Admitting with utmost candor that I liked it best when compact discs were the norm, I just as freely admit that the march of time ought not be counted a foe. So while most of what I tout here arrived on disc, the concluding exception is no worse off for being a download.
Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer with Chao Tian
On From China To Appalachia (Community Music Inc., 2024), the hammered dulcimer known as the yangqin, played by Chao Tian, blends in a sonically perfect manner with the banjos, vocals, guitars, ukulele, mandolin, and percussion laid down by Americana artists Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.
As the title states, the album gets to the heart of where the traditional music of the two locales meet, most keenly on an instrumental level but vocally as well. That old bluegrass chestnut “Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man” gets a timeless treatment, and Eastern pieces like the opening “August Flower” are suitably grand. But it’s on such hemisphere-crossing combinations as “Glory in the Meeting House/Leader’s Glory” that the links really solidify. A very fine effort from both ends and all points in between.
Les Arrivants
A similarly attuned and diverse trio is Les Arrivants, comprised of oud player Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, percussionist Hamin Honari and bandoneon player Amichai Ben Shalev. Their album Towards the Light (Canada Council for the Arts, 2024) is a zesty, intricate and expertly played blend of the threesome’s respective instruments. It’s ostensibly a fusion of tango with Arabic and Persian classical music, but the concept isn’t as important as the fact that it achieves a mighty mosaic of sounds that range from meditative to absolutely fiery.
Though two of the pieces (“Phoenix Landing” and the title track) are noted to be group improvisations, everything here sounds like a seamless combination of off-the-cuff and perfectly mapped out. Guest players on ghaychak (a Persian bowed lute that I admit I had to look up), qanun, standup bass and bass clarinet add to the greatness. If you like music with a general Middle Eastern flavor plus some choice other tasty stuff thrown in, grab this CD and enjoy it repeatedly.
Ron Rieder
I sometimes think of myself as having gone through a Latin jazz “phase,” but the fact is my love for such music never diminished, even in the face of so many other genres I’ve come to enjoy. A reminder of that love is Latin Jazz Sessions (Ronaldo Music, 2024) the debut album by pianist and composer Ron Rieder. He’s not some young hot shot, but rather a gent who endeavors mainly in the field of physical science, while keeping music on an active back burner.
This first disc of his is mightily impressive, a collection of 10 original instrumental tracks that reference a classic Afro-Cuban vibe in addition to notable nods toward jazzed-up samba. The contributing musicians are all as first-rate as the production. My only minor gripe is that the tracks mostly just fade out rather than truly wrapping up. Even so, I highly recommend this lovingly conceived and strikingly played piece of work and hope that Rieder continues his musical journey.
Dave Schumacher & Cubeye
Another Latin jazz release to savor is Smoke in the Sky (Cellar Music Group, 2024) by Dave Schumacher & Cubeye. This one sticks closer to pure Afro-Cuban roots, felt most keenly through the use of traditional batá drums in the percussion mix. Schumacher’s baritone sax ably heads up the horns, and several extended jams show the skills of all the players.
My favorite track is a rumba-flavored version of McCoy Tyner’s “Walk Spirit Talk Spirit,” but the whole album hits all the right notes (and beats, for that matter).
Sixth Street All Stars
A band of San Francisco-based players and singers called the Sixth Street All Stars prove themselves to be a collective well worth hearing. Everybody (Fishwax Records, 2023) could easily fit into the salsa or Latin jazz category, but I’d just call it great music with a Latin edge.
The vocals are in both English and Spanish, the songs range from invitations to celebrate to tales of moving on after love gone wrong to the challenges faced by immigrants, and every track simmers with just the right amount of musical heat. Highly enjoyable.
O Som Do Jazz
They’re based in modern day Florida, but you couldn’t be faulted for thinking they traveled through time and space from 1960s Brazil. The band to which I’m referring is O Som Do Jazz (the sound of jazz) and their latest release Aberto (isospin labs, 2024) is a sparkling good selection of samba and bossa nova infused pieces.
Lead singer Andrea Moraes Manson’s hometown is Rio de Janeiro, a fact that can be heard in the silky cool of her vocals. And it doesn’t hurt that the rest of the group (on trombone, reeds, guitar, bass, piano, drums, and percussion) is equally spot on. I tried listening to this disc while tending to household tasks, but I kept having to stop to focus maximum attention on feeling the consistently fine music. Then again, listening while in a relaxed state might make you want to get up and dance. You can’t go wrong either way, because this album is a real charmer.
Okaidja Afroso
If, like me, you consider all the modernization happening in African music to be something of a mixed blessing, give a listen to Abor Edin (Chechekule Records, 2024), the latest by Ghana’s Okaidja Afroso. His acoustic palm wine style on the album certainly bears the marks of contemporary production, but the simple lineup of guitars, bass, percussion, and vocals echoes an era that I fervently hope is not bygone.
The give and take between Afroso’s lead voice and the varying intensity of the background singers fits snugly with the swaying but locked-in instrumentation, and the addition of such unexpected touches as Brazilian percussion (check how perfectly the cuica drum seasons the opening “Foo Te”) bring a next level subtlety to what is a splendid disc from start to finish.
Author: Tom Orr
Tom Orr is a California-based writer whose talent and mental stability are of an equally questionable nature. His hobbies include ignoring trends, striking dramatic poses in front of his ever-tolerant wife and watching helplessly as his kids surpass him in all desirable traits.