World Music Tour

Like the sensuous rhythms of the samba or the cool sounds of the bossa nova? Or maybe you have an affection for the infectious dance beat of Afro-pop? How about the trance-like music of qawwali, or the utterly strange gyrations of Tuvan throat singers?

Whatever your global music of choice, there’s probably someplace a drive away where it can be heard. Those Tuvan throat singers may not turn up every week, but you can bet they’ll be somewhere in Southern California before the year is over.

World music, of course, is a broadly generic label. And what it doesn’t define is the fact that music serves different purposes in different cultures. In some, it is inseparable from spiritual life; in others, it exists only in connection with physical movement, usually dancing. Salsa bands, for example, are rarely heard in pure concert settings, since the music is so inextricably associated with moving the body. And, although music from the Middle East sometimes turns up in concert halls, it also can be experienced in restaurants nightly, serving as accompaniment for belly dancing.

Because the music is so impossible to categorize, there are no world music clubs in the sense that there are jazz clubs. But there are plenty of venues--clubs, concert halls and amphitheaters--where global sounds reverberate with considerable frequency. Here are some of the choices, all in Los Angeles unless otherwise noted:

Rooms With a Specific World View

* Latin: The Conga Room (5364 Wilshire Blvd., [323] 938-1696) has been a primary destination for both national and local Latin performers since it opened in February 1998. A colorful place, with an architecturally designed listening room, the venue includes both dancing and listening evenings. La Palabra, a Los Angeles salsa band, performs Saturday. On Wednesday, the acoustic flamenco duo Strunz and Farah performs, and the spectacular Cuban ensemble Bamboleo makes a return appearance Aug. 19-20.

Other locations primarily featuring Latin music: La Masia (9077 Santa Monica Blvd., [310] 273-7066) features Spanish cooking and salsa and meringue music. Charanga and salsa are on the musical menu at El Floridita (1253 N. Vine St., [323] 871-8612), a spot justifiably famous for its Cuban cuisine as well. Cava (8384 W. 3rd St., [323] 658-8898) has a laid-back, elegant ambience matched by the Latin swing and flamenco music that frequently turn up in the evening shows. There’s plenty of salsa at the Grand Avenue (1024 S. Grand Ave., [213] 747-0999) on Saturday nights, but don’t expect to sit quietly in a venue dedicated to dancing.

* Brazilian: Brazilian sounds are not exactly available in quantity in Los Angeles-area clubs, but there are a few interesting locations: The Mondrian Hotel (8440 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, [323] 848-6000) is best known for its trendy and generally overpopulated Sky Bar. But the hotel’s new international restaurant, Asia De Cuba, features Brazilian music in its candle-lit lobby bar every Friday and Saturday night. The emphasis is on smoothly rhythmic bossa nova and samba, with costumed dancers occasionally appearing to add a touch of carnival color. Zabumba (10717 Venice Blvd., [310] 841-6525) presents a range of music, most of it Brazilian, but with several nights dedicated to salsa, Afro-pop and Cuban music as well. Other clubs that feature Brazilian music include Itana Bahia (8711 Santa Monica Blvd., [310] 657-6306), with performers appearing Wednesday through Friday, and Club Samba, Saturday nights at the SambaLa Samba School (300 Oceangate-Ocean Ave., Long Beach, [562] 438-3669) presents dance lessons, percussion lessons and a carnival floor show.

* Irish / Celtic: There are plenty of places around town with pub-sounding Irish names, but don’t expect to hear much in the way of Irish music. Most feature a variety of rock and pop bands with rare appearances by Irish groups. A better bet to both hear and experience Irish-Celtic culture are the programs of the Celtic Arts Center at the Raven Theatre in North Hollywood (5233 Lankershim Blvd., [323] 462-6844). Regular events include Monday night programs with classes in Irish Ceili dance, language classes in Irish Gaeilge, followed by an open Irish jam session. Each month an Irish group is presented in concert. On Aug. 22, the featured performer will be Stinkeye, whose emphasis is Irish tunes, as well as “tunes from ethnically diverse areas, from Northern Mexico to the Ukraine.”

* African: African acts frequently appear on area arts centers’ programs or at some of the more eclectic nightspots (see below for both). But, as with Irish music, the best way to experience African music firsthand may be to enter directly into its communal nature by visiting some African drum and dance classes. A few possibilities: the Lula Washington Dance Center (5041 W. Pico Blvd., [323] 936-6591), the Craft & Folk Art Museum (5800 Wilshire Blvd., [323] 937-4230) and Yoruba House (3264 Motor Ave., [310] 838-4843).

