10 Mar
Tales From The Earth by Mark Weinstein/ Omar Sosa
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Flutist Mark Weinstein is a former trombonist who developed a role for the trombone in Latin music while working with Herbie Mann, among others. Giving up music to pursue a…
04 Mar
Siwan by Jon Balke / Amina Alaoui
Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Jazz and musics indigenous to other lands once known as "ethnic" sounds, more recently as "world music" or if it’s danceable/grooveable, "world beat" have long been chum…
19 Feb
Guitar Duo by Andreas Kapsalis and Ivanovic
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Guitarist and composer Andreas Kapsalis grew up in the Chicago suburbs with a fierce desire to play the guitar. At the age of 17 an accident required his left hand be op…
19 Feb
Frolic And Detour by Oren Neiman
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Guitarist and composer Oren Neiman was born in Ramat-Gan, Israel, and raised in Israel and Toronto, Canada. While he started out playing in rock bands Neiman eventually …
16 Feb
Hokoyo! by Thomas Mapfumo & the Acid Band
Monday, 16 February 2009
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Welcome to the world from when sprang Thomas Mapfumo - he’s endured all that un-niceness and more. He’s from Zimbabwe (born 1945) and though influenced by Otis Redding a…
Ada’s latest CD Green Factor is slated for release on March 1st and should easily cement her standing in jazz circles both inside and outside the United States. A…
03 Jan
Tears Of A Queen by Ramana Vieira
Saturday, 03 January 2009
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Vocalist Ramana Vieira is perched beautifully between torchlight blues and operatic fires. Her latest release Lagrimas de Rainha, which translated in English is
On his new album, INFINITA, guitarist and composer Lawson Rollins, member of the acclaimed Latin guitar group Young & Rollins, offers a collection ...
This trio consists of West African guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke, Swedish-Italian bassist Massimo Biolcati and Hungarian drummer Ferenc Nemeth. The style is a blend o…
22 May
Us An’Them: A Collection Of National Anthems (Made In New York) by Garry Dial and Terre Roche
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Jazz pianist Garry Dial and folk singer Terre Roche have undertaken an ambitious project, bringing countries together with a gallery of national anthems. The collection …
18 May
My Harana: A Filipino Serenade by Clamor Charmaine
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Harana is a type of music from the Philippines that encompasses the smooth folksy nocturnes and rootsy serenade stylizing of the South Pacific, which became famous in th…
26 Apr
De Cuba y De Panama by Billy Cobham
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
"De Cuba y De Panama’ is a new joint project between the musical group Asere and legendary, versatile and virtuosic drummer Billy Cobham.…
06 Apr
Em Portugues by Rabih Abou-Khalil
Sunday, 06 April 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Not wasting any time getting to the core description of his music through actual demonstration, Rabih Abou-Khalil, steps out front and center with his heralded vocalist,…
27 Mar
My Harana: A Filipino Serenade by Charmaine Clamor
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
The breaking of tradition and direction of heart is a social constant which is well documented over centuries. The art of the serenade is lost somewhat but still a stron…
06 Mar
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Film Soundtrack) by Various Artists
Thursday, 06 March 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Many times music soundtracks do not live up to their promise. This film soundtrack is a fine example of one that does live up to its promise, and delivers! Vicky Cri…
Jazz guitarist Tony Romano provides the rhythmic markings for flutist Michel Gentile to quilt his mellifluous patterns and soaring scores on the duo’s latest release,
24 Feb
Kuro by Natsuki Tamura’s Gato Libre
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
The music of Gato Libre feels ancient like its elixirs have been hidden away in a crypt some place in a sacred Buddhist shrine. The sonic passages of their music on thei…
Kat Parra makes a strong case that she is one of the freshest, new voices in Latin jazz by following up her critically acclaimed debut album with an outstanding sophomor…
06 Feb
Bessarabian Hop by Michael Winograd
Wednesday, 06 February 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
For my money, the re-emergence of klezmer during the late 1990s has been one of the most rewarding musical developments of the past quarter century. Musicians from all part…
The Spanish guitar is one of the most romantic and exotic instruments in the world of music, in my opinion. Artists like Jesse Cook, Ottmar Liebert, Johannes Linstead, a…
Since Anglo-Indian composer John Meyer's 1967 recordings, Indo/Jazz Fusion has developed into a genre in its own right, involving jazz musicians such as John McLaug…
14 Jan
Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Monday, 14 January 2008
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
South African a capella vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, though most often singing in Zulu, has developed a sound that many listeners nonetheless recognize instantly, s…
Free Spirits is an Indo-jazz quartet who are rapidly making a name for themselves on their home terrain of the United Kingdom. Their self-titled debut album displays ava…
Kat Parra’s latest album Azucar de Amor is a culmination of ethnic influences with crimps of jazz standards. Produced by Parra’s trombonist Wayne Wallace, the alb…
Jamaican reggae crooner Daddy Rings (Everold Dwyer) has co-penned many hits amid his affiliation with King Jammy’s and other notables of the scene. As this 2008 r…
The internationalism of jazz has accounted for much of its innovation for at least the past decade. A restless and protean art form, jazz in hindsight may be described in i…
14 Jul
The Romanian-American Jazz Suite by Sam Newsome and Lucian Ban
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
This disc, containing the multi-movement piece entitled, The Romanian-American Jazz Suite, was written by Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban. Saxophonist Newsome is origina…
Born in the West African nation of Benin, Lionel Loueke was spellbound by the movements of African rhythms, the fluid strokes of the guitar, and the passion evoked throu…
Marcomé (pronounced Mar-ko-may), is a gifted Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. Marcomé’s debut album Seven Seas was released worldwide in 1...
