World On The Beat, Aug 08

Everybody knows that Edinburgh is where the world descends in August, but with all the attention Edinburgh gets this month, I decided to divert my gaze further afield. In the spirit of healthy rivalry, Aberdeen is in fact having a festival of its very own: the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Ugandan kora player Joel Sebunjo and the African Showtime Dancers will be performing for free in the Linksfield Community Centre on 4 August at 7:30pm. If you have a feeling for not just shaking to the rhythms but making the rhythms, then get a lesson from the Trinidadian Tamana Pioneers Steel Orchestra and learn Ghanaian drumming from the African Showtime Dancers (Wednesday 6 August, Beach Ballroom, 3pm, £9/£5conc.).

Now, if it is true that the past is a foreign country, then how does a trip to the 1930s sound? The Ambassadors Big Band (Tuesday 12 & Wednesday 13 August, 7.30pm, Aberdeen Arts Centre, £10/£8 (conc.) should at least give you a taste of Count Basie.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh is acquiring a speakeasy – the opening night is called Cosmic:dust, which will feature a saxophone-led jazz quartet and spoken word poetry from a rap artist (Saturday August 9, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, invite only: just e-mail colincook@hotmail.com). All sorts of international events will happen around the Edinburgh Mela Festival, (Monday 25 to Sunday 31 August, beside Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh, Free!) but the real shakedowns will be Paprika Balkinicus, Balkan gypsy madness, and the Xaware Party, an event featuring a multitude of musicians who will show you how to party Senegalese-style.