A World in Trance, featuring the music of Zimbabwe, Iran, India and Pakistan in this third edition of the festival, transcends boundaries and brings the listener to a state of ecstasy and enchantment.

This year's series includes the entrancing mbira music of Zimbabwe with master musician Chartwell Dutiro (Apr 28); mesmerizing 21st century global trance music with Niyaz featuring the spellbinding vocalist Azam Ali (Apr 29); and riveting interpretations of Sufi qawwali with the US-based Riyaaz Qawwali (Apr 30).

Since earliest times music and dance have played a major role in uniting people through ritual, often seeking union with the divine through trance or ecstasy. This festival seeks to bring back some spiritual nourishment to our lives; to focus our physical and mental selves. While the music and rituals associated with each genre are very different from each other, they share a common thread in bringing people together in search of enlightenment. These are just a few of the many forms that music takes to enrich our lives.

IF YOU GO:

A WORLD IN TRANCE

Fri Apr 28, 2017 8pm $25; students, seniors $21

CHARTWELL DUTIRO

Voices of the Ancestors: Mbira Music of Zimbabwe

Sat Apr 29, 2017 8pm $30 students, seniors $26

NIYAZ featuring AZAM ALI

21st Century Global Trance Music

Sun Apr 30, 2017 7pm $30; students, seniors $26

RIYAAZ QAWWALI

Sufi Music of Pakistan & India

At Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave at 3rd Ave near BAM & Barclays Center, Downtown Brooklyn

Tickets: roulette.org, 917-267-0363

Info, videos, & tickets: http://www.aworldintrance.com

Fri Apr 28

Chartwell Dutiro

Voices of the Ancestors: Mbira Music of Zimbabwe

"If you can talk you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance - or just sit and reflect." - Zimbabwean proverb

This performance of entrancing mbira music features the internationally renowned traditional mbira master Chartwell Dutiro (mbira, lead vocal, dance), who played at all-night ritual ceremonies (biras) in his native Zimbabwe from the age of four and is best known for his eight-year stint with Zimbabwe's famEd Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited. He is joined by his son Shorai Dutiro (mbira, vocal), David Holmes (mbira, vocal), Nora Balaban (mbira, vocal) and Bill Ruyle (hosho - gourds, tabla - tuned drums, percussion).

For centuries the Shona people of Zimbabwe have connected with the spirits of ancestors. These spirits are summoned by spirit mediums at biras, all-night ritual ceremonies where mystical mbira (metal-pronged thumb piano) music is played and people participate through dancing, singing, ululating and sometimes whistling. The collective energy created evokes a trance atmosphere that summons the spirits of ancestors to come and give daily guidance and healing. Mbira music has played an important role in the recent history of Zimbabwe. After being banned by missionaries in colonial Rhodesia for its erroneous association with devil worship, it took a role in the liberation struggle in the '70s, where it became crucial in politicizing and encouraging people. During the '80s, it came to symbolize the country's independence.

Chartwell Dutiro has been dedicated to spreading mbira music worldwide. As a child in rural Zimbabwe, he and his brother often played mbira all night, calling the ancestral spirits for guidance, as has been done in Zimbabwe for centuries. When he was a teenager, he joined the Salvation Army band, and played in a military marching band when he moved to the capital of Harare. From 1986 to 1994 he toured the world with the legendary Thomas Mapfumo. Since 1994 he has been based in Britain, performing, recording, teaching, and building bridges through his infectious music. He has appeared at WOMAD festivals in such places as Singapore, Australia and Reading; founded the long-running International Mbira Gatherings; composed and performed with England's Serenoa String Quartet; collaborated with refugee musicians from Africa in anniversary celebrations of the UNHCR; and composed and performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning Breakfast with Mugabe. Chartwell has a degree in ethnomusicology from SOAS University of London, where he taught for many years.

Sat Apr 29

Niyaz featuring Azam Ali

21st Century Global Trance Music

Niyaz has created a 21st century global trance tradition by seamlessly blending Sufi poetry and folk songs from its native Iran and surrounding countries with rich acoustic instrumentation and modern electronics. Formed in California in 2004 and based in Montreal, Niyaz has a far-reaching repertoire that tears down cultural boundaries and bridges the gap between East and West. The group was founded by the spellbinding vocalist/composer Azam Ali, whose Iranian heritage and Indian upbringing have deeply influenced her music, and multi-instrumentalist/composer Loga Ramin Torkian (oud & kamaan lutes). They are joined by Didem Basar (kanun-zither), Gabriel Ethier (keyboards, programming), Vaneet Vyas (tabla-drums), and whirling dervish dancer Miriam Peretz.

