24th!

DubMC recently conducted a great interview with Sunni Fass, managing director of the new MIM Music theatre, regarding the new Musical Instrument Museum set to open on April 24, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona. Following are excerpts from the interview:

“What we traditionally refer to as “world music” will be the bread and butter of MIM and lies at the core of our mission.  The breadth and balance of information presented about every region of the world is absolutely unique in the world of museums, and this breadth will be echoed in the Music Theater.

MIM is unique.  There is no other institution or instrument collection in the world that presents such a breadth and scope of musical culture, on such a large scale.

Our Mission: The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) celebrates the similarities and differences of the world’s cultures as expressed through music, which is common to us all.  With musical instruments from every country in the world, MIM will pay homage to the history and diversity of instruments and introduce museum guests to their varied and unique sounds. MIM will be an engaging, entertaining, and informative experience, in which the uninitiated and the knowledgeable, the young and the old will feel welcome.”

Read more of the full interview by clicking here!

To read more about the Musical Instrument Museum and take a virtual tour, visit www.themim.org.

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Playground Dad Interview’s Putumayo Founder and CEO, Dan Storper as part of their Dad Profile Series

Playground Dad posted a wonderfully in-depth ‘dad profile’ interview with Putumayo Founder and CEO, Dan Storper.

“It’s recognizing that young kids in their very formative years have an interest in music and language and also getting them to learn about other cultures through music, which is core to Putumayo. All of that feels like it’s making a positive impact which is a great sense of promise for Putumayo.”

Read more of the full interview by clicking here!

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Putumayo Kids Presents: The Jazz Playground Tour

Putumayo Kids celebrates the release of Jazz Playground, a new collection of international jazz songs for children, to be released on Tuesday, March 9th.

Featured artists Oran Etkin, Ingrid Lucia, Barbara Morrison and Lewis Franco will share their love of jazz with families in select cities across the country on a special concert tour.

If you’re in Philadelphia on Sunday, be sure to check the first stop of our tour with Oran Etkin at the Please Touch Museum. Showtimes are 1PM & 3PM.  Check out the clip below of Oran and friends in action!

February 28 - Philadelphia, PA
Oran Etkin
Please Touch Museum
Junior Jazz Concert Series
1 pm & 3 pm
4231 Avenue of the Republic
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org
Free with museum admission

March 13 - New York, NY
Oran Etkin
Scholastic Auditorium
11 am & 1 pm
557 Broadway
www.scholastic.com/sohostore
Free - Reservations required
212-389-3800

March 13 - New Orleans, LA
Ingrid Lucia
Louisiana Children’s Museum - 1 pm
www.lcm.org
Free with museum admission

March 20 - Los Angeles, CA
Barbara Morrison
Kidspace Children’s Museum - 11 am
www.kidspacemuseum.org
Free with museum admission

March 28 - Amherst, MA
Lewis Franco
Eric Carle Museum - 1 pm
www.picturebookart.org
Free with museum admission

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Haitian relief thoughout 2010 (updated)

In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Putumayo is re-releasing French Caribbean and our children’s CD Caribbean Playground and will be donating 100% of our proceeds from the sale of each CD to the Red Cross for Haitian relief throughout 2010.

In 1976, I had the extraordinary experience of visiting this unique country and became a fan of its music, art and people. As a resident of New Orleans, I’ve witnessed how a city can come back from virtual ruin. Haiti will rise again! Dan Storper, Founder/CEO

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‘Rhythm & Blues’ New CD Release + Free Song Download!

Putumayo’s newest release, Rhythm & Blues, features first generation soul legends and rising stars of the retro R&B revival.

Download the FREE song “Who Knows” by The Quantic Soul Orchestra featuring Kabir from Rhythm & Blues by clicking here.

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Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Mandela’s Release

After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela became a free man on February 11, 1990 — an historic event remembered across the world today.  That day marked the end of apartheid rule and the start of democracy.

“I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all,” Mandela said in his first address, with arms outstretched on the balcony of Cape Town’s city hall, where 50,000 people clamoured to welcome him. “Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. We call on our people to seize this moment so that the process towards democracy is rapid and uninterrupted. We have waited too long for our freedom.”

Fellow Nobel prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said:

“When he emerged from prison, people discovered that he was all the things they had hoped for and more. He is by far the most admired and revered statesperson in the world and one of the greatest human beings to walk this earth.”

~ Quotes taken from the Montreal Gazette

Putumayo joins in the celebration of this historic and momentous occasion!