Showing Archived Posts

1Beat Brings New African Music to Washington

Posted October 22nd, 2012 at 2:56 pm (UTC-4)
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A trio of musicians from different regions of Africa joined me in VOA’s Studio 4 here in Washington for some good conversation and music. The artists (from left to right) are Nigerian Kayode Kuti on bass and vocals, Kenyan Kato Change (pronounced CHAN-GAY) on guitar, and Mozambican Helio Vanimal on vocals and body percussion. They […]

Sierra Leone’s Sorie Kondi comes to D.C.

Posted October 11th, 2012 at 6:19 pm (UTC-4)
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On Thursday, October 4th, vocalist and music innovator Sorie Koroma, a.k.a. Sorie Kondi, gave his debut US performance in Washington DC. Kondi, who has been blind since birth, gave an exciting performance of what his sideman and percussion player, Ibrahama, described as “cultural music.”  I spoke with them before the show and learned that their […]

Posted in Sierra Leone

VOA’s Veteran Music Man Leo Sarkisian Says Goodbye

Posted October 2nd, 2012 at 6:32 pm (UTC-4)
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Last Friday was a bittersweet day, particularly for me, as well as for my colleagues in the English to Africa Service and other departments at the Voice of America:  At age 91, Leo Sarkisian, founder of the radio program Music Time in Africa and pioneering African music collector, officially retired from the agency after what he called […]

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About

Heather Maxwell produces and hosts the award-winning radio program “Music Time in Africa” and is the African Music Editor for the Voice of America. Heather is an ethnomusicologist with Doctorate and Master’s degrees from Indiana University specializing in African Music. She is also an accomplished jazz and Afrojazz/Afrosoul vocalist and has been working, researching, and performing in Africa and the U.S. since 1987.

The Leo Sarkisian African Music Collection >>

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