Bulletin - February
2009
Ethnic & World Music
Franco & Le TPOK Jazz
->
Various
Artists
AFRICA-MOROCCO |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Sublime Frequencies 041 |
Musical Brotherhoods From The Trans-Saharan
Highway |
$21.98 |
13 tunes, 60 mins, highly recommended
A very exciting
through frustrating look at a unique musical subculture. The Trans-Saharan
Highway is the highway that will eventually connect Algiers in Algeria to
Lagos, Nigeria and includes the Moroccan cities of Marrakesh and Essaouira
where the footage on this DVD was shot - most of it at the Jemaa Al Fna
bazaar in Marrakesh in 2005. Several music ensembles are featured usual
featuring a stringed instrument (oud, banjo or one string fiddle) with
percussion and vocals by all members of the group. The most impressive is
Troupe Majidi which features an oud player who performs some incredibly
imaginative playing on a heavilly amplified oud but all the groups are
impressive. There are also several brief glimpses of other instrumentalists
as well as other events at the bazaar. The cinematography is occasionally
amateurish and the sound balance leaves something to be desired and the
total lack of any narration or other descriptive material I found very
frustrating. In spite of my reservations the music here is exciting,
haunting and compelling and I hope it inspires someone to take a more, in
depth, look at this culture. (FS)
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AFRICA-CONGO |
FRANCO & LE TPOK JAZZ |
Sterns 3041/42 |
Francophonic: A Retrospective, Vol. 1,
1953-1980 |
$22.98 |
2 CD, 28 tracks, 148 mins, highly recommended
Francois Luambo, aka Franco, was one of the greatest artists that Africa ever
produced. Guitarist, composer, band leader, sometime singer, Franco's music
has a legitimate claim to having been the most popular music in the African
regions south of the Sahara. Born in the Belgian Congo (now known as the
Democratic Republic of the Congo), Franco developed from a 15 year old
busker into an artist of prestige and influence. The early songs, documented
on CD 1, are steeped in the Congolese version of the rumba, music inspired
equally by Latin sounds and local traditions. This music, epitomized by
On Entre Ok, On Sort K.O., is highly stylized, but infectious and
incredibly fun to listen to. He began as a session musician, and ended up
leading two acclaimed bands, OK Jazz and TPOK Jazz, while also forming
record companies, inventing dances, and displaying his kinetic ability on
the guitar. The songs are fast -- a la Esengo Ya Mokili -- and slow,
as in the dreamy Tozonga Na Nganga Wana -- but never boring or
without unique pleasures. Franco's later music, as documented on Disc 2, is
more bitter in lyrical content but one would never know it by the jittery
melodies and cheery singing. This is inportant music, and anyone looking for
a further window into African music of the last 50 years and one of its
greatest artists. (GMC)
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NORTENO |
LYDIA MENDOZA |
Arhoolie 536 |
The Best Of Lydia Mendoza - La Alondra de la
Frontera |
$12.98 |
17 tracks, 52 min., very highly recommended
Lydia Mendoza,
with a powerful and emotionally-charged voice on the order of Portugal's Amalia Rodrigues, became the first great Mexican-American star. This
collection is an excellent sampler of Arhoolie's Mendoza releases and spans
the great length of her recording career. The earliest cuts from the 1930s
include her first and biggest hit Mal Hombre, as well as the
previously unreleased gem Adios Muchachos, itself reason enough to
pick this up. The CD also includes cuts from the 1950s through the 1980s,
and even the latest recordings from 1982 find Mendoza's skill on the
12-string guitar and vocal prowess undiminished. A wonderful introduction to
a great artist. Informative 40 page booklet notes include lyrics in Spanish
and English. (JC)
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SPAIN |
LA MUSGANA |
Mad River 1011 |
20 |
$16.98 |
16 tracks, highly recommended
U.S. issue of album
celebrating the 20th anniversary of this superb and energetic Castillian
Spanish quintet featuring recordings drawn from their various albums made in
this period along with two bonus live tracks from 2007. Although the
personnel has changed over the years the feel of their music has remained
constant - a delicious mixture of very old and very new tonalities that is
reminiscent of Malicorne's acoustic-to-electric transition period, while the
melodies and vocal styles are very Spanish indeed. The music is mostly
instrumental with occasional Flamenco style vocal. The band arrangements are
built on guitar, electric bass, hurdy-gurdy, drums, clarinet, fiddle,
bagpipes, and more. The slap funk bass style may jar some ears, but it
matches the playfulness of the whole band, updating medieval dance forms and
more modern flamenco cousins into a joyful, Carnaval atmosphere. (DC/ FS)
|
CAJUN |
KEVIN
NAQUIN & THE OSSUN PLAYBOYS |
Swallow 6208 |
Call It What You Want (Appell-le Ca Tu Veux) |
$15.98 |
15 tracks, 56 min., highly recommended
Like all good cajun
bands, accordionist Naquin and co. have a healthy respect for their musical
past, as witnessed here by their song selection. For example, Naquin's great
grandfather, Hadley Fontenot, recorded one of his tunes with the Balfa
Brothers in the 1970s that is adapted and updated here as Fontenot's Jig.
