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Sara Curruchich joins us for a special live session to talk about her album Mujer Indigena, the International Indigenous Music Summit, and she performs live on the show. With host Dan Rosenberg

This week on Cafe International, a live session with Dobranotch, a leading voice of klezmer revival from Eastern Europe for newly 30 years. Founded by violinist Mitia Khramtsov, they mix klezmer (Eastern European Jewish), Balkan, Russian, Roma, Middle Eastern, Ukrainian and Caucasian traditional music, using also modern styles and rhythms, but preserving the acoustic sound of a traditional klezmer wedding orchestra. Special thanks to engineer Neel Modi. With host Dan Rosenberg

This week on Cafe International Radio, Malawi’s Madalitso Band joins us for a magnificent live session!!! Special thanks to Neil Nayar for all his help with this episode, and to engineers Weajue Mambo and Neel Modi With host Dan Rosenberg

This week on Cafe International, a special live session with the Grammy-nominated Afro-Colombian women’s group, Voces De Bullerengue and their producer, Manuel Garcia-Orozco.From the deep countryside of Colombia’s Afro-descendant Maroon Caribbean emerges Voces del Bullerengue, a collective of elder women singers safeguarding the ancestral legacy of bullerengue. This traditional music and dance style is rooted in rural communities near Montes de María, including Evitar, María la Baja, San José del Playón, Villa Gloria, and San Cristóbal del Trozo, in Colombia’s northwest region. The project brings together cantadoras who have preserved this tradition as a living practice of memory, resistance, and community healing. With host Dan RosenbergSpecial thanks to engineers Weajue Mambo and Neel Modi and to Juana Hermida and the team at Lula Lounge for all their help with this episode.

A special live session with Jason Wilson and Ashara, recorded in Toronto at Jesse's Jazz Cafe in Downsview. Jason talks about the history of Reggae music in Canada, his collaborations with UB40, Alanis Morissette, Aswad, Fairport Convention and more - and they perform a magnificent live session. With host Dan Rosenberg

This week's edition of Cafe International features an interview and live session with Keïla, where we learn about Maloya - a traditional form of music from Reunion Island. With host Dan Rosenberg Special thanks to our engineer Neel Modi

This week's edition of Cafe International features a live session with the Georgian-Canadian group Ori Shalva, where we learn about the history of polyphonic singing in Georgia. With host Dan Rosenberg Special thanks to our engineer Neel Modi

This week on Cafe International - the duo, Almir and Daniel stop by for a live session. Almir Meskovic (accordion) grew up in Bosnia, and Daniel Lazar (violin) grew up in Serbia. They met while studying in Norway - where they formed this spectacular duo. With host Dan Rosenberg Special thanks to engineer Neel Modi

Guitarist Boubé and his ensemble joins us for a live session where we learn about Desert Blues music from Niger With host Dan Rosenberg

A live session with the all women's group, Suraras Do Tapajos, where we learn about their work to preserve Indigenous music and culture in Brazil. Suraras do Tapajós is the first carimbó group composed of Indigenous women, formed with the goal to give voice to the culture of the people of the Lower Tapajós region of Pará. It grew from a collective providing training for Indigenous women to hold leadership positions and address the violence and prejudice they experience from within and outside their villages. As the meetings would always end with carimbó and dancing the realisation came that music was another vital instrument of the struggle for identity and self-esteem and an inspirational vehicle for spotlighting issues of Indigenous rights and the preservation of ancestral lands. Now emerged as a leading name in the Amazon cultural scene, they've taken their unique 'Pau e Corda' blend of Indigenous, African and Caribbean influences to major festivals like RecBeat and Rock in Rio. With host Dan Rosenberg Special thanks to engineer Neel Modi and to Diogo Ramos, translator for this episode.

