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November 17-23, 2005

musicpicks

Konono No. 1

World/jazz/trance

Over the years, Konono No. 1 picked up a dozen members, an armory of found percussion instruments, three virtuosos of the thumb piano and a homemade P.A. setup built from car parts. But even with a quarter century of amassing under its belt, these Bazombo trance-makers only drew scant notice outside of Africa until recently. A live set from their hometown of Kinshasa served as the inaugural volume of the Crammed Discs Congotronics series last year—a collection of records highlighting the uniquely styled bands that evolved in the Congo/Angola region when tradition met technology over the past three decades—giving Konono its most widespread exposure to date. The music's endless groove tunnels, enigmatic chants and relentless rhythms are easy to get blissfully lost in, especially when accompanied by what is sure to be an intense visual spectacle at World Café Live. Better that we're hearing this stuff late than not at all.

Sun., Nov. 20, 8 p.m., $18-$20, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

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