Other nods to the past include Nathan Abshire's Pine Grove Blues, the
ubiquitous Kaplan Waltz, and Valse de la Vie by Pierre Daigle. And like all great cajun outfits, they also
feature a touch of outstanding original material, in this case, All Night
Long. But they are surely more traditional than innovative. They even
adapt a Conway Twitty song, After All The Good Is Gone to excellent
effect. In fact, their talent lies largely in their creative
interpretations. Equally fine for dancing or listening, this album never
steps wrong. (JC)
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AFRICA-NIGERIA |
CHIDINMA OKAFOR |
Arc Music 2186 |
Modern Gospel From West Africa |
$14.98 |
10 tracks, 54 mins, highly recommended
Gorgeous collection
of gospel music featuring one of Nigeria's most popular vocalists
accompanied vocally by a six member group who provide spellbinding harmonies
that bring to mind the gospel music of South Africa. They are accompanied by
a band with lovely skittering guitar sounds, kora, keyboards and more.
Includes booklet with notes on the artist and songs in English, German,
French and Spanish. Lovely stuff.
|
CAJUN |
JIM OLIVIER |
Swallow 6202 |
The Essential Collection |
$15.98 |
20 tracks, recommended
19 tracks from the early 80s and one
recent recording from this popular singer and local T.V. personality.
Olivier had a pretty smooth voice by Cajun standards but the performances
are fine with some good songs and great accompaniments from musicians like
fiddler Merlin Fontenot, accordion giant Aldus Mouton and steel guitarist
Rod Miller. Many of the songs here were Louisiana hits including the
humorous duet with Jeanice Clement on Marriage A Pic Et Poc (Marriage
On The Rocks). (FS)
|
CUBA |
TITO PUENTE |
Fania 130 416 |
The Complete 78s, Vol. 2 |
$19.98 |
2 CDs, 40 tracks, highly recommended
Tito Puente was one of
the Kings of Latin Jazz and this compilation is the second in a series that
collects the recordings he cut, as a first time band leader, from 1949 to
1955 for the Tico label and were released as 78's. Apparently, Puente was
also cutting tracks for RCA at the same time, but there appears to be few
parallel between the material from each label. While the RCA sides were more
mainstream commercial, these tracks are geared more toward his hardcore
audience: hard mambos, boleros, and the occasional ballad. The musicians
featured on these recordings include, Mongo Santamaria, Charlie Palmieri,
and Willie Bobo, so you know that the playing will be Grade A classic. These
recordings are a must for Puente fans. (GMC)
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CAJUN |
DENNIS STROUGHMATT |
Swallow 6210 |
Cadet Rouselle - French Creole Fiddle Tunes
& Ballads |
$15.98 |
16 tracks, 50 min., highly recommended
The subtitle --
"French Creole Fiddle Tunes & Ballads from Old Upper Louisiana, Volume II"
-- is informative is not particularly catchy. (Volume I is called "The
Gambler's Fiddle".) But this album is informative and particularly catchy.
