This week, Montreal is the place to be for global sounds as Mundial celebrates its seventh iteration. Lots of music to enjoy and schmoozing to be done. If you’re in the neighbourhood, check it out!

Coming next week to the Small World Centre, Spirit of the Narrows reveals a uniquely Canadian music and the stories of those who create it. Anne Lederman and Capucine Onn present a music “like no other, embodying Indigenous, French, English, American and Eastern European traditions, all played on a small box with four strings.” Savour the sounds of Aboriginal folk fiddling, and gain a perspective of life on the prairies.

Looking into December, another great night at the Centre brings Ivan Mazuze – a Norway-based composer, award-winning saxophonist, and world jazz artist from Mozambique. Deeply rooted in African jazz, his melodic tunes are backed by a powerful rhythm section, which gives space for improvisations, and moves between jazz and the African urban soundscape. Watch the quintet’s performance at Cosmopolite Scene – Oslo Kulturnatt; We’ll welcome them as a quartet on Friday the 8th.

This weekend, our friends at Batuki Music present Hommage à Signeur Tabu Ley Rochereau et Papa Wemba with Alliance Française at their Theatre. The concert features veteran Congolese music group, Cour des Grands, performing a sample of the works of Tabu Ley Rochereau and Papa Wemba to honour these giants of African music. Popular Congolese vocalist, Blandine Mbiya, joins the group for this tribute.

Polyphonic Ground Presents is tonight at Revival! We look forward to Afro-Fusion-Dub with d’bi. & The 333, and Persian underground, Sina Salimi, along with reggae DJ artist Jenn Stein on the decks throughout the night. This promises to be a great live show and here’s why; d’bi. & The 333 played a sold out AGO First Thursday in March, so this is an excellent opportunity to see them, and Sina Salimi will pay tribute to Leonard Cohen in English and Farsi. Watch them perform a song based on “Pour faire une Jam” by Charles Aznavour. Tickets will be available at the door.

For more Persian music, join The Circle Music Band when they return to the Small World Centre on the 18th. Their combination of Persian classical and contemporary poetry with jazz, psychedelic flavours and Middle Eastern instrumentation continues to win them fans and acclaim.

Also at the Centre, a music theater event of note: Anne Lederman remounts Spirit of the Narrows. Performed by Anne and Capucine Onn, it tells the story of her journey into the world of Aboriginal fiddling. More on that to come.

Tomorrow evening a special (post-Halloween) treat awaits in the form of Sudanese jazz artist Rasha, making her Toronto debut. A uniquely gifted singer, musician and songwriter, Rasha Sheikh Eldine has maintained a presence in the international music scene for over 25 years. Based in Spain (not the UK as published last week), where she emigrated in 1991 to escape the volatile situation in Sudan, Rasha performs at the Small World Music Centre following her appearance at the Festival Du Monde Arabe de Montréal. She will be joined by two of Toronto’s finest: Waleed Abdulhamid on guitar, bass, percussion and backing vocals, and Ernie Tollar on saxophone, flutes and ney. Only a few tickets remain!

Next Thursday, the monthly Polyphonic Ground Presents concert combines the programming chops of Link Music Lab with Good Kind Productions to bring Afro-Fusion-Dub and Persian avant garde santur to the stage of Revival. Santur player, and singer-songwriter Sina Salimi fuses Persian poetry with original lyrics, drawing inspiration from his roots and modern sounds. Following that it’s, d’bi. & The 333 – headlined by the dancehall-queen-daughter-of-dub-poetry-womxnist-warrior d’bi.young anitafrika, a group she started with Waleed Abdulhamid! Here they are performing “Blood” at Sofar Toronto last year, with incredible energy.

An exciting announcement for an Afro-centric event, Rasha, the celebrated Sudanese singer based in London, makes her first Toronto appearance next week, on November 3rd, at our venue! The added tour engagement thrills us. A versatile performer, her debut album Sudaniyat, named among the 10 best of 1997 by fRoots, brought the diversity of Sudanese music to the fore, ranging from Arabic poetry and Sufi music and even touches of reggae. Watch Alwa’ad (The Promise) and seize this opportunity!

As mentioned last week, this Saturday, October 28th, The Jay Danley Band releases “Ethiojazz Volume 1,” their first full length album, at the Centre. Jay’s superb guitar playing anchors his global jazz sound with a strong emphasis on Ethiopian influences. This event is made even more special by the participation of guests Hilario Durán (piano), Rich Brown (bass) and Alexander Brown (trumpet). Should be sweet!

Then on November 1st, Yasmin Levy & The Klezmatics present an evening ranging from Judeo-Spanish ballads and songs of love and loss, to one of the wildest approaches to klezmer, blending the traditional dance music with contemporary rock, funk, and jazz. We have a pair of FREE tickets to this great night at Koerner Hall! They’ll be awarded to the first to respond via email. Be sure to make it out to at least one of these three shows if you can!