This week on Cafe International, santur virtuoso Amir Amiri joins us for a live session where we learn about this history of this ancient Persian instrument. Born in Tehran, Iran, Amiri is a master of the santur, a 72-string instrument dating from approximately 500 BCE. Since arriving in Canada in 1996, Amiri has created numerous groundbreaking ensembles including the Amir Amiri Ensemble, inspired by the fluidity of musical influences in Iran and featuring the hypnotic presence of a Whirling Dervish; and Ensemble Kimya, a Montreal-Paris collaboration, combining early classical and contemporary music from Europe, the Middle East and India. Perséides, his duo with double bass player Jean Félix Mailloux, was featured at the National Arts Centre’s Sounds of Persia: Canada’s New Music Masters in 2018, where Amiri was Artistic Director. His duo Moody Amiri, with violist Richard Moody, has been praised by CBC for its “tantalizing blend of eastern and western sensibilities”. Amir is also occasionally joined by his fellow master improviser, the jazz pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, in an evening of musical exploration and discovery. Amir Amiri was awarded the 2003 CBC Artist of the Year from the Galaxie Rising Stars Program. He performs and tours with a vast spectrum of ensembles, enchanting with his signature down-to-earth style and profound connection with audiences. With host Dan Rosenberg

This week on Cafe International, the world premiere of the collaboration between Angolan singer Vivalda NDula and the Helsinki Cotonou Ensemble from their 2026 Canadian Tour - recorded live at Met Radio in Toronto. With Host Dan Rosenberg Special thanks to engineer Sean Warkentine

A live session with JUNO winning musician, Wesli, where we learn about the history of Haitian music and his collaboration in West Africa with Mory Kante.

On this week's edition of Cafe International, we feature a live session with Di Zhang performing on the yanqin. We also speak with Amirali Alibhai is the Head of Performing Arts at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

This week on Cafe International, a live session with legendary Ethio Jazz saxophonist Girma Woldemichael. One of Ethiopia's most esteemed saxophonists, and a mainstay of the golden age of Ethio-Jazz, Girma Woldemichael's life story is one of musical triumph over adversity. Born in Ethiopia into circumstances of extreme poverty, with his parents unable to afford to raise him, he was handed over to an orphanage/school in Addis Ababa. It was there that at age 13 he was given his first pair of shoes, and shortly thereafter handed his first musical instrument, a clarinet, told to learn it, and aim to make a living by playing music. Within a year, Girma was playing in the municipal marching band of Addis Ababa. Shortly afterwards, having learned how to play the saxophone and flute, he found work playing with Wabe Shebelle Band in the clubs of the city that were then filled with lovers of the new genre of Ethio-Jazz, a unique blend of the unusual pentatonic scale of Ethiopian music with jazz, funk, soul and Latin rhythms. Ethio-Jazz was later popularized in the west by Mulatu Astatke, who, along with Girma and others, formed the famed Ethio Stars band. From that point on, Girma was the choice saxophone player called on to perform with all of Ethiopia's biggest orchestras and vocalists, including such stars as Aster Aweke, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete and Tilahun Gessesse. In 1974, a new political regime, the Derg, rose to power in Ethiopia, and Addis Ababa's buzzing musical scene and liberal social life were squashed. Because it was considered a Western import, much of Ethiopia's popular music was censored, and musical creation and practice and the performance of any music unrelated to the revolution was forbidden, resulting in many musicians either leaving their profession or leaving the country. During this dangerous period, often referred to as the Red Terror (Qey Shibir), the repressive military junta carried out a political repression campaign to eliminate political opponents, with tens of thousands imprisoned and executed without trial. In conflict with the government, Girma never knew if or when he might be next. For 15 years he tried, without success, to get a visa to leave, until 1991 when he was finally allowed to go to the United States with the Ethio Stars band. There, he and four of his bandmates defected and Girma was able to come to Toronto and restart his life. Featuring: Girma Woldemichael: Saxophone Daniel Barnes: Cajon Kobi Haas: Bass Stephen Cole: Guitar with host Dan Rosenberg