World Fusion/Latin Jazz/Samba/
Afro Beat/Raga-Jazz and Beyond
Since it’s inception in 1988, Global Village has performed literally hundreds of concerts in the Pacific Northwest, including six times at Bumbershoot, which may be a record for any Bumbershoot group. Founded by percussionist Tor Dietrichson in response to his debut recording of the same name, which was released worldwide on Global Pacific/CBS/Sony records, Global Village has featured many great musicians throughout the area and given Dietrichson a chance to hone his composing skills in a wide variety of World Music styles. The band features many Dietrichson originals.
Always popular on the festival and club circuit, the band has occupied a unique niche in the area of World Music that has since become such a popular style of music. This sound has since grown to be called “World Fusion” and is not specific to only one area of the planet but has become a mixture of various types of sounds from throughout the globe.
In the latest incarnation of the band “Global Village” Dietrichson has been calling on some of his favorite local musician friends including guitarist Leif Totusek, keyboardists Julio Jauregui, Eric Verlinde, Bill Anschell and Alex Chadsey, bassist Jeff Volkman, drummer Jeff “Bongo” Busch, percussionist Ernesto Pediangco and numerous others. He has also featured some of his horn player friends including Jim Coile, Richard Warner, Jim O’Halloran, Thomas Marriott, Bob Antolin and others.
Of the many styles represented in the bands repertoire Brazilian Samba and Baion, Afro Cuban Rumba, West African Juju, Middle Eastern influenced jazz and various sounds coming from India are highlighted. Dietrichson is a highly accomplished tabla drummer who has recorded several duets with India’s most famous drummer Zakir Hussain, who is both Tor’s teacher and a very close personal friend. Expect many surprises from this latest incarnation.
Dietrichson began his forays into the arena of World Fusion beginning with the first band he was ever in, an all percussion ensemble headed by world renown tabla wizard Zakir Hussain and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart called “Diga Rhythm Band” which Tor joined at the age of 19 after only having played percussion for two years. Dietrichson was the youngest member of the band and performed on tabla, conga and bongo drums. Recording one album in 1976, the self-titled “Diga”, this gave Dietrichson the vision to start various bands of his own which culminated in a recording contract with Global Pacific Records. Released in 1987, “Global Village” charted high nationally and the opportunities that releasing the album presented have been reverberating in his life ever since.
