NEWSLETTER #129
Ethnic & World Music
Salum Abdallah -> Various Artists
| SALUM ABDALLAH & CUBAN
MARIMBA MOH ALILECHE CACHAO JOSE CURBELO & HIS ORCH. INTI-ILLIMANI |
FUNDI KONDE NORO MORALES LEE SCRATCH PERRY VARIOUS ARTISTS |
| AFRICA-TANZANIA | SALUM ABDALLAH & CUBAN MARIMBA | Dizim 4701-2 | Ngoma Iko Huku | ● CD $16.98 |
| 22 track collection of recordings made between 1955 and 1965
by legendary Tanzanian guitarist. |
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| AFRICA-ALGERIA | MOH ALILECHE | Flag Of Freedom 003 | The Source Of Water (Taawit) | ● CD $16.98 |
| CUBA | CACHAO | EMI Latin 25329 | Cuba Linda | ● CD $15.98 |
| 13 tracks, 77 minutes, highly
recommended. Israel Lopez "Cachao"
is a triple threat legend of Cubop and Latin jazz. Famed performer (he plays
the bass), composer, and bandleader, you might call him the Cuban Charles
Mingus-except that his career lasted over sixty years! He is reputed, along
with brothers Jesus and Orestes, to have invented the mambo in the 1930's.
He is also famous for his "Cuban Jam Sessions" series of LPs in the
mid-1950's. This CD is a jam session (or descarga) produced by actor Andy
Garcia as a follow up to Cachao's Grammy-winning "Master Sessions" CDs. (JV)
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| CUBA | JOSE CURBELO & HIS ORCH. | Tumbao 074 | Live At The China Doll | ● CD $15.98 |
| 21 tracks, 55 minutes, highly
recommended. Though forgotten
today, Jose Curbelo was one of the best and most popular Cuban bandleaders
on the New York scene in the 1940's. He gave a start to the careers of such
famous later bandleaders as Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez (both of whom
play on this CD). He helped found the Havana Riverside Orchestra in Cuba in
the 1930's and came to New York City in 1939, where he soon held forth at
clubs like the "China Doll" where many of the live tracks on this CD were
recorded. (JV) |
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| CHILE | INTI-ILLIMANI | Xenophile 4056 | Lugares Comunes | ● CD $15.98 |
| AFRICA-KENYA | FUNDI KONDE | Retroafric 8 | Retrospective, Vol. 1 : 1947-1956 | ● CD $15.98 |
| 17 tracks, recommended. Lovely collection of 17 sides by this
Kenyan musical pioneer who recorded hundreds of 78s in the 40s and 50s. He
was the first guitarist in East Africa to play electric guitar and was one
of the most popular artists in the region and a number of the songs here
were local hits. His music blended the Cuban rumba with local Swahili lyrics
and sengenya rhythms. His songs features melodic, relaxed vocals with sweet
harmonies and sympathetic instrumental work with guitar, clarinet, bass and
occasional accordion. (FS) |
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| CUBA | NORO MORALES | Harlequin HQ CD 78 | Live Broadcasts & Transcriptions, 1942-48 | ● CD $16.98 |
| 25 tracks, 64 minutes, highly
recommended. Portly,
percussive, Puerto Rican pianist Noro Morales was an early proponent of
Latin jazz, leading a band that played swank New York clubs such as the
Stork Club in the 1940's. He began his musical career in Puerto Rico in the
influential band of trumpeter Rafael Munoz and immigrated to the United
States in the 1930's. This CD presents some excellent broadcasts and
transcriptions from his peak period in the 1940's and features a broad range
of excellent musicians, ranging from timbalero Tito Puente to trumpeter Doc
Severinsen of "Tonight Show" fame. (JV) |
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| JAMAICA | LEE SCRATCH PERRY | Trojan 80266 | Jamaican E.T. | ● CD $16.98 |
| 16 tracks, 74 min, highly recommended. The Master in a
wonderful return to form - his strongest in years! The opener grabs you
right away: the girl background singers go from singing "one God, One Faith,
one destiny" to "LSD - LSD" & "We love you Mr Perry"! In fact, listening to
this makes your head swim so you almost feel you're on an acid trip! Most
tracks have da riddim down, with a dozen things going on at once including
multiple Perry voices. And titles including Hip Hop Reggae/ Telepathic
Jah A Rize & Evil Brain Rejector give you an idea what's in
store. Love Sunshine, Blue Sky is a great dub version of I Wish It
Would Rain! (GM) |
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| CUBA | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Blue Note 39855 | A Gozar! Latin Grooves On Blue Note | ● CD $12.98 |
| 15 tracks, 56 minutes, highly
recommended. This CD collects
classic Latin groove tracks (mainly recorded during the 1960's) drawn from
the vaults of famed jazz record label Blue Note and its affiliates. Artists
featured fall into two categories - latin musicians (e.g., Machito, Willie
Bobo, and Joe Torres) going jazzy and jazz musicians (e.g., Les McCann,
