Warsaw Village Band Uprooting (World Village 468036, 2004) These three guys and three gals from Poland caused quite a stir with their previous album People’s…
It Takes a Village
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.
Benin There, Dug That
T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo The Kings of Benin Urban Groove 1972-1980 (Soundway Records SNDWCD004, 2004) I’m so very glad there are people who seek out and…
The Gospel According to Klezmer
The Klezmatics with Joshua Nelson and Kathryn Farmer Brother Moses Smote the Water (Piranha CD-PIR1896, 2005) Sure, the Klezmatics could’ve made their first live album…
Basic Cuban Greatness
Pedro Luis Ferrer Rústico (Escondida ESC6507-2, 2005) It’s not a particularly defiant look sported by the half-seen face of Pedro Luis Ferrer on the cover…
A Time to Dance
Maria de Barros – Dança Ma Mi (Dance With Me) (Narada 70876-19198-2-0, 2005) Cesaria Evora remains the most recognizable name in Cape Verdean music, though…
Czech These Latin Sounds
Marta Topferova La Marea (World Village 468040, 2005) The former Czechoslovakia wouldn’t be very high up on anyone’s list of Latin music hot spots, but…
Brazil Plugged Out
Various Artists Acoustic Brazil (Putumayo PUT 234-2, 2005) Putumayo’s 1999 release Brasileiro was also mostly acoustic though more upbeat, and the label has presented other…
The Who and What of Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha Tekitoi (Wrasse Records WRASS 126X, 2004) The title of Rachid Taha’s latest album translates as “Who Are You?”, though “what are you?” might…
African Beat, Amerind Soul, Indomitable Spirit
Various Artists Garifuna Music – Field Recordings From Belize (ARC Music EUCD 1913, 2005) The music on this disc, raw and fiercely non-commercial though it…
They Were Some Very Good Years
Bembeya Jazz National The Syliphone Years (Stern’s Africa STCD 3021-22, 2004) The West African nation of Guinea pretty much had to start from scratch after…