After three weeks of rebroadcasts since outside producers can’t go in to the Public Radio Tulsa studios, I’ve been able to put together some basic gear to produce the show from my home office. With a little insulation from a pillow fort around my mic to deaden the reverb in the room and blankets over the windows to help cut out ambient noises, it came out sounding great!  On this week’s new program you’ll hear music from these artists pictured here and more. I’ll start off the show by paying tribute to Afro-Funk pioneer Manu Dibango, who sadly passed away from complications of COVID-19 at the age of 86. He left behind an incredible body of work spanning nearly 60 years. He’ll be dearly missed. Check out this live version of his big hit “Soul Makossa,” recorded in Nairobi in 2013.

I’ll also celebrate the centenary of Ravi Shankar’s birth – he would have been 100 on April 7th. Shankar died in 2012 at the age of 92, and he also created an eclectic body of work that brought Indian classical music to listeners all around the world. In honor of this anniversary, his daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones and the Shankar family had put together a series of celebratory concerts, with the first one taking place in London on April 7th – which unfortunately had to be cancelled because of the stay at home situation amidst the COVID-19 crisis. With the concert on hold, Anoushka asked many of her father’s students from around the globe to record their parts for the tune “Sandhya Raga” to share with the world. It was all put together in this wonderful video.

On this week’s program, I’ll play a live recording of “Sandhya Raga” performed by Ravi Shankar and a large ensemble that comes from his 1989 album ‘Inside the Kremlin.’

I’m glad to be able to get back to producing new shows. I hope you’re all doing well wherever you are. Stay home, stay healthy. Listen to music!