The project aims to introduce the secret history of the French in the midwest, a history that goes back to the 17 century. Missouri seems to be
singled out for focus here, but while this release is part historical folk
research project, the music never takes a back seat to the desire to
document it. The songs here are a pure joy to listen too, from lively
instrumentals (Jury Baker/ La Pommier d'un Ange) to the touching
J'ai Fait Une Maitresse, the lyric of which seems to have been
reincarnated and adapted into the popular children's book "Runaway Bunny." A
charming album all the way through. (JC)
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AFRICA-BENIN & TOGO |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Analog Africa 063 |
African Scream Contest - Raw & Psychedelic
Afro Sounds |
$23.98 |
14 tracks, 74 mins, highly recommended
More unsung and unheralded music from Africa for our more discriminating customers; in the
late 60's, bands in Benin began fusing Funk, Afrobeat, Latin, Soul, Cuban,
Congolese, and local traditional music into a potent mix that rocks out on
this compilation. Major practitioners like Orchestre Poly-Rythmo (It's a
Vanity), El Rego et Ses Commandos (Se Na Min), and Black Santiago
(Vinon So Minsou) are represented and the sounds created herein
percolate and groove as effortlessly as anything by James Brown or
Funkadelic. Of all the African music compilations that I've reviewed, this
one is most party oriented and full of pure dancing joy. If you're in the
mood for something a little different to set a party off on the right foot,
then this is the CD for you. (GMC)
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JAMAICA |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Kingston Sounds 016 |
Rocksteady Fever |
$21.98 |
16 tracks, 49 mins, recommended
In Jamaica in the mid-60's,
the jerky rhythms of Ska (the predominant music of the time) were slowed
down to a more sexy and sultry pace, and the result was the birth of a new
sound called Rocksteady. During a two year period-1966 to 1968-Rocksteady
flourished, while introducing new producers and artists that provided the
groundwork for what evolved into Reggae in the 70's. This compilation is a
good primer for the uninitiated, with good tracks by Pat Kelly, Delroy
Wilson, Glen Adams, Roy Shirley, and Uniques. Although none of the real
stars of Rocksteady - early Bob Marley and The Wailers, Ken Boothe, Desmond
Dekker, and Toots and the Maytals, among them-are represented, this CD is a
solid collection of a style of music that is often overlooked in the annals
of history. (GMC)
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ARMENIA |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Music & Words 5003 |
Hayastan: Traditions Of Armenia |
$15.98 |
26 tracks, 75 mins, highly recommended
Gorgeous collection
of traditional instrumental music from Armenia played on traditional Armenian
instruments like the tar (a long necked lute), kamancha (spike fiddle), shvi
(a shirll wind instrument), several different kinds of bagpipes, dhol (a
double headed cylindrical drum), kanon (hammered dulcimer) and more
including the wonderful duduk - an instrument related to the oboe but with
an incredibly haunting, soft and human sound that brought tears to the eyes
of famed classical composer Aram Khachaturian. Performances includes solos,
duets, trios and a couple of tracks with larger instrumental ensembles. As
is the case with the music of neighboring Iran and Turkey a rich confluence
of Arabic, Oriental, and Eastern European influences is extant here, and the
variety of styles is astounding. The booklet has brief but useful notes and
drawings of some of the instruments. (FS)
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CAJUN |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Origin Jazz Library 3001 |
La Musique De La Maison - Women & Home Music |
$13.98 |
Lovely collection of the rarely heard acapella vocal music
from South Louisiana featuring female Cajun and Creole singers recorded in
the 1950s through the 1970s. A wide variety of songs are featured - some of
them dating back to medieval France while others show more modern
influences. Though some of the earlier recorded were made on badly
deteriorated discs the sound throughout is superb and set includes 24 page
illustrated booklet with notes on the singers and the songs.
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