Grammy winner forms UAE venture

The Grammy Award-winning producer behind the all-time best-selling single "We Are The World" will serve as chairman of the board of the Global Gumbo Group, and Badr Jafar will serve as president.

They said they will initially focus on producing live entertainment opportunities in the Middle East for Western artists in collaboration with renowned Middle East and North African artists, but will also look to nurture new Middle Eastern and North African talent and acquire content from the region to introduce to the West.

The duo's first production, in association with Dawn Elder World Entertainment, will be a concert during Morocco's annual music festival in May.

Jones will also unveil a new Arabic version of the 1990 No. 1 song "Tomorrow," which will raise money to finance educational scholarships. Financed in part by the Maroc Cultures Association, the song and its video will feature some of the biggest Arabic stars from all 21 Middle Eastern countries, according to Jones.