Israeli Guitarist Guy Gottesfeld and the aptly-named Mixed World Ensemble shine brilliantly on “Origins,” an exquisitely layered piece with Middle Eastern inflections, hypnotic wordless vocals…
Yeisy Rojas, a Cuban who relocated to Norway to earn a master’s degree in jazz violin, teaches a potent lesson of cultural respect with her…
“Paxi (LKJ)” by Italian reggae band Train to Roots effectively cops the riddim and melody from dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson’s “Bass Culture” and turns…
Lounge-ready yet rather spunky, “Welcome to the Bluelight” is a Latin-flavored charmer by The Static Dive, which is the professional name of American instrumentalist Bob…
You might think a tune called “Mountain Dance,” from the album Earth and Wind, is unfettered booty-shaking music, but it’s actually a layered, nuanced, very…
Mixing jazz and R&B with an Afrobeat-like sense of syncopation, Mexico’s Tlapalería Don Chuy score big on all counts with “De Allí Pa’llá.”
“Cerrado Cigano” by American guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Vini De Groove brilliantly fuses Brazilian baião and chorinho rhythms. The artist has spent considerable time soaking up musical influences…
A Slovakian by the name of Marek Szarvas comes on strong, albeit with a crafty sense of far-reaching global sounds on “Light Outside” a tune…
Duo Landry + hail from the African nation of Benin, and their song “Je Rêve” is an acoustic charmer with tasty jazz inflections.
Matia, a singer-songwriter from the Northeast U.S., brings a funky edge and insightful lyrics to “Doin’ What We Do,” a potent piece about where humankind…