NEWSLETTER #124
Ethnic & World Music

Big Voice Jack -> Various Artists

CUBANISMO
ILGI
LOS MONTANESES DEL ALAMO		 MONGO SANTAMARIA
DAVE TARRAS
TINARIWEN
VARIOUS ARTISTS
 

 
CUBA CUBANISMO Hannibal 1441 Mardi Gras Mambo ● CD $17.98
12 tracks, 56 minutes, highly recommended These 1999 recordings find Jesus Alemany taking his Cuban dance/jazz band Cubanismo to New Orleans to record with John Boutte and the Yockamo All-Stars. The result exceeds all expectations and stands in contrast to the many cross-cultural all-star duds you see in the music racks. The songs here range from crescent city oldies like Mother In Law to session originals. The numbers are all temptingly danceable, yet complex enough to bear repeated listening. The most exciting feature of the CD is the sympathetic exchange between the players and the fresh blend of Louisiana and Cuban rhythms and instrumental groupings. For, after all, these are both neotrad Creole dance bands (just from opposite ends of the Gulf of Mexico). (JV)
 
LATVIA ILGI UPE 004 Saules Meita ● CD $22.98
Exciting album of songs and music from the leading folk group from the small independent Baltic country of Latvia. Originally formed in 1981 the group has undergone many personnel changes over the years. This album, released in 1999 features the group performing mostly original compositions, often based on Latvian folklore. Fine singing and powerful instrumental work using both traditional Latvian folk instruments (box zither, bagpipes, two string fiddle, etc) and more contemporary instruments (guitar, bass, synthesizer, etc.
 
MEXICAN LOS MONTANESES DEL ALAMO Arhoolie 7021 First Recordings, 1940-1950 ● CD $12.98
Delightful album of Norteño music by this fine and long lived group from northeastern Mexico that played in a style that predated the use of the accordion as the lead instrument. Here the lead instruments are flute and violin and, on the later recordings, a saxophone accompanied by bajo sexto and string bass.
 
CUBA MONGO SANTAMARIA Prestige 24018 Afro Roots ● CD $16.98
21 tracks, 78 minutes, essential Mongo Santamaria is probably the best known conga and bongo player in Afro-Cuban music. He is a master of rhythm made "skin to skin." After cutting his chops with the bands of Perez Prado, Tito Puente, and Cal Tjader, Mongo went out on his own in the late fifties. This CD collects the classic sides from his first two albums as a leader, Mongo (recorded in 1959) and Yambu (recorded in 1958). Here he is joined on percussion by the likes of Wille Bobo (on timbales) and Armando Peraza. Also playing are jazz stalwarts such as Al McKibbon on bass, Paul Horn on flute, Cal Tjader on vibes, and Vince Guaraldi on piano. Most numbers are original compositions by Santamaria (including the much-covered Afro Blue) and band member Francisco Aguabella. These fine recordings are the connecting link between the pioneering Latin/jazz Dizzy Gillespie/Chano Pozo collaborations of the forties and the salsa explosion of the sixties and seventies. (JV)
 
JEWISH/YIDDISH/KLEZM DAVE TARRAS Global Village CD 105 Master Of Klezmer Music, Vol. 1 : 1929-1949 ● CD $15.98
15 tracks, highly recommended Originally issued on cassette 15 years ago this is a great compilation of fifteen 78 rpm sides by Dave Tarras, the virtuoso clarinetist whose long career (1925-1989) defined the recorded history of klezmer music. Tarras, a Ukrainian immigrant, was a constant innovator in the klezmer tradition, and this well-chosen selection from the 20's, 30's and 40's documents his growth from a talented newcomer to the leading clarinet stylist of the golden age. His playing never ceases to amaze, displaying profound soulfulness and dazzling technique, especially on the later material with its detailed, swooping solos. An absolutely essential collection, not only for klezmerphiles, but for anyone who enjoys Eastern European sounds. (MB)
 
AFRICA-MALI TINARIWEN Wayward 703 The Radio Tisdas Sessions ● CD $11.98
Exciting debut album by Malian Touareg Rebel group with music calling for the awakening of political consciousness in the Touareg people - the Berber nomads of the Sahara Desert. The group is a 10 piece aggregation with six of the members playing electric guitars and singing (not all at once) with bass and percussion and a female vocal chorus. Their music is rooted in the traditional melodies usually played on the one-string violin, lute and shepherd flute overlaid with various disparate Western influences giving birth to a musical form called "Tishoumaren" or simply "guitar" because of the central focus of that instrument.
 
