Tiempo Libre Bach in Havana (Decca, 2009) Regarded by many as the leading timba (contemporary Cuban dance music) group in the United States, Tiempo Libre…
Bach Goes Cuban
Category: Album reviews
California Klezmer
Klezmer Juice Yiddish Lidele (ARC Music, 2009) Although most of the klezmer music made in the United States seems to be concentrated in the northeast,…
Chinese Pickin’
Red Chamber Redgrass (Za Discs, 2009) Vancouver has become a hot bed for Chinese musical talent. Numerous leading musicians from mainland China and Hong Kong…
Foot-Tapping & High Fiddling of Quebec’s Genticorum
Genticorum – La Bibournoise (Mad River Records, 2009) Traditional Quebecois music first came to my attention when I saw a Quebecois ensemble perform at the…
Grassland Beats
Mamer Eagle (Real World Records, 2009) After snagging prime spots and rave reviews on the BBC and National Public Radio for their Mongolian grasslands recording…
Pad the Road with Malinky
Malinky Flower & Iron (Mad River Recordings/Greentrax, 2009) Flower & Iron is the latest release by Malinky, which is one of the finest contemporary folk…
Norwegian World Expressions
Various Artists Norway (Music Export Norway MENCD 015) I find that most of the Norwegian music that gets to World Music Central’s hands is of…
Songs across Walls of Separation
Various Artists – Songs across Walls of Separation (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 2009) Norwegian record producer and founder of the label, Kirkelig Kulturverksted, Erik Hillestad and I…
Pepo Rocks
La Banda del Pepo Tanto por Hacer (Galileo/Nufolk, 2009) La Banda del Pepo means Pepo’s band, and what a band. Pepo Sanchez is a singer-songwriter …
Colombian Coastal Fire
Pacifico Colombiano: Adventures in Afro-Colombia (Otrabanda Records OTB09, 2008) The Colombian port city of Buenaventura is an entry point for many goods into the country’s…