Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga Maisha Ni Matamu (Life Is Sweet) (Virunga Records VR003, 2011) Still supple, spine tingling and, yes, sweet after 30 years…
How Sweet It Is
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.
Incendiary Cool
Eliane Elias Light My Fire (Concord Picante CPI-32761-02, 2011) The connections between Brazilian music, jazz and pop are longstanding, and Sao Paulo-born pianist/singer/composer Eliane Elias…
In On It
Vieux Farka Toure The Secret (Six Degrees 65703611792, 2011) It’s no longer any secret that the origins of the blues are West African, just as…
The Sound of Caffeinated Headwear
Neil Pearlman Coffee & the Mojo Hat (Paddledoo Music PAD 107, 2011) What an intriguing title, though I couldn’t tell you what a mojo hat…
Hailing a Revolutionary Cab out of Africa
Les Nubians – Nü Revolution (Shanachie, 2011) Malika Zarra – Berber Taxi (Motema Music MTM-60, 2011) There’s a lot of Africa in both of these…
Great Balls of Klezmer
She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble Buskers’ Ballroom (ARC Music EUCD 2322, 2011) Small wonder that London’s She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble has moved to the front of the klezmer…
Take Three
Three Hour Tour Toucan Play (Three Hour Tour, 2010) Admit it. You know what this band’s name refers to. What you don’t know- and what…
Luring Latin Lovers
Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha (Putumayo, 2011) Empresarios – Sabor Tropical (Fort Knox Recordings, 2010) Chancha Via Circuito – Rio Arriba (ZZK Records, 2010) My…
Tango Transformed
Acho Estol – Buenosaurios: Leyendas de la Noche de los Tangos (Galileo Music GMC 034, 2010) Dolores Sola – Salto Mortal (Ojo Records OJO004, 2010)…
Baked Earth Seasoned to Taste
Terrakota World Massala (Ojo Records OJO005, 2010) Upon inquiry, my Indian-born office mate informed me that the spices used to create massala can and do…