Angelique Kidjo Djin Djin (Razor and Tie/Starbucks Entertainment 7930182967-2, 2007) Albums featuring an array of guest stars are certainly nothing new in mainstream pop music,…
Kidjo and Co.
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.
If These Walls Could Sing
The Crammed Discs All Stars 20 Ways to Float Through Walls (Crammed Discs Cram 129, 2007) This various-artists compilation is not, Crammed Discs founder Marc…
Based on the Book
Various Artists The Rough Guide To World Music: Africa & Middle East (World Music Network RGNET1181CD, 2007) Released to coincide with the recent book of…
Unabridged Reggae
Groundation Upon the Bridge (Young Tree Records YTR-1230CD, 2006) Remember concept albums? Well, Northern California reggae band Groundation apparently does, and they’ve made a very…
Unbeatable Bokoor
Various Artists Bokoor Beats: Vintage Afro-beat, Afro-rock and Electric Highlife From Ghana (Otrabanda Records OTBO8, 2007) British musician and music scholar John Collins’ affinity for…
Gimmie That Old Time Juju
King Sunny Ade – Gems from the Classic Years 1967-1974 (Shanachie SH66041, 2007) Sometime in the summer of 1983 I walked into Main Street Records…
Afro-Latin Round Trips
Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca – Isabela (Mopiato Music MOPI-2, 2007) Papa Noël – Cafe Noir (Tumi Music TUMI 141, 2007) With the symbiosis between…
20 Years on the Circuit
World Circuit Presents … (World Circuit WCD 076, 2007) Ibrahim Ferrer – Mi Sueño (World Circuit WCD 077, 2007) If you only own one CD…
A Reggae Look and Listen
Luciano – Live in San Francisco (2b1 Multimedia TBO 2067, 2006) Morgan Heritage – Live in San Francisco (2b1 Multimedia TBO 2089, 2006) San Francisco’s…
The Allure of Lura
Lura M’Bem Di Fora (Times Square Records/Four Quarters FQT-CD-1801, 2007) Her original aspiration was to be a dancer, so it comes naturally that Lura’s music…