NEWSLETTER #140
Ethnic & World Music
King Sunny Ade ->
Various Artists
AFRICA-NIGERIA |
KING SUNNY ADE |
Shanachie 66034 |
The Best Of The Classic Years |
● CD $16.98 |
10 tracks, 71 mins., highly recommended
there's not much
left to be said about King Sunny Ade, the all-time master of Nigerian juju
music and consummate performer, bandleader, and cultural mover and shaker.
This CD offers a solid dose of Ade's music from 1966 to 1974 that for one
reason or another has not before been available digitally. Culled from the
dozen albums Ade recorded for the Nigerian label African Songs Ltd., these
tracks are a timewarp trip back to the heyday of juju, the mesmerizing
groove music that swept from west Africa to infect the entire world.
Included is the complete original version of "Synchro System", all 18
minutes of it, along with another 18-minute 5-song medley that is
guaranteed to get you smiling, bopping or both. A great addition to any
serious Ade collection and a fine introduction for those who've never
heard the King. (DC)
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AFRICA-MALI |
AMADOU & MARIAM |
Because 3109842 |
1990-1995: Les Integrale Des Annees
Maliennes |
● CD $55.98 |
On the heels of the recent release featuring some of the
best recordings released by this fabulous Malian duo on limited edition
cassettes between 1990 and 1995 comes this wonderful five CD box set
featuring all their recordings from this period. This is a limited edition
(5,000 copies worldwide) featuring 47 tracks arranged chronologically from
their earliest sides featuring just Amadou's funky bluesy guitar as
accompaniment to the later sides with small groups. Includes fold out
booklet with notes in French which also doubles as a poster.
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BRAZIL |
GRUPO DE
CAPOEIRA ANGOLA PELOU |
Smithsonian Folkways 40488 |
RINHO: Capoeira Angola 2 - Brincando Na
Roda |
● CD $15.98 |
9 tracks, 44 ins., good
Grupo Capoeira Angola Pelourinho,
headed by singer Mestre Pedro Moraes, tries to maintain the deepest
connections between this Brazilian ritualized dance form and its African
roots. In this, the group's second CD, Moraes sings of the values of
capoeira and the philosophy of capoeira as cosmic metaphor. "Brincando na
Roda" means Playing in the Ring, referring to the ring in which the dances
take place. The liner notes in English and Portuguese are tremendously
informative for both newcomers to the music and seasones dancers. It may
be impossible not to move while listening to this CD and the slow,
inexorable rhythms driving the plaintive singing. (DC)
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HAWAII |
SAM KU WEST |
Grass Skirt 1001 |
Hawiian Hula Blues |
● CD $15.98 |
26 tracks (mostly instrumental) from this brilliant steel
guitarist recorded in 1927 and 1928 - almost his entire output. His
performances include traditional Hawaiian tunes as well as American tunes
like St. Louis Blues/ memphis Blues and Old Black Joe.
Superb sound and 12 page booklet has notes, discography, rare photos and
label shots and other memorabilia.
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SPAIN |
LEILIA |
Discmedi 796 |
Madama |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 53 mins., recommended
The five women who share
lead vocal duties in this wonderful Galician band deliver a punch
comparable to the Bulgarian Women's Chorus, but with a band sound both
very Western European and strangely exotic. Sometimes extraordinary and
always engaging, these tradition-based Galician songs are all brought into
the 21st century with a hot blend of varied percussion, guitar, bass, gaita (bagpipe), and clarinet. The buttery clarinet, the tart gaita, and
spicy, edgy vocals add up to an entirely entertaining recipe. This stuff
is as heartfelt as it is dreamy and evocative. (DC)
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AFRICA-ETHIOPIA |
GETATCHEW MEKURYA |
Buda 82256 |
Ethiopiques 14 : Negus Of Ethiopian Sax |
● CD $14.98 |
15 tracks, 67 mins., recommended
Ethiopian sax is a genre
most of us have probably missed entirely. But adventurous lovers of
African grooves should really check this CD out. Mekurya is considered the
greatest Ethiopian sax player of his generation (most of these tracks
being recorded in 1972), and one who resisted western influences and,
instead, used his instrument to mimic the hair-raising traditional
Ethiopian singing style called "shellela". Playing over spare but
inexorable band grooves, Mekurya wails and declaims in a full-throated,
totally committed way. An exotic music, unlike any other east African
tradition, and played by the acknowledged master. (DC)
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TEXAS-MEXICAN |
LYDIA MENDOZA |
Arhoolie 513 |
Recuerdos De Lydia Mendoza |
● CD $12.98 |
15 previously unissued sides recorded by this great Tejano
vocalist for Falcon in the early 70s. Includes sides with just her 12
string guitar, with mariachis and with an orchestra.
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CALYPSO |
MIGHTY SPARROW |
Smithsonian Folkways 40534 |
First Flight |
● CD $15.98 |
18 tracks, 77 mins, highly recommended
Slinger Francisco,
called Birdie or Sparrow for his darting stage moves has remained one of
calypso's most popular performers since the beginning of his career in the
1950's Since then he has won an unprecedented eight Calypso Monarch and
Road march titles, despite his periodic absence from competition. This
collection features some of his earliest sides recorded by pioneering
producer Emory Cook between 1956 and 1959 and issued on four LPs on the
Cook label. Accompanied by fine groups (uunidentified) he performs catchy
and witty calypsos dealing with local Trinidadian politics, the calypso
war between Sparrow and Lord Melody, local characters, Russian satellites
and the strangely prescient Mad Bomber about a bomber who plants
bombs in New York! Includes 16 page booklet with biographical info,
discussion of all the songs and some great photos of Sparrow wearing his
well deserved crown!
