South African Musical Icon Hugh Masekela Is Coming To The Dakota Jazz Club

Bra Hugh Rampolo Masekela

by Nelima

Bra Hugh Masekela is a musical genius who plays the trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn and cornet; he is a great singer and composer as well as a master storyteller, activist and history teacher (by way of his music).

At 72 he is still going strong and will be performing two shows a day on Feb 15th and Feb 16th at The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant. You really do not want to miss this.

Especially since you get a $10.00 discount off your tickets if you use the code name ‘MinneAfrica’

We will again be running a lottery to give away 2 pairs of tickets to the 9:00pm shows. Email your full name and phone numbers to www.minneafrica@gmail.com to be entered into the lottery. We will run the lottery at 6pm Monday Feb 13th so have your info to us by then.

General info:

7pm shows are $40.00

9pm shows are $30.00

Ivorian Dobet Gnahore at The Dakota Jazz Club this Thursday

Grammy Award winner Dobet Gnahore will be back in Minnesota to deliver an amazing performance this Thursday at The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant. FYI: The promotional code ‘MinneAfrica‘ gets you a discounted ticket read below.

Here’s a great description on The Dakota Jazz Club’swebsite.

Dobet Gnahore picture credit: Wikipedia

Dobet Gnahoré, a singer, dancer and percussionist from the Ivory Coast, inherited the force of the “Bété“ tradition from her father, Boni Gnahoré, a master percussionist. Dobet met French guitarist Colin Laroche de Féline, who went there to immerse himself in African melodies and rhythms, after being introduced to them by Toroma Sika in France. Having spent some time in the well-known Tché Tché dance company, Dobet decided with Colin (in 1999) to form a duo, Ano Neko, which means “Let’s create together“ in the Bété language. The duo toured widely in France (1999-2000) where they settled temporarily following the instability that unfortunately struck the Ivory Coast. In 2003, their artistic project refocused on Dobet Gnahoré and expanded when a backup vocalist and a percussionist joined them. This was when the Contre Jour label produced her first album entitled Ano Neko, making the link with Dobet and Colin’s evolving musical history. Ano Neko contains songs recorded in Abidjan and others recorded in Belgium during the summer of 2003. From Mandingue melodies to Congolese rumba, from Ivory Coast Ziglibiti to Cameroon Bikoutsi, from Ghanian High-Life to Zulu choirs, their compositions, carried along with jazz-like sounds, are varied and colorful. The sanza, the balafon, the calebasse and bongos are brought in to support the guitar, the vocal backup and Dobet’s warm and powerful voice. Dobet, who won the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2006 “Best Newcomer”, made her North American debut in the fall of 2006 in Putumayo Presents: Acoustic Africa, alongside Habib Koite and Vusi Mahlasela. In 2010 Dobet Gnahoré won the Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the song “Pearls” in collaboration with India.Arie.

Tickets are $30.00 – The promotional code ‘MinneAfrica’ gets you a discounted ticket.

Vusi Mahlasela ‘The Voice’ is coming back to Minnesota

Update: Feb 10th

Congratulations to our lucky, lottery winners; Doris, Peter and Gabi! For everyone else you will get a $5.00 discount at the door if you use the codeword: MinneAfrica. See you Sunday with your dancing shoes .  Psst: We will have more ticket giveaways and discounts for other African concerts in the very near future so keep checking back at MinneAfrica.

Guess what? Vusi Mahlasela will be coming back to Minnesota and we’ve got tickets for you! If you missed him before, here’s another chance to catch him in action – read this article from his last concert here.   For those of you who aren’t well acquainted with Vusi, here’s a clip from his performance during the world cup;

‘The Voice’ as he is affectionately known in native South Africa, will be performing at Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant Sunday February 13th. How timely – Valentine’s Day (hint hint)

MinneAfrica will be giving away 3 pairs of tickets. To be entered into the lottery send an email to minneafrica[at]gmail[dot]com . Winners will be announced by Thursday February 10th. There may be something for the non-winners too so keep your eyes and ears open

Event Details;

Where: Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant

When: February 13th 2011

Time: 7:00pm

Price: $25

For more information click here

South African Jazz Artist, Hugh Masekela, coming to The Dakota

How lucky are we Minnesotans! Legendary South African jazz trumpeter, freedom activist and Grammy award winner, Hugh Masekela, will grace us with his presence again. I know many of you missed his last concert at the Dakota because both shows were sold out so this time be sure to get your tickets early. The prices may be a bit steep, but take it from me; the experience will be well more than worth the cost. Even at 71, Hugh Masekela’s concerts are an energetic, emotional musical journey through history.

Check out his performance of ‘Grazing In The Grass’ at this year’s World Cup;

For more info click here.

Concert details:

When: Oct 20th – 21st

Where: Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant

Cost: $45 at 7:00pm and $30 at 9:30pm