The Café Olé blends jazz elements with a unique twist of Spanish flamenco music. Based in Toronto, Canada, The Café Olé’s debut CD Cuanto Tardaré is the result of…
26 May
Faces Of The Harp by Engels Espiritos
Saturday, 26 May 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Engels Espiritos is a Brazilian harmonica player and a vocalist, he is also the leader on three albums, the most recent album, Faces of the Harp an independent relea…
India born, New York-based percussionist-composer Ravish Momin has studied drum-set with Andrew Cyrille and Bob Moses, as well as North Indian percussion with Misha Masu…
03 May
Go Between by The New Percussion Group Of Amsterdam - Bill Brufo
Thursday, 03 May 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
This newly remastered CD of the original 1986 recording finds perpetually brilliant prog-rock and jazz drummer Bill Bruford performing with The New Percussion Group o…
01 May
Cyminology Bemun by Cymin Samawatie
Tuesday, 01 May 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Bemun unintentionally could be one of the most interesting releases of the year, not only because of the honesty and the originality of the music as it synthesizes j…
14 Apr
Sone Ka La by Jacques Schwarz-Bart
Saturday, 14 April 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Avant-jazz saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart has created one of a kind album. His third outing Sone Ka La hooks aspects of African dance, Caribbean rhythms, and up…
04 Apr
The World Is Not Your Home by David Rogers Sextet
Wednesday, 04 April 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Music is the universal language and jazz is global. For decades we have seen this art form spread from America around the world. The original source was Africa and the colo…
The post-war history of the clarinet in jazz is summed up in a 1961 Down Beat article: "The Clarinet In Jazz . . . What Happened?" "Face it:" wrote Leonard Feather, …
31 Mar
Sone Ka-La by Jacques Schwarz-Bart
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
I was lucky enough to hear a few tracks from "Sone' Ka-La" shortly prior to its US release. I instantly knew that it was potentially going to change some things in…
05 Mar
A Night in the Old Marketplace by Frank London
Monday, 05 March 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
The genre of World Music has grown in leaps and bounds with some of the most intriguing work produced to date. From the Latin sound to the African beat, the abundance of…
That jazz has become an international language has always been best exemplified in the cutting-edge artists of Europe. Han Bennick, Evan Parker, Tony Oxley, Enrico Rava …
Anat Cohen is gifted on all the reeds and probably best-known for her full-bodied tenor work with DIVA, the all-woman big band. Poetica features Cohen on clarinet, a…
13 Jan
Tango Bitter Sweet by Quadro Nuevo
Saturday, 13 January 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Ever curious about indigenous musical forms that arise from the people of countries around the world, ever explorative about new means of expression through culturally allu…
02 Jan
Tatoom: Music For Steel Orchestra by Andy Narell
Tuesday, 02 January 2007
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
As composer and performer, Andy Narell has furthered the fusion of steel pan work with jazz, and as the years roll by quickly, he continues to add new flavor and charm t…
31 Dec
Tatoom; Music for Steel Orchestra by Andy Narell
Sunday, 31 December 2006
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
If you open the jacket of Andy Narell’s February 2007 Heads Up release Tatoom, you will read that the CD was recorded from May through October 2006 in Paris, Biet…
03 Aug
Distant Borders Revisited by Glen Helgeson and Axia Mundi
Thursday, 03 August 2006
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
If one is worldly by nature, so will one's craft take similar form! Life’s current experiences mirror many times the events of the past. This is how I understood and app…
World music, hand drumming, fascinating rhythms and beats galore, are presented in fine form on this enticing recording. Hands On'Semble is a contemporary percussion ensemb…
28 Jun
Sphere of Influence and Orbis Terrarum by Gino Foti
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Gino Foti has self-produced two releases here that draw from a wide palette of his early musical influences: classical, Mediterranean folk, Italian opera, jazz fusion, a…
Geoffrey Armes has created a song cycle around the life of Noor Inayat Khan, daughter of American Amina Begum and Hazrat Inayat Khan, an Indian Sufi musician. Noor was a Br…
13 Jun
Change Over Time by Sonic Liberation Front
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Surprisingly, listening to a recording in an intimate setting brings out the best in what the recording offers. This is the case with Change Over Time by the Soni…
10 Jun
Bambu Sun by Corina Bartra & Azu
Saturday, 10 June 2006
Published in
World Music - CD Reviews
Vocalist and percussionist Corina Bartra throws a little bit of everything she knows and likes in her latest effort, Bambu Sun. The bilingual affair features Afro-Pe…