Musicians and Playing for Change participants Pokei Klaas, Lungile Maninjwa and Sakhiwo Nobhoza performing in South Africa. The Playing for Change tour comes to The Ark on Monday.

Image courtesy Playing for Change

The notion that music is a universal language — that it transcends differences in language, culture, politics, religion — is a common and hopeful one.

That was the ethic behind the “Playing for Change: Peace Through Music” documentary and subsequent “Songs Around the World” CD — and the “Playing for Change” tour that comes to The Ark on Monday.

The “Playing for Change” film was the brainchild of music producer Mark Johnson, and originally premiered in 2008 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. It was then broadcast this year on PBS.

The film, co-directed by Johnson and Jonathan Walls, began shooting in 2004, as they wandered across four continents — discovering, recording and shooting film of local street musicians in such countries as Nepal, Spain, India, Congo, South Africa, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe and Argentina — as well as in U.S. cities like New Orleans and Los Angeles. They also recorded and filmed the Zuni tribe of Native Americans in New Mexico, performing ancient drum songs of religious devotion.

(Local note: The director of photography on the film was Kevin Krupitzer, a native of Troy who studied in the University of Michigan’s LSA film/video studies and psychology programs, shot photos for The Michigan Daily and graduated in 1999.)

Then, when the decision was made to do a live tour, a band was assembled, culling various musicians from those who’d been recorded for the movie and CD. The Playing for Change Band includes singer Clarence Bekker from Amsterdam, drummer Mermans Kenkosenki from Congo, guitarist Louis Mhlanga from Zimbabwe, singer/harmonica player Grandpa Elliot from New Orleans, bassist John Carlos Portillo of Venezuela, percussionist Mohammed Alidu from Northern Ghana, and others.

“In all, there are about nine musicians onstage,” says Walls, who continues working with the nonprofit Playing for Change Foundation, creating and editing additional web episodes for the organization’s website.

Playing for change creator and co-director Mark Johnson talks about the project at the PBS portion of the TCA Press Tour in Pasadena on Aug. 2, 2009.

Jake Landis/PBS

The inspiration for the “Playing for Change” film was an earlier film made by Johnson and Walls about street musicians in America. “But then we decided to cast a wider net and go all over the world and further explore the power that music has to underscore the similarities we all share, as opposed to the differences,” says Walls.

“We also wanted to broaden the horizons of the average American in terms of opening them up to music from other cultures — which in turn can help expand our understanding of people from those cultures.”

One clip from the film, a stirring, multi-ethnic recording of “Stand By Me,” became an internet phenomenon this year, viewed by 30 million people on YouTube. The clip was an ambitious one, in that it was assembled by shooting and recording 37 different singers and musicians from many different locations, all around the world. Then, Johnson used advanced recording and editing technology to overdub all of the various performances into a cohesive whole.

Playing for Change's take on "Stand By Me":

The clip cuts back and forth from all of these performances in a way that implies a common bond between the various cultures and peoples — from street singer Roger Ridley in Santa Monica to a female singing group in South Africa to Elliott in New Orleans to a chamber group in Moscow to a conga player in Barcelona to….well, you get the idea.

In October, the “Songs Around the World” CD was released as part of a two-disc package along with the “Playing for Change” DVD, which contains extra footage not seen in the initial version of the film.

The songs on the CD were performed by a collection of the various musicians seen in the film, as well as a couple of pop artists well-known to U.S. audiences, like Bono from U2 and Keb’ Mo’. Johnson also overdubbed the vocals of the long-deceased reggae icon Bob Marley onto one of the tracks — a multi-cultural performance of Marley’s “War/No More Trouble.” Bono also sings on that track, which features no fewer than 20 different singers, musicians and vocal groups.

Another Marley classic, “One Love” is a stand-out, with Keb’ Mo’ being just one of about 10 different singers interweaving their voices.

Keb’ Mo’, Manu Chao and musicians around the world perform "One Love":

Generally, the album focuses on songs — performed by simultaneously drawing on various world-music styles — that are well-known to U.S. audiences. In addition to the aforementioned tunes, there’s Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” Peter Gabriel’s “Biko,” and U2’s “Love Rescue Me.” (The latter, which was co-written by Bob Dylan, is highlighted by a rousing performance by the Omagh Community Youth Choir, from Omagh, Northern Ireland.)

But there are also lesser-known songs from other cultures and nations, like “Chanda Mama,” a folk tune from Chennai, India, and “Don’t Worry,” by Pierre Manetti of Barcelona.

“These particular songs were chosen for the CD because the messages conveyed in them reinforce the story we wanted to tell in the film,” says Walls — “and the theme that the Playing for Change organization wants to communicate.”

On the tour that's coming to The Ark, the band will play several of the songs heard on the CD and in the film, “in addition to many songs written by the musicians in the band that audiences haven’t heard yet,” says Walls.

The task of recording musicians in some of the poorest parts of the world inspired the producers and directors to help establish the Playing for Change Foundation, which works to provide various resources — such as recording facilities, technology, musical instruments and education — to musicians and their communities. One current project is a music school in South Africa.

More information on the foundation and its mission can be found at the Playing for Change web site. PREVIEW Playing for Change Who: A band composed of musicians from many different cultures and nations. What: Uplifting songs about social change, connectedness and redemption, many of which are on the new “Songs Around the World” CD, plus some new songs. When: Monday, 8 p.m. Where: The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor How much: $40 Details: 734-761-1451; The Ark web site

Kevin Ransom is a free lance writer and critic who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.