Music: The Unifying Force

One World: Faith in MusicMusic: The Unifying Force

With Yusuf Gandhi & Janis Siegel

In this episode, Yusuf Gandhi and Janis Siegel explore how sacred music across cultures expresses a shared human longing for the divine. From Gregorian chant and gospel to Jewish liturgical traditions, Sufi devotion, and Qawwali, they reveal how different faiths use music for meditation, celebration, transcendence, and community.

Despite differences in language, geography, and theology, the spiritual intention behind the music is strikingly universal.

Episode Breakdown:

Christianity: From Stillness to Spirit

Gregorian Chant (Meditation & Liturgy)

Monophonic, Latin-based sacred chant

Rooted in early Christian worship

Designed for reflection and reverence

Excerpt Played:

Gregorian chant (performed by nuns)

Gospel (Community & Transcendence)

Gospel evolved from Negro spirituals and the African American church tradition. It emphasizes participation, rhythm, and emotional expression.

Excerpts Played:

Sam Cooke – “Touch the Hem of His Garment”

Institutional Church of God in Christ – “A Little More Grace”

Soweto Gospel Choir – “Mighty God”

Referenced:

Aretha Franklin – “Amazing Grace”

Mahalia Jackson

Yusuf shares his experience attending Black churches in the U.S., discovering how clapping and call-and-response are central to worship, not performance.

Jewish Sacred Traditions

Sephardic / Ladino (Flamenco Influence & Heritage)

Music of Jews expelled from Spain, blending Hebrew, Spanish, and Middle Eastern tonalities.

Excerpts Played:

Yasmin Levy – “Hallelujah” (Ladino version)

Yasmin Levy – “Yigdal”

Ashkenazi / Klezmer (Celebration & Dance)

Eastern European Jewish tradition known for expressive melodies and rhythmic drive.

Excerpt Played:

The Klezmatics – “Oy Oy Oy Oy”

Sufi Devotional Music (Mysticism & Ecstasy)

Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, uses music as a path to divine remembrance.

Morocco

Excerpt Played:

Fehd Benchemsi – Issawa(Inspired by the Issawa Brotherhood tradition)

Yusuf reflects on attending the Fez Festival of Sacred Music and witnessing the powerful communal energy of Sufi choirs.

Turkey

Excerpt Played:

Sufi Whirling Dervishes – Turkey

Music accompanies devotional spinning, a meditative path toward transcendence.

Pakistan & Qawwali

Call-and-response devotional singing performed at shrines and festivals.

Excerpts Played:

Sain Zahoor – “Allah Hoo”

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – “Mast Qalander”

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan helped bring Qawwali to global audiences, demonstrating how sacred traditions travel across cultures.

Key Themes:

- Across traditions, the hosts highlight shared elements:

- Call and response

- Repetition and rhythm

- Community participation

- Emotional intensity

- Devotion to a higher power

Different faiths. Different sounds.One shared spiritual impulse.

Visit the show’s website for the full Unify Playlist with all featured tracks and additional recommendations.

In this episode of Music: The Unifying Force, Janis Siegel and Yusuf Gandhi explore the blues and gospel as a global language of emotion. Moving from early American blues and gospel to Indian ghazals, Sufi qawwali, African choral traditions, and desert blues from North Africa, they trace shared musical structures like call-and-response, harmony, and storytelling. Along the way, they reflect on legendary artists, sacred spaces, and lived experiences that show how music transcends culture, religion, and history—proving that while the sounds may change, the feeling remains the same.

Songs in the Podcast

MARY LOU WILLIAMS: THE RAG OF RAGS

BESSIE SMITH: NOBODY KNOWS YOU WHEN YOU’RE DOWN AND OUT.

PLAY ROBERT JOHNSON – CROSSROADS

THE DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS – BEDSIDE OF A NEIGHBOUR

THE GOLDEN GATE QUARTET – ATOM AND EVIL

SAM COOKE AND THE SOUL STIRRERS – TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT

BIG MAMA THORNTON - HOUND DOG

NDLOVU YOUTH CHOIR - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

PETER GABRIEL, JOAN OSBORNE, GLORIA ESTEFAN, NATALIE MERCHANT, NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN

For a deeper dive, visit www.musictheunifyingforce.com to explore playlists, links, and more insights into the stories behind the music.Listen Now on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | YouTube

In this episode, Janis Siegel and Yusuf Gandhi explore how African musical traditions shaped American blues, ragtime, and early jazz - revealing how syncopation, improvisation, and shared curiosity for music created unlikely bridges between cultures.

