Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal and Jesse Paris Smith – Songs from the Bardo (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2019) Songs from the Bardo is a spellbinding recording…
Enthralling Tibetan Spiritual Impressions
Category: Album reviews
Cross-Cultural Fusions Across the Globe
Taperebá (2019) is a superb new album from Mikarimba, an ensemble of excellent musicians led by Japanese marimba maestra Mika Stolzman. The United States-based act…
Multifaceted Essences from the Far North
Although Finland is a relatively small country in northern Europe, it has a sizable, high quality music scene. These are some noteworthy recordings from the…
Fascinating Recreations of 19th Century Caribbean Dance Music
Bellegarde – Anba Tonèl (Bellegarde, 2018) Canadian percussionist and composer Daniel Bellegarde explores the encounters of 19th century European ballroom dance music with the musical…
Masterful Malian Guitar and Communal Memories
Mamadou Kelly – Les Bateaux (Clermont Music, 2019) Malian guitarist, vocalist and composer Mamadou Kelly continues his collaboration with American musicians on Les Bateaux (The…
Enthralling Mix of Nordic Winds and Arabic Atmosphere
Anders Hagberg & Ahmad al Khatib – Melodic Melange (Footprint Records, 2014) Melodic Melange delivers a remarkable mix of Nordic jazz and Middle Eastern maqam…
Rising star of Melodic Reggae
Mortimer – Fight the Fight (Easy Star Records, 2019) Fight The Fight is an excellent modern reggae EP from rising reggae artist Mortimer. The young…
Boundary-blurring Contemporary Malian Songs
Kankou – Kuma (Cannery Row Records, 2019) Rising Malian singer-songwriter Kankou joins forces with Scottish guitarist Mark Mulholland on Kuma. Kankou Kouyate is a member…
The Extraordinary Clarinet and Lauto Sound of Epirus
Petroloukas Halkias & Vasilis Kostas – The Soul of Epirus (Technotropon, 2019) Two Greek music masters, Petroloukas Halkias and Vasilis Kostas, representing different generations, present…
A Marvelous Voyage through Acoustic Global Percussion and Electronics
Tom Teasley – All the World’s a Stage (T2 Music, 2012) American percussionist and composer Tom Teasley plays an innovative mix of acoustic percussion instruments…