Musical giant Inti-Illimani concludes 40th anniversary tour at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts November 9 | Press Releases

For four decades, Inti-Illimani has intoxicated audiences around the globe with its music. This adventurous group with deep traditional Latin American roots concludes its 40th Anniversary Season tour of North America with a concert at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts, Friday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.

With a dazzling display of virtuosic playing on more than 30 wind, string and percussion instruments, this remarkable eight-man ensemble captures the sacred places, carnivals, daily lives, loves and pains of the indigenous cultures of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. In some of the poorest, purest and most ancient cultures, Inti-Illimani discovered Andean music and, in a sense, its own roots. By way of the group's diligent pursuit of cultural authenticity, Inti-Illimani's music has become Latin America's visceral link between pueblo and people.

Jorge Coulon, the group's founding member, stated in an interview, "...we have always been politically engaged. We have a concept of society and about the relationships between human beings and we try to translate our ideas into our sound, not to be part of one political party or another, but in the sense, to bring about a better world."

The group has collaborated with some of the world's most renowned artists, including Federico Fellini, John Williams, Paco Peña, Patricio Manns, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Holly Near, Mercedes Sosa, Wynton Marsalis, Pete Seeger, Youssou N'Dour and Bruce Springsteen.

Inti-Illimani continues its exploration of Latin American, Afro-Latino and Italian sounds with its recent CD, "Pequeño Mundo." This CD represents the group's first foray into jazz-flavored composition. The title track offers a preview of the soundtrack for "My Little World," an animated film slated for release in 2008.