This month on Travel Notes we head north to Canada where we talk with Laura Risk, assistant Professor in the Music and Culture program of the Department of Arts, Culture and Media at the University of Toronto Scarborough and professional Scottish and Québécois fiddler. Her fiddling has been described by filmmaker Ken Burns as "a revelation and achingly beautiful” and Living Tradition hails her 'powerful, percussive style… bursting with energy and passion.”

Today, we dive into some of her research projects and explore tunes and musical traditions that are hundreds of years old with relations to music from all over the globe. We also listen to a few songs off her newest album, Traverse, which was released in 2023 and is a 10 track musical journey through traditional fiddle music.

https://laurarisk.com/

https://www.gracemcnallymusic.com/

Welcome back to Travel Notes! Today, we're thrilled to chat with professional violinist, Laura Diaz. Laura's musical journey took her from graduating with degrees in Music Performance, Music History and Computer Information Systems to a 2021 SURF Grant where she explored Guatemalan composer Joaquín Orellana's career amidst Guatemala's turbulent history, digitizing and archiving his work for future generations. Tune in for a deep dive into the innovative music of Joaquín Orellana, Laura’s groundbreaking project and this unique cultural connection!

Link to the documentary: https://youtu.be/fFvcQVbNddw

Link to NY Times article on Joaquín Orellana: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/arts/music/joaqin-orellana-the-spine-of-music.html

In today's show we are going somewhere we’ve never been before on Travel Notes! We are going to the southernmost island in the Caribbean just off the coast of Venezuela, perhaps most musically well known for their steel drums thanks to their economy’s heavy reliance on petrochemicals and petroleum, you may have heard of this island called Trinidad and Tobago!

Our cultural liaison will be Trinidadian and Toronto based musician Drew Gonsalves, founder of the calypso group Kobo Town. Together, we get to know the complex, diverse and compact country of Trinidad and Tobago through the musical lens of calypso and Kobo Town’s newest album, Carnival of Ghosts.

Today's musical guests on Travel Notes are two lovely humans and fantastic musicians: Eleanor Dubinsky & Darío Acosta Teich. Eleanor is a USA-born vocalist, guitarist and cellist who sings in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Her music is open-hearted and culturally fluid, connecting underground tributaries between languages and world rhythms in uplifting, soulful compositions that explore the fragile links between human emotions and responsibility. Dario, a guitarist, composer and master of Latin folk instruments, combines his deep knowledge of classical and South American vocabularies with his passion for jazz harmony and free improvisation.

Together, we explore their music, expansive respective and shared musical journeys and discuss how music connects us as all as human beings.

Learn more about their work & music here

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.