Silk and Bamboo Ensemble - Traditional Chinese Music (Arc Music, 2008)

Chen Dacan's Chinese Ensemble - Classical Chinese Folk Music, featuring the Chinese flute (Arc Music EUCD2193, 2009)

 

Two recordings on the ARC Music label provide a fascinating view of Chinese traditional music made by Chinese expatriates. Silk and Bamboo Ensemble presents a collection of traditional, regional and contemporary ensemble and solo pieces titled Traditional Chinese Music. The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble, based in London, UK, is a group of virtuoso, classically trained musicians led by pipa and guqin player Cheng Yu.

 

Lawson Rollins - Espirito (Infinita Records INF-204, 2010)

Chris Burton Jacome - Levanto (CBJ 1347, 2010)

Even with all sorts of instruments that were once unfamiliar and exotic becoming well known through wider awareness of global music, it’s good to see and hear that old standby, the guitar, still getting a share of the spotlight. In the hands of a master, your basic six-string can charm, inspire, impassion, mystify and stir emotions every which way.

 

Lawson Rollins is just such a master, playing with lightning-fast precision when he so chooses but also caressing gentler subtleties out of his axe and, even though it’s his name above the title on Espirito, working as a team player and sharing the solo space. A wise move, given that he’s joined by an international gathering of musicians including such notables as renowned violinist Charlie Bisharat, Cuban drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Persian kamancheh wizard Kayhan Kalhor and Brazilian icons Airto Moreira and Flora Purim alongside the steady hands of Randy Tico (bass) and Dave Bryant (percussion).

Real Vocal String Quartet

 

Real Vocal String Quartet (Flower Note Records, 2010)

 

Although there are a lot of string quartets out there, the all-female Real Vocal String Quartet stands out because of its beautiful combination of violins, cello and viola with polyphonic vocals performed by the instrumentalists. Irene Sazer (violin and vocals), Dina Maccabee (viola and vocals), Alisa Rose (violin and vocals), and Jessiva Ivry  (cello and vocals) take string ensemble chamber music and blend it with American bluegrass, Brazilian melodies written by the legendary Pixinguinha, Balkan influences, African rhythms inspired by Mali's Tinariwen and jazz improvisation.

Youssou N'Dour

 

Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love (Nonesuch, 2010)

The critically acclaimed documentary I Bring What I Love, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, details the musical and spiritual journey of singer, songwriter and Senegalese pop icon Youssou N'Dour after the controversial Nonesuch release of his stunning 2004 Grammy Award-winning Egypt, but the easy success of the film is certainly the soundtrack.

 

Oscilloscope Laboratories is expected to release the DVD in April of 2010 and hopefully we'll get a sneak look at the film, but the Nonesuch release of the Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love is a sweet consolation. Pooling tracks from Mr. N'Dour's career, the soundtrack I Bring What I Love is quintessentially N'Dour, full of the singer's bright, intoxicating easy swing and unpretentious grace.

El Bicho

 

De Imaginar (Warner Music Spain, 2009)

 

El Bicho is one of Spain's leading jam bands. Based in Madrid, El Bicho mixes explosive Flamenco roots rock with blues, jazz, echoes of progressive rock and global music elements. Well known in Spain, but with little exposure outside the country, El Bicho puts together a captivating show. On May 16th of 2008, El Bicho recorded a live album in Madrid that is now available as a boxed set titled De Imaginar that includes two music CDs and a DVD with live concert footage.

 

The group was formed by charismatic vocalist Miguel Campello Garzón who got together with several students of Madrid's Escuela Popular de Música in September of 2001. Current band members include Miguel Campello Garzón on vocals, Victor Iniesta Iglesias on guitar, Carlos Tato Moreno on bass, Antonio Mangas Ovide on drums, David Cobo Amores on percussion, Juan Carlos Aracil Sala on flute, Mario Díaz Bermejo on keyboards, and José Andreu Garzón on trumpet. Several of El Bicho's members have side projects such as world music and jazz fusion band Candelaria.

Pat Metheny

 

Orchestrion (Nonesuch Records, 2010)

 

Pat Metheny is an outstanding musical innovator and guitarist, who is always exploring new ideas, blending contemporary jazz with world music, classical and electronic elements. His latest project, titled is Orchestrion, seems to belong in a Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam fantasy world. Orchestrion is an idea that was conceived  in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The project consist of a large mechanical multi-instrument device that utilizes actual orchestral instruments of various types, called an “Orchestrion.”

 

Pat Metheny takes advantage of today's technology and he has created his own Orchestrion, which includes a large ensemble of acoustic instruments: several pianos, drum kit, marimbas, “guitar-bots,” dozens of percussion instruments and even cabinets of carefully tuned bottles. Metheny worked for months with a brilliant team of scientists and engineers to develop and assemble the “New Orchestrion” for this project.

 

Various Artists

 

NPR Discover Songs: The New Jazz Divas (Shout Factory, 2009)

 

NPR’s Discover Songs: The New Jazz Divas takes a look at the most popular contemporary female jazz artists. While some singers go in a neotraditionalist direction, other vocalists incorporate elements of contemporary jazz, soul, blues and even world music.

 

Madeleine Peyroux, born in Athens (Georgia) is one of the gems included in this compilation. Her vocal style is sensational and she belongs with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald as one of the greatest voices in jazz. In fact her voice sounds remarkably similar to Billie Holiday's.