The City Hall concert hall will on March 3 reverberate with the band sounds of a wedding party, in this case Eastern European nuptials, when legendary clarinettist Ivo Papasov And His Wedding Band present their unique mix of traditional Bulgarian and Balkan folk and contemporary sounds.

Papasov's rise to fame began 30 years ago, when he and his group became the top band playing the Bulgarian wedding circuit. It is local legend that hundreds of uninvited guests would turn up at wedding parties wherever Papasov and his famous band were playing.

Papasov is credited with bringing contemporary Balkan music into global culture. His hit new album Fairground combines his spirited mix of bright sounds and wild clarinet playing with the band's jazz improvisations.

The recording clinched the Audience Award at the 2005 BBC Awards for World Music, and received the largest number of votes in the history of the award.

Another musician who has given the world the sounds of his native country is African artiste Salif Keita, who performs on February 23 and 24, also at City Hall.

Born in Mali, Keita began his career in 1968 fronting the Rail Band of Bamako and later Les Ambassadeurs.

It was not until the late 1980s, however, that Keita gained international fame. Today, he may well be Afropop's most famous singer and songwriter. Audiences love his seductive, powerful voice and the band's infectious rhythms, fused with Latin, pop and rock.

Keita's 2002 album Moffou signalled a return to the singer's West African roots, in which he explores soulful Malian ballads and Africanised funk tunes. As always, Keita's songs ring with hope, joy and love, affirming his belief that music should have 'something positive to say to listeners.'

African rhythms turn up again, this time in the context of modern jazz, in a one-night-only performance by the Terence Blanchard sextet on February 18 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

One of the most influential jazz musicians of his generation, Blanchard appeared on the New York jazz scene in the 1980s, and fast became an important exponent of acoustic jazz.

First as trumpeter and music director of Art Blakey's band the Jazz Messengers and then as leader of his own group, the New Orleans-reared artist became known for his diverse and expressive style and his free-flowing improvisational work with other talented players.

Blanchard is also famed for his award-winning scores. His albums Bounce and Flow put him among some of the world's foremost trumpeters.

Another contemporary jazz great, John Scofield, will be paying loving tribute to soul and R&B legend Ray Charles. Scofield is known for his unconventional playing and adventurous musical explorations.

He and his quintet will celebrate Charles' contribution to jazz with reinventions of such classics as What'd I Say, Cryin' Time and Georgia On My Mind.

In another tribute to a music icon, Paquito D'Rivera and the New York Voices will be performing classic bossa nova songs by the late Brazilian icon Antonio Carlos Jobim. D'Rivera is a saxophonist, a clarinettist and a composer, and has won seven Grammy Awards.

His Brazilian Dreams is an collection of sultry interpretations of bossa nova king Jobim and other contemporary Brazilian composers.

Paquito D'Rivera and his quartet perform on March 10 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

From home and around the region come three singer-songwriters - Hong Kong's Gloria Tang (aka goodmorninggloria), Taiwan's Pau-dull and Japan's Keiichi Sokabe - who team up for a concert titled 'Our Songs', on February 16, 17 and 18 at the City Hall theatre.

Meanwhile, the multitalented Canto-pop prodigy Pong Nan will engage in a fascinating musical discourse on love, people, religion, sex and other themes in concerts on February 24, 25 and 26 at the Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Pong Nan has earned a respectful following with his two best-selling albums and acclaimed music scores for drama and feature films.