Jason Wilson – The Peace Maker’s Chauffeur (Wheel Records/Raspberry Jam Music, 2009) Edward II – The Definitive Collection (E2 Music E2CD1001, 2009) Despite the very…
Reggae Gets a Stretch
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.
Authenticated
Keletigui et Ses Tambourinis The Syliphone Years (Sterns Africa STCD 3031-32, 2009) Independence from France in 1960 meant that the West African nation of Guinea…
End Times of the Grand Master
Franco and Le TPOK Jazz Francophonic, Vol. 2: 1980-1989 (Sterns Africa STCD 3046-47, 2009) The first of this two-volume series came earlier in 2009, the…
The New Calypso Royalty
King Selewa & his Calypsonians Calypso: Back to Mi Home (ARC Music EUCD 2231, 2009) Calypso music has been a vehicle for shrewd social commentary,…
In Passing
Kenyatta “Culture” Hill Pass the Torch (Tafari Records 1046, 2007) The sudden 2006 death of Joseph Hill, leader of roots reggae harmony trio Culture, robbed…
Rekindled Ska Fire
Blue Riddim Ska Inferno (Markosa Records 2010, 2009) The idea of a white reggae band is one that would raise no eyebrows nowadays, but such…
Taking Tanzania’s Temperature
Various Artists Zanzibara, Vol. 5: Hot in Dar – Le Son de la Tanzanie 1978-1983 (Buda Musique 860184, 2009) During the late ‘70s and early…
Strides of March
March Fourth Marching Band Rise Up (MarchFourth Music, 2009) You can pretty much forget everything you think you know about how a marching band should…
Jazz Planet
Putumayo Presents: Jazz Around the World (Putumayo PUT 296-2, 2009) I can’t define jazz any more than I can define world music, so the many…
In the Biguine-ing
Tumbélé: Biguine, Afro and Latin Sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963-1974 (Soundway SNDWCD017P, 2009) While the slickly produced sounds of zouk became wildly popular in…