Chris Murphy

Luminous (Kufala, 2007)

I have to admit that I am sucker for electric violin. In my teenage years I fell in love with the violins of Jean Luc Ponty, Mahavishnu's Jerry Goodman and Canadian progressive rock band FM, which featured electric violinists Nash the Slash and Ben Mink. Now, another electric violinists is luring me towards his musical charms. Chris Murphy has recorded a new album, Luminous, released by the always creative Kufala label.

Manu Dibango

Lion of Africa (Global Mix GMCD/DVD01, 2007)

Like several of his African peers (such as Hugh Masekela), Cameroon's Manu Dibango was a superstar before the term "world music" even existed. His saxed-up worldwide 1972 hit "Soul Makossa" remains a classic, a combination of Western and Cameroonian dance music with which he will ever be identified. But of course there's much more to the man. He's a multi-instrumentalist and composer who's been melding African music with jazz, funk, Latin, Caribbean, hip-hop and pop sounds for most of his 70-plus years on the planet, resulting in everything from deeply rooted cutting-edge sounds to stuff that wouldn't be out of place on easy listening radio.

Vienna, Austria - Tibetan music to western audiences have often symbolized meditative mindscapes and spirituality, often luring them into experiencing the mystical with the appeal of its otherworldly chanting and sound.
 
And then in a world where an ancient culture is trying to survive against all odds comes a singer with a petite frame, powerhouse personality and an explosive voice to create music that is a perfect blend of ancient lost world sound gliding along in parallels to upbeat, chic and energetic club grooves.
 
 By preserving the traditional core of Tibet in one (Pure) to transporting its international presence to the most contemporary of platforms with all its flavor intact, Namgyal Lhamo's latest albums are a real treat.

Manu Chao

La Radiolina (Nacional Records, 2007)

After a 6 year hiatus Manu Chao has blazed back onto the music scene with his third solo album La Radiolina. He previous offerings Clandestino and Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, along with his work with the punk-heavy sound of the band Mano Negra, have elevated Chao to star status in Europe and Latin America and a growing popularity in the fringe in the U.S. Leaning heavily on the political legacy of a Basque mother and a journalist father who fled Francisco Franco's Spain, Chao is a champion of leftist ideals and organizations, and La Radiolina is quick with a poke in the eye for what Chao sees as oppressors, including the Bush administration.

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Red Earth (Decca/Universal Music, 2007)

American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater ventured into the exciting sounds of Mali for her latest recording, Red Earth. It is not secret that Mali has some of the most exhilarating music in west Africa and has attracted many musicians from the blues, rock and world music fields.

For Red Earth, Bridgewater used her usual band, formed by Edsel Gómez, Ira Coleman and Minino Garray plus 41 Malian musicians, including stars such as Toumani Diabate, Oumou Sangare, Kasse Mady Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyate and Cheick-Tidiane Seck.

R. Carlos Nakai & Udi Bar-David

Voyagers (Canyon CR7078, 2007)

Native American flautist R. Carlos Nakai has collaborated wit musicians form many different cultures. He is a prolific artists who enjoys making traditional music as well as fusions of many kinds.

On Voyagers , Nakai collaborates with Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David. The chamber music collaboration includes Nakai and Bar-David as a duet on most of the pieces, although Will Clipman joins the duo in some compositions.

Parallel 23

Parallel 23 Live (Jazmo Productions, 2007)

San Francisco-based Parallel 23 is comprised of just four guys: Sam Bevan on bass, Colin Douglas on drums, Matt Lucas on percussion and Jason Moen on keyboards. There's guest artists handling turntables, sax and Latino rapping in a few spots on this live recording, but even the tracks with only the core quartet are so intricate and full of sound that you'd swear there's more than just eight hands and the credited instruments at work.

These cats play their way through a mixture of jazz, funk and Afro-Cuban grooves that's heavy on expert chops and light on waste. They go into some trippy, almost psychedelic passages here and there (made more surreal by audience sounds off in the distance) without letting anything gimmicky intrude or allowing the consistently clean live mix to get sloppy.

Ajai-Atul

Meera Kahen (Kosmic Music, 2007)

This CD seems to have two different front covers. The version we received is from US-based Kosmic Music, a label dedicated to contemporary devotional Indian music. Meera Kahen combines the lyrics of legendary Indian poet Meera Bai with the music of Indian film music composer Ajay-Atul.

The Indian musician uses vocals, chorus, woodwinds, percussion and traditional Indian instruments including the veena and the Indian tabla.