Giving guitar the center-stage, the Acoustic African Music Series introduces a two-part focus on musical traditions that have been given new voices by guitarists of the continent. The guitar has been widely incorporated into the varied musical languages of Africa and is fundamental both to notions of "popular" and "traditional" musics. The exhibition begins Saturday, February 7, when Congolese rumba master Dominic Kanza and the African Rhythm Machine bring their soukous fusions to the Cornelia Street Cafe.

One of the most internationally recognized styles of African music, soukous is guitar-driven party music originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaїre). It is a blend of Afro-Cuban rumba music with local styles, which rose to popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. To many people the music has become a reflection of the duality of African life-the fusion of the modern with the traditional. Characteristic of soukous, the fast paced and exciting guitar riffs are a direct translation of the music of the kalimba, or likembe, a hand-held thumb piano with metal keys. Musicians commonly played kalimba for functions such as parties and festivals, and early soukous innovators began transposing its intricate and staccato lines to the guitar.

Dominic Kanza is a leading performer of soukous and Congolese rumba. His brilliant guitar techniques reflect the traditions of soukous and also draw from jazz, Cuban, and American popular music. He has performed with a wide variety of musicians, such as Angelique Kidjo, Pharoah Sanders, Bill Laswell, and Harry Belafonte, and he has worked extensively with pop idols Paul Simon and Papa Wemba. On his most recent CD, "CONGO!", Kanza and the African Rhythm Machine draw from his various influences and musical tastes, adding such elements as English lyrics and structural devices of jazz compositions to create a sound that is unmistakably his own. Kanza is also a scholar and teacher of African music history. Recently, he has gained outstanding recognition for his lectures, which trace the history of popular and traditional music from the Congo area through various parts of the world.

The African guitar excitement continues Saturday, March 13th, when scholar, journalist, and guitar guru Banning Eyre leads audiences through myriad musical styles, offering his interpretations of popular and traditional musics from throughout Africa. Please note that this performance is rescheduled from its original date.

Where's the 1? Productions was founded to promote traditional musics and their contemporary incarnations from across Africa and to seeing these musics established as the beautiful, sophisticated, relevant, and living musics that they are. Each installment is dedicated to a different music and musician, providing a unique performance opportunity and giving musicians the freedom to play the ritual, social, joyful, and ceremonial music of their countries and regions.

All shows are held at the Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street between Bleeker and West 4th. Located at the West 4th subway stop, please call for information: (212) 989-9319. Show times are 8:30 PM and 10:30 PM, with doors opening 15 minutes prior. Tickets are $12 at the door, plus a $6 drink minimum.