Bobby Hutcherson, and the Jazz Crusaders) doing it with a latin beat. Think
funky, jazzy, and eminently danceable. (JV) |
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| CAJUN | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Brazos Films DVD 103 | Jai Ete Au Bal | DVD $22.98 |
| 114 minutes, color, essential. Now on DVD. Several films have
been made on the infectious Cajun and Zydeco music of Southwest Louisiana
but, until now, none has tackled the task of putting the most important
musicians of the past and present into a historical context. Filmmakers Les
Blank and Maureen Gosling with Arhoolie Records producer Chris Strachwitz,
whose love affair with French Louisiana's music date back more than 35
years, collaborate on this 1989 film. In this superb film the filmmakers
present history with a heart, drawing from interviews, live performance,
stills, historical footage and anecdotes to create a lyrical telling of
Cajun and Zydeco music from its roots through the 20th century. The film
includes exciting footage of then hot stars of the French Louisiana scene:
Wayne Toups, Cajun Gold, Queen Ida, Rockin' Sidney and Beausoleil, plus rare
footage of the late, great King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, and classic
favorites such as D.L. Menard, Canray Fontenot, "Bois Sec" Ardoin, The Balfa
Brothers, Marc Savoy, and Dennis McGee. Strachwitz was inspired to make
after reading Ann Savoy's superb book, "Cajun Music: A Reflection of a
People." The film was made with the essential contributions and guidance of
Cajun folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet and popular musician Michael Doucet of
"Beausoleil." Historical segments created from still photos and interviews
bring to life early recording artists Joe and Cleoma Falcon, Iry LeJeune,
Amede Ardoin, Leo Soileau, Harry Choates, and Belton Richard. The film also
features rare film and video footage of the Balfa Brothers, Nathan
Abshire and Clifton Chenier. For this DVD release the producers have added
30 minutes of previously unreleased footage and includes an audio commentary
by the filmmakers plus information about the filmmakers, production stills
and detailed scene info. (WS/FS) |
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| NORTENO | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Brazos Films DVD 104 | Chulas Fronteras/ Del Mero Corazon | DVD $22.98 |
| DVD, 116 mins, color, essential. Now on DVD. Two superb films
from filmmaker Les Blank with Chris Strachwitz which looks at the music and
culture of the residents of the Texas-Mexican border regions. Taken
together, they comprise a broad sampling of the diversity of musical styles
that grew up on both sides of the Rio Grande. It's all here in the polkas,
cancions, and corridas from
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| CUBA | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Columbia 63408 | Ritmo De La Noce - Very Best Of Latin Jazz | ● CD $12.98 |
| 16 tracks, 73 minutes, highly
recommended. Drawing on the
vast vaults of Columbia, Sony, and CTI, this CD collects a wide variety of
first rate latin jazz tracks. Recordings date from the 1960's through the
1990's and artists hail from Brazil and Argentina to Cuba and the United
States. Highlights include Arstrud Gilberto's version of the Brazilian roots
hit "Ponteio," Hank Crawford's take on Carole King's "Corazon," and Mongo
Santamaria's hit version of "Watermelon Man." (JV) |
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| CUBA | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Harmless HURTCD 030 | Freakoff! Latin Breakbeats, Basslines & Boogaloo | ● CD $17.98 |
| 14 tracks, 58 minutes, essential. In the 1960's, Puerto Rican
musicians in Spanish Harlem discovered the African-American dance, the
boogaloo, and began a very fruitful and controversial phase in latin music.
This fine, but eclectic, CD combines classic New York latin boogaloos of the
era like Joe Bataan's "Es Tu Cosa" (actually a latin cover of the Isley
Brothers' "It's Your Thing") along with tracks by older musicians, like Tito
Puente, who didn't like the boogaloo (but couldn't ignore it either) and
songs by West Coast latin groups (like El Chicano) who were trying to get in
on the act. All are infectiously danceable. (JV) |
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| REGGAE | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Trojan 80398 | Dancehall '69 - 40 Skinhead Reggae Rarities | ● CD $21.98 |
| Two CD set - The Bunny Lee All Stars, Meditators, Hortense
Ellis, Lloyd Charmers, The Reggae Boys, Tommy McCook, King Horror, The Des
All Stars, etc. |
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