September 28, 2004
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu

Angélique Kidjo, the dynamic singer from West Africa,
performs with her band at UCSB Campbell Hall

Summary Facts:

• Angélique Kidjo
• A charismatic singer from Benin in West Africa
• Often acclaimed as the most popular female vocalist in Africa
• Wednesday, November 3 / 8 pm
• UCSB Campbell Hall
• General public: $35 / UCSB students: $17
• Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

Dynamic singer Angélique Kidjo, three-time Grammy Award nominee, will perform with her band on Wednesday, November 3 at 8 pm at UCSB Campbell Hall. Kidjo, whose work has garnered her three Grammy nominations, has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. An electrifying performer fluent in French, jazz-scat English, and her country’s blues-like traditional zilin vocal techniques, Kidjo often sings in her native Fon/Yoruba language. The Rough Guide to World Music asserts that Kidjo “has done more to popularize African music than any other woman.” The Boston Globe claims, “Kidjo dominates the stage like a tiny Tina Turner.”

Throughout her career, Kidjo has collaborated with a diverse group of international artists like Branford Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Carlos Santana and Gilberto Gil. Her duet with Dave Matthews on the song “Iwoya,” which appeared on her 2002 record Black Ivory Soul, was a critical success that helped diversify her fan base. The release in 2001 of Keep on Moving—Best of Angélique Kidjo contained 18 tracks from her five CDs released between 1990 and 1998 and created a huge buzz in world music circles. Kidjo covers a lot of ground, from an Afro-pulsed rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” to her indigenous take on George Gershwin’s “Summertime.”

Kidjo’s latest release Oyaya!—which is the word for “joy” in Yoruba—fuses African and French lyrics to music that draws upon musical traditions of the Caribbean Diaspora. Produced by Steve Berlin, best known as a member of Los Lobos, Oyaya! is dedicated to the memory of the late writer and Billboard magazine editor-in-chief Timothy White, Kidjo’s dear friend and a steadfast supporter of her career.

Kidjo has also campaigned for world peace and social issues, performing at benefit concerts for AIDS/HIV education programs and Free Tibet groups. In 2002 she was appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, joining a distinguished group of artists that includes Harry Belafonte, Susan Sarandon and Youssou N’Dour.

Born in 1960, Kidjo was brought up in an artistic household in Ouidah, the voodoo capital of Benin. She performed from the age of six in her mother’s theater group, and recalls listening to records by the Beatles and James Brown and singing along, creating her own lyrics in Fon. By age twenty she was already one of a handful of professional female singers in Benin. Moving to Paris, she began her international recording career, consciously trying to bridge the gap between genres and national influences. Much of her work has been created with the help of her producer husband Jean Hébrail.

Angélique Kidjo is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by KCBX Public Radio and Borders. Tickets for the concert are $35 for the general public and $17 for UCSB students. They are on sale now and can also be purchased at the door, if still available.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.