* North African and Middle Eastern: Here, too, performers from Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Israel and other countries often can be seen on arts centers’ events. But, in considerably more diluted--if more visual--form, some music from those areas can be heard in restaurants as accompaniment for belly dancing. Try Dar Maghreb (7651 W. Sunset Blvd., [323] 876-7651), Moun of Tunis (7445 1/2 Sunset Blvd., [323] 874-3333) or Koutoubia (2116 Westwood Blvd., [310] 475-0729).

Rooms With an Eclectic World View

Call them clubs with unpredictable schedules and open minds. And it’s well worth keeping track of what’s happening since they so often--sometimes casually--include some impressive world music performers.

* LunaPark: This spot in West Hollywood (665 N. Robertson Blvd., [310] 652-0611) is about as eclectic as a club can get. But nestled among all the wildly diverse sounds is a continuing schedule of world music acts of every stripe and style. On Aug. 20, slack key guitarist Led Ka’apana and the Original Ikona Band appear. Johnny Polanco’s busy salsa band performs on Aug. 27. On Sept. 2, the masterful and astonishingly virtuosic Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu makes his annual presentation of cultural fusion.

* Atlas Supper Club: An attractive, international look matches a schedule that refuses to be locked into a single category at this club (3760 Wilshire Blvd., [213] 380-8400). (Tuesday nights, for example, the featured performer is legendary jazz singer Anita O’Day.) Tonight and on other Thursdays, Valentino’s Lounge features a global jam experience; Guiro Mama’s salsa music surfaces on Fridays, and on Aug. 28, Ritual Events will present Cuban conga legend Francisco Aguabella.

* House of Blues: Yes, that’s right, the House of Blues manages to occasionally add international acts to its generally more domestic bill of musical fare on Sunset Strip (8430 Sunset Blvd., [323] 848-5100). The late qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan once performed at the club, as has Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivan Lins and numerous others. Coming up this month, reggae artist Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers arrive on Aug. 26-28, followed by veteran reggae singer Burning Spear on Sept. 4.

The Big Venues

The Southland has so many major arts programs that the area is a prime target for touring world music performers. Expect to occasionally see global acts everywhere from the Orange County Performing Arts Center to the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center. Here are a few of the coming highlights:

* Hollywood Bowl: There’s no bigger venue than the Hollywood Bowl, of course, and this season’s new World Music ’99 series is doing surprisingly well, putting up numbers comparable to such well-established world events as Seattle’s WOMAD Festival and New York City’s Central Park SummerStage. “Averaging in all the different shows,” says Tom Schnabel, the Bowl’s world music creative director, “we’ve exceeded our expectations and our sales projections.” Schnabel has structured a series of fascinating programs around thematic groupings. On Sunday, there is “Hallelujah!” with the Campbell Brothers, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Armenian Festival Ensemble; on Aug. 22, “Gypsy Passion” with Alma de Flamenco, Vera Bila and Musafir; and on Sept. 12, “Tropical Heat” with Gilberto Gil, Waldemar Bastos and Fantcha. (2301 N. Highland Ave., [323] 850-2000)

* The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre: Summer Nights at the Ford, always a prime series for world music, continues at full speed. On Aug. 21, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre (see “African” above) performs, followed on Aug. 28, by Danza Floricanto with a kind of Mexican version of “Riverdance.” In October, the Ford will be one of some 60 L.A.-area venues participating in the “World Festival of Sacred Music--the Americas,” an intercultural, multiethnic, interfaith series of concerts and recitals initiated by the Dalai Lama as part of a global spiritual celebration taking place in the fall and next spring. (2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, [323] 461-3673; [323] 981-1710)

* California Plaza’s Watercourt: Downtown L.A.’s Grand Performances’ annual free programs, which feature numerous world music artists, continue until the end of October. On Friday, soukous performer Sam Mangwana shares the stage with guitarist Habib Koite. Sunday features Southeastern Asian music and dance, and the Latin fusion group Huayucaltia performs on Aug. 20, followed on Aug. 21 by the equally skilled Latin jazz group Tolu. On Aug. 29, Africa Fete makes its third appearance at the Grand Performances, this year featuring Baaba Maal, Taj Mahal, Toumani Diabate and Oliver Mtukudzi. (300 S. Grand Ave., [213] 687-2159)

* UCLA: The Westwood campus is about to kick off its always splendid world music schedule, most of which takes place at Royce Hall. Cape Verde’s Cesaria Evora, supporting a new album, is the first to arrive, on Sept. 18. She will be followed in October by Hawaii’s Halau O Kekuhi on Oct. 1 and 3 (in the Japan America Theatre), Pakistani qawwali singers Mehr and Sher Ali on Oct. 2, Brazil’s Virginia Rodriguez on Oct. 27 and Ireland’s Mary Black on Oct. 29. (UCLA, Westwood, [310] 825-2101)