From the waves to the redwoods, it's all happening here.

Clinton Fearon est un compositeur, auteur-compositeur, chanteur et musicien depuis son adolescence. Né en Jamaïque, Clinton est devenu le bassiste, chanteur et parolier des mythiques Gladiators à l’âge de 19 ans. Il a passé 18 ans avec le groupe et a signé plusieurs chansons avec cette formation, des succès et des classiques comme « Chatty Chatty Mouth », « Richman Poorman », « On The Other Side », « Can You Imagine How I Feel », « Let Jah Be Praised », « One Love », « Untrue Girl », et bien d’autres. Clinton Fearon a également été musicien pour différents studios en Jamaïque, notamment avec les producteurs Coxsone Dodd au Studio One et Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s au Black Ark, mais aussi au Chanel One, Aquarius, Harry J, Randy’s, etc. Dans ces studios, ce monument du reggae a composé des lignes de basse éternelles pour des artistes connus comme Yabby You, Jimmy Riley, Max Romeo, Junior Byles... Après avoir quitté la Jamaïque en 1987, Clinton Fearon a commencé une nouvelle carrière à Seattle. Lui et certains des musiciens des Gladiators ont profité d'une tournée américaine pour monter un nouveau groupe dans le Nord-Ouest : The Defenders. Le groupe s’est construit un bon public dans la région jusqu’à ce qu’il se sépare après cinq ans. Clinton Fearon forme ensuite son propre backing-band au milieu des années 90 avec des musiciens locaux à Seattle : Clinton Fearon & the Boogie Brown Band. Pour ses tournées en Europe, il s'associe à un autre backing-band, The Riddim Source, depuis 2019. Le courant est immédiatement passé, tant et si bien qu'ils ont enregistré ensemble, en France, ses albums suivants. Au total, Clinton Fearon a enregistré quinze albums sous son propre nom et il parcourt le monde avec ce répertoire impressionnant. Il se produit dans les grands festivals de tous les continents, et régulièrement aux Etats-Unis (Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Reggae On The River, National Folk Festival, Festival International de Louisiane, Houston International Festival, Salm

Nduduzo Makhathini is an improvisor, scholar and musicologist at the University of KwaZulu Natal school of the arts with a PhD in music obtained from Stellenbosch University. Makhathini’s practice and scholarship focus on constructing alternative sites for practicing and theorising jazz studies in South Africa that consider ba-ntu cosmologies as points of departure. Makhathini is also a multi award winning artist and internationally acclaimed musician from Pietermariztburg in KwaZulu Natal. As a bandleader, Makhathini holds 12 albums under his belt and he features on many as a sideman and producer. He is currently signed to the prestigious Blue Note Records in the US and has a busy tourist schedule that keeps him relevant in current jazz practices and discourses. Makhathini has collaborated with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, Richard Bona, Hamilton de Holanda, (the late) Zim Ngqawana, Omagugu, Shabaka Hutchings, Black Coffee, Thandiswa Mazwai, Mbuso Khoza and most recently, the WDR Big Band just to name a few of his favourite musicians that he has worked with. Makhathini has also done reputable festivals around the globe such as Umbria Jazz Fest, Joy of Jazz, Jarasum Jazz Fest, Chicago Jazz Fest , Montreal Jazz Fest and Cape Town International Jazz Fest among others. Currently, Makhathini is performing his recent offering uNomkhubulwane (2024) out on Blue Note Records. uNomkhubulwane is understood to be a mythical rain Goddess who regulates fertility through the language of water. The album is underpinned by an understanding of mythical institutions of Nguni peoples of Southern Africa, their connection to the cosmos and how that relates to ingoma (sound making and healing strategies). Makhathini has recently returned from a long US, South America and European tour that included his debut at the historical Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Koln Philharmonie.

Internationally known as Twanguero, Diego Garcia’s guitar playing has no equal. Based in Spanish tradition, this Latin Grammy winner layers his playing with his life experiences and takes the listener on an audio adventure with each song. For his Santa Cruz debut he will be playing “Backroads of the Americas,” a solo performance rooted in his travels across North and South America, or as he calls it, Pan America where he stayed with locals as he tried to capture the sounds of each location he found himself at. -Mat Weir; Good Times Santa Cruz

Accomplished musicians can sit in with just about anyone and find their groove. But when two musicians with decades of friendship get together, it can sound truly otherworldly. Guitarist Piers Faccini and Malian kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko converse, riff, laugh and speak of deep emotional truths all through their instruments and collective voice. Touring on behalf of their new album, Our Calling, the friends merge traditions and folk songs into a universal language. Part trance, part poetry, and all engaging. West Africa and European heritage find common ground in a way that is much needed. Show also on 9/13. -DNA; Good Times Santa Cruz