Vas – Feast of Silence (Narada 70876-18497-2-1, 2004) Vocalist Azam Ali and percussionist Greg Ellis began making music as Vas in 1995, both bringing to the…
Life in the Vas Lane
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.
Music For a Global Gathering
Hamsa Lila – Gathering One (BRG/In The Pocket BRG 1268 2424701262 2, 2003) If a good fusion band is one that knows how to combine the…
The Eyes Have It
Ojos de Brujo – Bari (Europe: La Fábrica de Colores/USA: World Village 468024, 2004) Flamenco ain’t what it used to be, and if the purists want…
It’s the Thought that Counts
Think Of One – Chuva Em Po (Zonk Records LCM 100036, 2004) After three album’s worth of cleverly mixing their eccentric Euro-jazz with Moroccan music, Belgium’s…
Ever Steady
Monty Alexander with Ernest Ranglin Rocksteady(Telarc CD 83581, 2004) Two longstanding icons of Jamaican popular music, pianist Monty Alexander and guitarist Ernest Ranglin, have been…
Stoked
William Eaton Ensemble Sparks and Embers (Canyon Records CR 7061, 2003) “File under new age” states the fine print on the back of this double…
Taking More Heat
Bio Ritmo – Bio Ritmo (Locutor Records LR 001, 2004) Various Artists – The Rough Guide to Mambo (World Music Network RGNET 1136 CD, 2004)…
Quantity and Quality
Wasis Diop Everything Is Never Quite Enough (Mercury France/Universal 077 396-2, 2003, distributed by Triloka Records) The 1990s albums of Senegal’s Wasis Diop–Hyenes, No Sant and…
Everywhere You Want to Be
Lucky Dube – The Other Side (Heartbeat 11661-7770-2, 2003) Nasio – Living in the Positive (Higher Love Music, 2003) Mounia Sahara – I’ve Got A…
The Sounds of Precious Metal
Golden Sounds Band – Swahili Rumba (Naxos World 76055-2, 2003) Congolese rumba reigned so long as Africa’s most popular dance music that it’s no surprise how…