Gangbè Brass Band to Perform at UNC Asheville October 26

UNC Asheville will host a rousing African fusion concert by the acclaimed Gangbè Brass Band at
8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. Tickets are $20 general admission; $12 for UNC Asheville faculty, staff and alumni; N.C. Center for Creative Retirement members; Western Carolina University faculty, staff and students; and all area students with school ID; or $6 UNC Asheville students.

Hailing from the African nation of Benin, Gangbè Brass Band has expanded the African musical genre, blending the sounds of military brass bands, voodoo ritual chants and rhythms, scratchy American jazz, and Afrobeat into their own unique sound. As a crossroads for the bordering nations of Niger, Togo, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, the people of Benin have produced music for centuries that reflects a complex heritage. In an effort to maintain traditional Beninese rhythms and share them with a wider audience, Gangbé Brass Band sought permission from voodoo priests and from their ancestors to use certain chants and rhythms. In addition, the band makes a point of singing in several languages indigenous to Benin including Fon, Ngou, Mina, Yoruba, Évé, and French. Founded in 1994, the band now tours around the world promoting the originality of their nation’s music while performing in full native dress.

The band has received widespread critical acclaim. The New York Times said, "Dizzyingly glorious horn lines, rolling vamps carry sunny African Chorales, and polyrhythmic voodoo grooves host harmonies that slide in all directions at once. The music just plain sings."

For more information, group ticket rates or to charge by phone, call UNC Asheville’s Special Events Box Office at 828/232-5000. Tickets are also available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., downtown Asheville.

For more information about UNC Asheville’s 2005-06 Cultural & Special Events season, click on www.unca.edu/culturalarts/.

Media Contacts:

• Barbara Halton-Subkis, UNC Asheville Cultural & Special Events Director, 828/251-6674
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526