Songs in the Podcast:

SOLOMON LINDA & THE EVENING BIRDS - MBUBE ( 0:10 to 0:38)

TOM TURPIN HARLEM RAG (in the Podcast)

JELLYROLL MORTON THE CRAVE (In the podcast)

KING OLIVER’S DIPPERMOUTH BLUES (In the podcast)

FLETCHER HENDERSON SUARFOOT STOMP (In the podcast)

SARA TAVARES - BOM FEELING {In the podcast)

Suggested Additional Listening:

SCOTT JOPLIN THE ENTERTAINER

MANHATTAN TRANSFER - DOWN SOUTH CAMP MEETING (Composed by FLETCHER HENDERSON - LYRICS: JON HENDRICKS)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN

LOUIS ARMSTRONG DINAH (1:00 to 1:28)

JENNI RIVERA MIRA ME

In this episode, Yusuf Gandhi and Janis Siegel take us on a journey through the rich history of American music, tracing its roots from the songs of enslaved Africans to the global influence of jazz, blues, gospel, rock, and beyond. They explore how music in America evolved through the fusion of African, European, and Indigenous traditions, highlighting key figures like Scott Joplin, Lead Belly, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Big Mama Thornton.

Yusuf and Janis discuss the cross-pollination of styles from Cape Verdean Coladeira to Brazilian Bossa Nova and how these influences traveled across continents, inspiring artists like Lonnie Donegan, The Beatles, and J. Cole. They also touch on the importance of understanding the cultural and historical context of music, emphasizing active listening as a way to truly appreciate its depth.

This episode features discussions on:

* The African roots of American music and the role of slavery in shaping blues, gospel, and R&B

* Key early American musicians and their lasting influence on popular music

* The journey of songs like Cotton Fields and The Lion Sleeps Tonight across cultures

* How folk music, rock & roll, and gospel contributed to the evolution of modern music

* The fusion of world music with American styles, and why understanding origins matters

Artists, Songs & Key Figures Mentioned in the Episode:

* Sara Tavares (Cape Verdean singer-songwriter)

* “Balancê”

* “Bom Feeling”

* Scott Joplin

* “Maple Leaf Rag”

* Lead Belly (born Huddie Ledbetter)

* “Cotton Fields”

* Solomon Linda & the Evening Birds

* “Mbube”

* The Weavers / Pete Seeger

* “Wimoweh”

* The Tokens

* “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”

You could also listen to COTTON FIELDS and other career spanning LEAD BELLY recordings on the Smithsonian Folkways Collection”:http://www.folkways.si.edu/leadbelly

For a deeper dive, visit www.musictheunifyingforce.com to explore playlists, links, and more insights into the stories behind the music.

Listen Now on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | YouTube

Thanks for reading Music: The Unifying Force's Substack!

In the debut episode of Music: The Unifying Force meet the podcast hosts Yusuf Gandhi, founder and President of Four Quarters Entertainment, Inc. and Janis Siegel, a 10-time Grammy winner and 18-time nominee and member of The Manhattan Transfer. Together, they explore the idea that music transcends borders, politics, and language, connecting people across cultures in ways few other forces can.

Together, Yusuf and Janice recount their decades-long journeys in the world of music, their first meeting at the Hollywood Bowl, and their collaboration on The Chick Corea Songbook with The Manhattan Transfer.

Throughout the episode, they reflect on musical diplomacy, cross-cultural fusion, and the profound empathy musicians develop by engaging directly with communities around the world. From jazz legends to global pioneers, Yusuf and Janice tie together stories of collaboration, curiosity, and cultural exchange. They also delve into the creation of the Grammy-nominated album “Miles From India,” the global impact of the Voice of America Jazz Hour, and how artists like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, and George Harrison helped reshape musical understanding across continents.

This first episode sets the stage for a series that will explore music’s power to unify humanity, one story, one culture, and one song at a time.

Artists, Songs & Key Figures Mentioned in the Episode:

* Sara Tavares (Cape Verdean singer-songwriter)

* “Balancê”

* “Bom Feeling”

* The Manhattan Transfer

* “Spain (I Can Recall)” (from The Chick Corea Songbook)

* “Free Samba” (from The Chick Corea Songbook)

* Miles Davis

* Album: Miles From India – A Celebration of the Music of Miles Davis

* Hugh Masekela

* Trumpet Africaine

* Mariza

Listen Now on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | YouTube