Fanfaraï @ Small World Music Centre, Thursday

French/Algerian brass band Fanfaraï plays Small World HQ at 180 Shaw, Studio 101 at 9 pm sharp. It's free!

"French from Britany, French Algerians, French Moroccans, French who suddenly discover that they are Algerians, jazz musicians who suddenly discover a passion for the Maghrebian 6/8... and begin to sing in Arabic, Berber or Turkish and to dance like the Gnawa... These musical adventurers make up Fanfaraï, a Rai mutant grown in the copper sun of North Africa which breathes intercultural harmony and offers a sensory journey to the southern shores of the Mediterranean, Turkey and elsewhere."

The 11-piece brass band Fanfaraï emerged in 2005 under the direction of Samir Inal. After creating Ziyara, a traditional Algerian street band in 2000, Inal met musicians from jazz and salsa groups and together they decided to move in a brass band direction typical of street orchestras known as "Idbalen" or "Zernadjia" that animated rituals and feasts in Algeria from the beginning of the century.

Fanfaraï combine the saxophones, congas, trumpets, trombone, drums and tuba with traditional instruments, building on their North African repertoire to incorporate roots Afro-Cuban, salsa, and jazz influences for a hard-thumping brass band sound that's entirely unique as you can hear below.

Find out more about the Small World Music Festival: September 24 – October 4 right here