Performing uplifting, transformative music, Niyaz, (which means "yearning"), was established as a platform to create social and political awareness through music rooted in, yet not limited by, tradition. Niyaz is committed to creating music with a deep social message aimed at uniting people from different cultural and religious backgrounds through our shared humanity. Guided by the mystical poetry of legendary Sufi poets and the ancient wisdom of traditional folk songs that impart the beauty of ethnic and religious minority groups in Iran and its surrounding regions, Niyaz steps into a future that is ancient and invites listeners to embark upon a philosophical quest into the depths of humanity. The group conveys a message of hope against injustice and oppression, as well as a universal tribute to beauty, cultural and spiritual diversity, freedom and dignity for all.

Niyaz's four bestselling albums, released on Six Degrees Records, debuted at #1 on iTunes and garnered the band media attention, including features on NPR, PRI, BBC World and the Huffington Post. Its most recent album, The Fourth Light, is a tribute to the first female Sufi mystic and poet Rabia Al Basri who was born in the 8th century in Iraq. Recognized as a saint, she had set forth the doctrine of Divine Love and non-duality, which today lies at the heart of Sufi mysticism. Though her role continues to be diminished in value because she was a woman, it bears great significance in today's modern world where women are still relentlessly striving in every aspect of life, to rise above the status of inferiority placed on them by patriarchal societies and laws. "Tam e Eshq," which appeared on the album, was named one of NPR's favorite songs of 2015 and called "a mesmerizing mix of rapturous vocals and electro-acoustic beats."

Since 2005, the group has performed in the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Turkey, India, Russia, Dubai, Morocco, and Tunisia. Its music has been featured in various major film and television scores, including Prince of Persia, Body of Lies, Crossing Over, True Blood, Nip Tuck, Bones, and Alias.

Sun April 30

Riyaaz Qawwali

Sufi Music of Pakistan & India

Riyaaz Qawwali performs the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition made famous in the West by the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, enthralling listeners with its lively rhythms, joyous melodies and inspirational poetry. In addition to paying homage to traditional qawwali that has been in existence for over 700 years, the ensemble also weaves various songs and poetry of South Asia into the qawwali framework, using qawwali as a universal message of oneness that transcends religious boundaries. Most qawwali troupes are composed of Muslim family members, but Riyaaz Qawwali, which is based in Texas, is composed of musicians who represent the diversity of South and Central Asia; they are of Indian, Pakistani, Afghani, and Bangladeshi descent, and come from various spiritual backgrounds, including Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism.

Qawwali is a musical tradition that dates back to the late 13th century and is typically associated with Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam popularized throughout the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa through various "brotherhoods." Qawwali means "utterance" in Urdu and is derived from the Arabic word qaul (saying). Said to have been introduced to the Mughal court of India by the Persian mystic, poet, musician and philosopher Amir Khusrau, it is essentially a form of sung poetry. The qawwal engenders a state of transcendence in his audience, drawing on verses that ponder the meaning of Divine love through allegory, or are devoted to the sayings of the Prophet (Mohammed) or a particular Sufi saint. The ensemble builds a state of ecstasy through rhythmic handclapping, drumming and powerful vocals (similar to gospel in its call-and-response manner). While originally a form of prayer associated with Sufi shrines, over the past 30 years qawwali has been performed on secular stages throughout the world and has even found its way into Bollywood.

Riyaaz Qawwali is an ensemble of eight musicians who have been professionally performing qawwali for a decade, appearing across the US at such venues and festivals as Asia Society (Texas), the 2015 globalFEST, and the Richmond Folk Festival. Numerous languages are used, including Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Gujarati, and Hindi. The ensemble is under the artistic direction of Sonny Mehta, its lead vocalist, whose musical influences include Ravi Shankar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sher and Mehr Ali, Jagjit Singh, Pandit Jasraj, Bhimsen Joshi and Abida Parveen. His poetry favorites are Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Amir Khusrau, Saint Kabir, Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib and Shiv Kumar Batalvi.

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