Respect festival 2009
Renato Borghetti / Brazil
12. 5. - Palác Akropolis, 19:30 / Respect Festival
Ecstasy, humor and first-rate virtuosity: Brazilian accordion superstar Renato Borghetti, master of the rich musical gaucho traditions from southern Brazil, offers an exciting and elegant mix of traditional forms such as milonga, chacarera and chamamé with touches of jazz, tango and Italian-Spanish influences. He won a Latin Grammy in 2005 for Best Brazilian Roots/Regional Album, for his album Gaita Ponto Com. "Mozart would have enjoyed it a lot!" (Wiener Zeitung, Vienna, June 2005]
Zuco 103 / Brazil, Netherlands
2. 6. - Palác Akropolis, 19:30 / Respect Festival
Can you mix samba with DJ culture? Brazilian carnival with Berlin's Love Parade? Zuco do it on expert level, fusing high energy of a live drummer and keyboard magician with the stunning voice of Lilian Vieira from Rio de Janeiro. Their exciting new show - as well as their new remix CD, RETOUCHED! After The Carnaval - draws from the steaming hot atmosphere of Brazilian carnival.
Mario Bihari (Le čhavendar) / ČR
26. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 17:30 / Respect Festival
The blind Roma accordionist from Slovakia was originally discovered by the late Czech singer Zuzana Navarova, and in her band Koa he became the strongest personality after she passed away. His soft, intimate and very personal songs combine both Gypsy feeling and the soulful approach of the great American black masters like Stevie Wonder.
Erik Truffaz Indian Project / France, India
26. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 18:50 / Respect Festival
The "Miles Davis of Acid Jazz", French trumpeter Erik Truffaz, re-invents his style with every new album. JazzTimes heralded Truffaz's music as "nastier than smooth jazz and naughtier than straight-ahead." His last project, Benares, features two masters of Indian classical improvisation, the tabla player Apurba Mukherjee and his sister, singer Indrani.
Justin Adams - Juldeh Camara / UK,Mali
26. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 20:40 / Respect Festival
Seasoned by his work with Robert Plant and Tinariwen, Justin Adams' driving guitar finds a perfect match in West African Master Musician Juldeh Camara's powerful voice and one-string-fiddle playing. As a live trio with percussionist Salah Dawson Miller "a shaman at the court of Genghis Khan" (Evening Standard), they invoke the spirit of ancient juju Rock and Roll. The band has won the BBC World Music Awards and in Prague will launch their excellent second album. "This sound is more exciting than a Led Zeppelin reunion," (The Times).
Shahab Tolouie / CZ, IRN
27. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 14:35 / Respect Festival
This exceptional guitar virtuoso studied classical music of Iran in his home city of Teheran, and flamenco guitar with great masters of the style in Andalusia. His singing and music bridges both traditions, and frequently he switches from guitar to the Iranian traditional lute setar.
Muzsikas / Hungary
27. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 16:00 / Respect Festival
The award-winning Hungarian group Muzsikás revives the vanishing dances from Transylvania. While most of East European folklore ensembles became tools of Communist propaganda, in Hungary the tanc-haz movement was a part of anti-establishment activities, and Muzsikás were its co-founders. For the Western audiences, the group was discovered by Joe Boyd, producer of the first recordings of such luminaries as Pink Floyd or Eric Clapton.
Mari Boine / Norway
27. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 17:30 / Respect Festival
Her first album Gula Gula was released as a bold discovery by the Real World label 20 years ago. Her music is rooted in the Sámi heritage from the Norwegian Lappland, but to this strong, almost primeval base, she has brought a fresh interpretation and new instrumentation. Mari's crystal voice cuts across the guitars, flute, charango and drum, its qualities both hauntingly spacious and painfully intimate. She is an artist without equal and can touch on strings you might not know you had.
Kasai All Stars / Kongo
27. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 19:10 / Respect Festival
Just like Konono N°1, they draw on traditional trance music, to which they've incorporated heavily distorted sounds generated by DIY amplification of their instruments. But, coming from an area which is musically very rich, they use diverse rhythms, timbres and instrumentation: the trademark electrified thumb pianos are joined by an array of buzzing drums, swirling guitars and hypnotic balafons. "By Western measures, the bizarre timbres constitute an accidental avant-garde; by any measure, they rock, Grade A." (Entertainment Weekly, USA)
Issa Bagayogo / Mali, France
27. 6. - Ostrov Štvanice, 20:45 / Respect Festival
Nicknamed "John Lee Hooker of Mali," Bagayogo fuses dance loops with licks played on his ancient Malian lute. Contrary to many West African stars who record in France, he keeps close link to his roots and makes his recordings in the Malian capital Bamako, in a studio set up by the French producer Yves Wernert with the goal to encourage local musicians. His band includes some of Mali's top guitarists, like Karamokou Diabate and Mama Sissoko, and the result is an organic mix of West African and Western pop. "The perfect balance between roots music and modernity." (The All Music Guide)