MEXICAN-AMERICAN VARIOUS ARTISTS Arhoolie 7040 Pachuco Boogie ● CD $12.98
Fascinating collection of music from and about the pachuco culture of zoot suit wearing young Mexican-American tough guys featuring recordings from the late 40s. The music is a blend of jazz, rhythm and blues and Mexican music often sung in the Mexican American equivalent of black jive talk called "calo". There are tracks by various groups led by gifted performer Don Tosi as well as tracks by Lalo Guererro, Los Chucos, Dacita & Her Orqueta, the fabulous Django inspired guitar player Jorge Cordoba and others. There are also norteno and mariachi comments on the culture from Las Hermanas Mendoza and Dueto Taxo. The 32 page booklet has extensive notes, photos, discographical data and transcripts of the lyrics.
 
AFRICA-ALGERIA VARIOUS ARTISTS Buda 82221 Panorama De L'Oranais ● CD $16.98
7 tracks, 48 mins, highly recommended Remarkable and moving collection of recordings of Arab-Andalusian song from Oran in Alegeria recorded between 1937 and 1946 featuring some of the finest artists in the genre. The performers are mostly Jewish Arabs and the songs they sing are excerpts of performances that in person could go on for four hours and are derived from recordings that were spread over two or four sides of 78s. Singers include the incredibly intense Cheikh Hamada and the wonderful blind woman singer Reinette El Ouahrani plus Cheikh Zousou, Cheikh Ben Achitte and Saoud El Ouhrani. Accompaniments include flutes, oud, violin and percussion. Sound quality from these rare 78s is superb and there are informative notes by El Hadj Jawal Ahn'ud. (FS)
 
REGGAE VARIOUS ARTISTS Heartbeat 7649 Head Shot ● CD $15.98
17 tracks, 57 min, highly recommended. Another consistently fine compilation from Heartbeat, this one showcasing the dub work of singer/producer Winston Holmes, better known as Niney. From then 70s & 80s, Niney, using mainly tracks originally by him or his protégé Dennis Brown, cut a fine series of dub sides, many of them never getting out of Jamaica, & some being released here for the 1st time, including a Niney track with the wonderful title You Can't Enter Zion With Your Big Checkbook. Using mostly The Observers as his band, with my favorites being Last Call Version/ One Train Load Of Collies/ Zorro & the title track. The Soul Syndicate is heard on a few numbers including Zimbabwe (Extended Mix). (GM)
 
JAMAICA VARIOUS ARTISTS Heritage 45 Boogu Yagga Gal ● CD $16.98
22 tracks, 68 mins, highly recommended. Wonderful reissue of recordings from the 50s featuring Jamaican mento music. Mento is a dance style that like much Caribbean music draws on both African and European influences. It has some similarities to Trinidadian calyspo but is a distinctly Jamaican musical form. The songs, like calypso, deal with topical events, philosophical observations and, of course, the joys and tribulations of love. Instrumental accompaniments are by small groups featuring instrumenation which includes fife, banjo, guitar, maracas, rumba box (a form of bass thumb piano), violin, bamboo clarinet and more. There are some wonderful singers here including Count Lasher, Lord Lebby, the particularly fine E. Bedasse and Lord Power. At times one can hear hints of the forthcoming ska music which was become popular in the early 60s. Sound quality is generally excellent though some of the original recordings have distortion which cannot be eliminated. 28 page booklet has informative notes by Richard Noblett and transcripts of the lyrics. (FS)
 
AFRICA-SOUTH AFRICA VARIOUS ARTISTS Wrasse 029 The History Of Township Music ● CD $15.98
28 tracks, 76 mins, highly recommended Previously available on Gallo as "From Marabi To Disco" this is a great collection of South African Township music covering the period of 1939 through 1981. There are 28 tracks displaying the various styles that developed including Marabi, African Jazz, Mbaqaunga and Pennywhistle Jive/ Kwela. Features some of the great names in South African music including Thomas Mabiletsa, Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds (their classic Mbube from 1939 which later became better known as Wimoweh), Nancy Jacobs & Her Sisters, The Mahnattan Brothers, Dorothy Masuka, Miriam Makeba & The Skylarks, The Elite Swingsters, Four Yanks, Reggie Mason's Hollywood Jazz Band, The Mahotella Queens, John Ramotsie, The Boyo Boys, Soul Brothers, The Shoe Laces and many more. Wonderful and enthralling music with great sound and a 12 page booklet with extensive (and very tiny) notes by South African music expert Rob Allingham. (FS)
 

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