Easy Star All-Stars Dub Side of the Moon (Easy Star Records ES-1012, 2003) I first learned of this project while interviewing Eric Smith of Easy…
Reggae Remake is in the Pink
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.
Klezmatics on the Rise
The Klezmatics Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf! (Rounder Records 11661-3197-2, 2003) The venerable Jewish roots music called klezmer has seen peaks and valleys of popularity, and…
Don’t Pardon My French
Various Artists French Caribbean (Putumayo PUT 211-2, 2003) Musically, some Caribbean islands bear strong marks of having been former colonies of Spain, England or The…
Good Weed Indeed
Yerba Buena President Alien (Razor and Tie 7930182894-2, 2003) It’s easy to like a band whose name means “good weed.” Truly, it appears that some…
Original Masters of Ska Show Their Love
The Skatalites From Paris With Love (World Village 468017, 2003) No matter how much ebb and flow there is in the popularity of ska, the…
From the Throne Room of the Juju King
King Sunny Ade – Synchro Series (IndigeDisc 0004, 2003) King Sunny Ade – The Best of the Classic Years (Shanachie 66034, 2003) Many U.S listeners…
New Old Sounds from Xavier Quijas Yxayotl
Xavier Quijas Yxayotl Aztec Dances (Canyon Records CR-7045) Mexican-born flute player Xavier Quijas Yxayotl continues to tap into the ancient yet strangely refined sounds of…
Baka Beyond – A Celtic Heart With the Beat of an African Drum
Baka Beyond East to West (Narada World 72435-43725-2-0) It’s been a decade since Baka Beyond’s Spirit of the Forest, a landmark collaboration in which eclectic…
New Gypsy Music Releases- Different Approaches, Both Hit the Mark
Besh o Drom – Can’t Make Me! (Asphalt Tango Records CD-ATR 0203, 2003) Jony Iliev and Band – Ma Maren Ma (Asphalt Tango Records CD-ATR…
Classic Dub Reissues Strip Reggae to the Roots
Augustus Pablo – Rockers Meets King Tubbys in a Fire House (Shanachie SH 45055, 2003) Ja-Man All Stars – In the Dub Zone (Blood and…