Playing For Change: Making The Band

Playing for Change, a multimedia music project formed by Mark Johnson and Enzo Buono, began in 2004 with the dream to "inspire, connect and bring peace to the world through music." Traveling across five continents and recording more than 100 musicians, a small film and recording crew made its way through places such as New Orleans, various Native American reservations, Barcelona, South Africa, India, Ireland and more.

After recording local musicians' interpretations of the same song, the tracks were compiled and mixed to create a literal union amongst musicians around the world, many of whom have never met. The result is the powerful Playing for Change: Songs Around the World, an album that demonstrates a global willingness to understand others and unite through the power of music.

After the album's release, a group of local musicians came together for the first time to create the Playing for Change band, which performs benefit concerts for audiences around the world. The group brings its unifying presence to this installment of World Cafe.

This segment originally ran Dec. 23, 2009.