Eliane Elias Light My Fire (Concord Picante CPI-32761-02, 2011) The connections between Brazilian music, jazz and pop are longstanding, and Sao Paulo-born pianist/singer/composer Eliane Elias…
Incendiary Cool
Category: Album reviews
In On It
Vieux Farka Toure The Secret (Six Degrees 65703611792, 2011) It’s no longer any secret that the origins of the blues are West African, just as…
Irresistible Funk with The Pimps of Joytime
The Pimps of Joytime Janxta Funk! (Wonderwheel Recordings, 2011) Brooklyn (New York) band The Pimps of Joytime have released one of the best albums of…
Dance Like a Galician
Ialma Simbiose (Fol Música/Boa, 2011) Ialma is a lively group of five Galician female vocalists and percussionists based in Belgium. On their latest album, Simbiose…
The Sound of Caffeinated Headwear
Neil Pearlman Coffee & the Mojo Hat (Paddledoo Music PAD 107, 2011) What an intriguing title, though I couldn’t tell you what a mojo hat…
New Tango Airs
Otros Aires Tricota (Galileo, 2010) Buenos Aires neotango band Otros Aires gets better and better with time. Tricota, the band’s third album, continues to blend…
Hailing a Revolutionary Cab out of Africa
Les Nubians – Nü Revolution (Shanachie, 2011) Malika Zarra – Berber Taxi (Motema Music MTM-60, 2011) There’s a lot of Africa in both of these…
Hypnotic Darkwave
Arkane Enraptured Serene Mesmerism (Seduction Prod) Greek act Arkane is fascinated by ancient mythology, temptation, mesmerism, masks and seduction. The album Enraptured Serene Mesmerism falls…
Great Balls of Klezmer
She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble Buskers’ Ballroom (ARC Music EUCD 2322, 2011) Small wonder that London’s She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble has moved to the front of the klezmer…
Polkas and Cumbias of the Southwestern People
Southern Scratch How Sweet the Sound (Canyon Records CR-8120, 2011) How Sweet the Sound is the latest album by Southern Scratch, a waila band formed…