Reem Kelani – Live at the Tabernacle (Fuse Records, 2016) Sometimes it’s easy to forget that recordings of live performances are dynamic interactions with polite…
Delightful Reem Kelani Live at the Tabernacle in London
Category: Album reviews
Alfredo Rodriguez and Ibeyi’s Sabanas Blancas
Alfredo Rodriguez – Tocororo Crowding around an LP and contemplating Jazz singing are a thing of the past for today’s youth. Those of us with…
Reunion of Tropicalia Trailblazers
Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil – “Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live” (Nonesuch, 2016) Singer-songwriters and guitarists Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil are…
Hip Shaking Tanzanian Rumba
Zanzibara 9 – Mbaraka Mwinsheshe & Orchestra Super Volcano – Masika, A Fresh Breeze from Tanzania – 1972-74 (Buda Musique, 2015) This population showcases one…
The Passionate Boleros of Puerto Rico
Miramar – Dedication to Sylvia Rexach (Barbes Records, 2016) This album celebrates the legacy of Puerto Rican artist Sylvia Rexach, one of the essential composers…
Nana Simopoulos’ Pathway to World Jazz
Nana Simopoulos – Skins (Na Records NR-9206-2, 2016) Nana Simopoulos is a talented American multi-instrumentalist and composer who bridges the borders between world music and…
Klezmer Americana
Yom – Songs for the Old Man (Buda Musique, 2016) French Klezmer clarinetist and composer Yom dedicates Songs for the Old Man to his father.…
Explosive Fertility of Haiti’s Musical Legacy
Various Artists – Tanbou Toujou Lou: Meringue, Kompa Kreyou, Vodou Jazz & Electric Folklore from Haiti (1960-1981) (Ostinato Records, 2016) Occasionally some crank will go…
The Heart Speaks In Songs
Corinne Bailey Rae’s new album The Heart Speaks In Whispers belongs to a crop of what we may call artistry devoid of “collective era”; it…
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate’s Pleasurable Ride
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Monistic Theory (Cumbancha, 2016) It struck me at the time of their first recording Faya (2014) that you couldn’t…