Zmei3 – Rough Romanian Soul (Six Degrees, 2016) If you look up influential or powerful vocalists, more likely than not you are going to run…
Artfully Crafted Rough Romanian Soul
Category: Album reviews
Guajira Mas Guajira
Eliades Ochoa and Alma Latina – Guajira Mas Guajira (Tumi Music, 2016) Buena Vista Social Club member, guitarist and singer Eliades Ochoa says, “Cuban music…
A Youthful Tribute to the Music of Kielce
Tęgie Chłopy – Dansing (Muzyka Odnaleziona, 2015) Polish band Tęgie Chłopy recreates the traditional dance and wedding music sound of the Kielce region in south…
Bonnie Raitt at Her Best
Bonnie Raitt – Dig In Deep (Redwing Records, 2016) She’s piled up recordings like Give It Up, Takin’ My Time, Sweet Forgiveness, Nick of Time,…
Remarkable Slavic Songs
Stranniki – Light Moon (Sketis Music SKMR-106, 2014) On Light Moon (Светлый месяц), Russian band Stranniki (Странники) delivers an excellent set of traditional Slavic songs…
Jarrito, a Master of Flamenco Styles
Roque Montoya ‘Jarrito’ – Grands Cantaores du Flamenco, vol. 26 (Le Chant du Monde 2742389, 2016) The flamenco series Grands Cantaores du Flamenco focuses on…
Reflection of Élage Diouf’s Musical Journey
Élage Diouf – Melokáane (Pump Up The World, 2015) Quebec-based Senegalese singer-songwriter and percussionist Élage Diouf incorporates various musical traditions in his latest album titled…
Timeless Cross-cultural Qawwals
Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express – Junun (Nonesuch, 2015) Junun is a spectacular two-disc album that brings together Indian musical traditions,…
Yiddish Musical Journey
The influence of Yiddish and klezmer on modern, Western popular music is tremendous. Listeners have osmosed it for many decades, in music halls, theaters, the…
Wholehearted Songs of Solidarity
Ferhat Tunc – “Kobani” (KKV, 2016) Kurdish-Turkish singer-songwriter Ferhat Tunç dedicates his new album to Kobani, the northern Syrian city that was devastated by ISIS…