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CUBA |
BENNY MORE Y SU
BANDA GIGANTE |
Tumbao TCD 309 |
Grabaciones Completas, 1953-1960 |
● CD $65.98 |
91 tracks, 273 mins, essential
For the non-Spanish
speakers, the title of this four CD "brick" tells us that it contains the
complete recordings of singer Benny (sometimes also spelled "Beny") More
and his big band from 1953-1960. The subtitle calls him the legendary idol
of the Cuban people-and that's no overstatement. More was to the golden
age of Cuban Music (1940's to 1960's) what Muhammad Ali has been to
American boxing. This box set contains his best sides from the peak of his
career and features a who's who of Cuban musicians of the time. Includes
120 page book with extensive notes, rare photos and discography. (JV)
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CUBA |
ARTURO NUNEZ |
Tumbao TCD 112 |
El Caballero Antillano |
● CD $14.98 |
21 tracks, 61 mins, highly recommended
Arturo Nunez was a
Cuban pianist and bandleader who first found fame leading a band in Mexico
in the 1940's. This fame lasted through the mambo, cha cha cha, and mambo
era from the forties to the sixties and spread through the
Spanish-speaking Americas. This CD is made up of sides from the peak of
his career, recorded in Mexico between 1949 and 1953 and features vocals
by the "Duo Antillano"-Beny More (who went on to become the foremost
singer of Cuban music) and Lalo Montane. (JV)
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CAJUN |
THE PINE LEAF BOYS |
Arhoolie 520 |
La Musique |
● CD $12.98 |
Fine new young Cajun group which includes Wilson Savoy,
the son of the legendary Marc Savoy. A mix of traditional and more modern
sounds.
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TEXAS-MEXICAN |
LOS PINGUINOS DE NORTE |
Arhoolie 9051 |
Corridos De La Frontera |
● CD $9.98 |
14 tracks, 60 min., highly recommended
The Penguins of the
North--northern Mexico, that is--have been providing the music for the
same cantina for better than 50 years, and these recordings document
corridos from the early 20th century--mostly the '20s and '30s, judging
from the references in the lyrics. This kind of working-class,
accordion-based music has clearly informed the music of more recent
artists, such as Chalino Sanchez, and from the subject matter of the
corridos (bragging, smuggling, fighting, murder, injustice, pride),
complete with references to specific people, places and dates, one can
begin to understand the tradition behind the more recent narcocorridos.
Arhoolie's Chris Strachwitz has thoughtfully provided the lyrics in
English (and Spanish) so that the music can be more fully appreciated by
those whose high school Spanish has all but evaporated. Most of these
songs, including El Desesperado, Yo Soy Norteno, Mexico
Americano, and Los Dos Hermanos, were recorded "live" at
cantina El Patio in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, in May 1970. An
excellent release. (JC)
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CUBA |
MONGUITO SANTAMARIA |
Vampisoul 021 |
Hey Sister |
● CD $21.98 |
9 tracks, 32 mins, highly recommended
Monguito Santamaria
is the son of legendary conga player Mongo Santamaria. His career has been
as a singer/pianist of latin music and he had a hit in 1969 with this
latin soul release on the Fania. It came out as the boogaloo years were
ending and the era of salsa was beginning. Not surprisingly, it combines
the soul beat of the earlier period with the latin rhythms of salsa to
produce a doubly danceable mixture. (JV)
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AFRICA-MALI |
ALI
FARKA TOURE & TOUMANI DIABATE |
Nonesuch 79920 |
In The Heart Of The Moon |
● CD $18.98 |
12 tracks, 55 mins., recommended
When northern Malian
guitarist Toure‚ and southern Griot kora master Diabate‚ got together in a
Bamako, Mali studio in July 2004 to record this CD, they had spent all of
three hours together in their lives. Yet with no rehearsing and little
fuss, they sat down and began to spin these simple, yet lovely
conversations between two very different branches of Malian musical
tradition. With the subtle, unobtrusive help of several friends including
Ry Cooder, these two geniuses of melodic understatement produce a hypnotic
blend, beautifully recorded and lovingly performed. The booklet includes
musing by both Toure‚ and Diabate‚ on the meaning of their music and how
they view their place in the tradition. This was a meeting long in coming
but well worth the wait. (DC)
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MEXICAN-AMERICAN |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Smithsonian Folkways 40516 |
Rolas De Aztlan - Songs Of The Chicano
Movement |
● CD $15.98 |
19 tracks, 70 min., highly recommended
A sort of folk
music soundtrack to the Chicano movement ("Movimiento") of the late 1960s,
although these songs range from the 1960s to 1998. Compilers pulled most
of the cuts from rare independent records that have yet to seen the light
of reissue. Flor del Pueblo's Soy Del Pueblo comes from their 1977
LP Musica de Nuestra America, which is probably tough to track down right
about now, as is the track from Daniel Valdez's 1974 LP Mestizo, and El
Teatro Camesino's cut taken from their 1966 LP. Song subjects include
labor disputes, Vietnam, revolution, identity and more, with all lyrics
thoughtfully given in Spanish and English in the 38 page booklet--that's
where listeners find out that two of the songs (De Colores from
1977 and El Tilingo Lingo from 1978) are by none other than Los
Lobos! And the second one is previously unreleased. A fascinating document
full of charming acoustic music. (JC)
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