Playing for Change

I watched Bill Moyer's Journal the other night and he interviewed Mark Johnson. He is working to increase the human community and commonality through music. He and his organization is also building music schools and centers in the poorest of countries. From Moyer's web site:

"Bill Moyers sits down with Mark Johnson, the producer of a remarkable documentary about the simple but transformative power of music...

Johnson traveled around the globe and recorded tracks for such classics as "Stand By Me" and Bob Marley's "One World" — creating a new mix in which essentially the performers are all performing together — worlds apart. Often recording with just battery-powered equipment, Johnson found musicians on street corners or in small clubs and they would in turn gather their friends and colleagues — in all, they recorded over 100 musicians from Tibet to Zimbabwe."

I was moved by his documentary (the clips of it) and I thoroughly enjoyed the music. It touched me. If you would like to experience the musical collage, as it were, go here and click on "Enter" to get to the video. (pc isn't as good as on tv, but oh well.) Even if you don't have time to listen to it all the way thru, you can get a sense of it. Johnson seems to have done an excellent job of editing.