Various Artists Best of Folk Music from Latvia (Arc Music, 2008) Although I’m usually skeptical about albums titled Best of, in this occasion, the title…
View More Latvia AwakensCategory: Album reviews
Jamaica Farewell
My ongoing quest for reggae continues to yield results from lands beyond the music’s Jamaican origins. The quality varies but the best of the lot…
View More Jamaica FarewellDelectable Songs From A Persian Garden
Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat Songs From A Persian Garden (KKV/Valley Entertainment, 2007) Songs From A Persian Garden features a delectable collection of contemporary Persian world…
View More Delectable Songs From A Persian GardenSaharan Intersections
Etran Finatawa Desert Crossroads (Riverboat Records, 2008) As world music fans, you might have noticed something in the air or perhaps a subtle shift in…
View More Saharan IntersectionsThe Music of the Three Musketeers
Arabesque Music Ensemble The Music of the Three Musketeers (Xauen Music, 2008) “Softly, sweetly, softly, sweetly Sing from me; I’ll give you anything.” Those lyrics…
View More The Music of the Three MusketeersCelebrating Rumi
Mercan Dede – 800 (Doublemoon DM0042, 2008) Mercan Dede’s 800 isn’t what was expected, that is to say what it’s not is the proposed fourth…
View More Celebrating RumiDolores Gets Real
DJ Dolores 1 Real (Ziriguiboom/Crammed Dics, 2007) DJ Dolores’s latest offering, 1 Real, is a delightfully raucous romp, full of unexpected twists and turns. 1…
View More Dolores Gets RealNewgrass from the Crooked Road
Blue Highway Through the Window of a Train (Rounder, 2008) Contemporary bluegrass band Blue Highway recorded Through the Window of a Train (Rounder) in Big…
View More Newgrass from the Crooked RoadIberian Remembrances
Cañizares Suite Iberia (Sony BMG, 2007) Flamenco guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares ventures again into classical music with his adaptations of Albeniz’s Suite Iberia. Albeniz and…
View More Iberian RemembrancesCosmopolitan Acoustic Music Variations
Compass Rose Quintet Cosmopolitango (2007) The Compass Rose Quintet is an acoustic ensemble that features four stringed instrument players and one percussionist. The mandolin, violin…
View More Cosmopolitan Acoustic Music Variations