Csurgó Zenekar – Folk Music From Hungary (ARC Music, 2008) Folk Dance Ensemble Vila – Music of Serbia (ARC Music, 2008) Csurgó Zenekar has researched…
Opening the Curtain
Category: Album reviews
Fashionable Lounge for Uncensored Conversations
3 Na Massa (Nublu Records, 2008) Members of well known hip Brazilian bands got together in an attention-grabbing project called 3 Na Massa, which celebrates…
A Legend from the Venezuelan Plains
Vidal Colmenares – …Otro Llano (Cacao Música, 2006) Música Llanera is the folk music of the Venezuelan plains, Venezuelan cowboy music. Cacao Music has released…
Toumani’s Mande Variations
Toumani Diabate The Mande Variations (Nonesuch, 2008) Son of Sidiki Diabate, one the most celebrated kora players , Toumani Diabate has blazed a career worthy…
Irrepressibly Charming
Rupa & The April Fishes Extraordinary Rendition (Cumbancha, 2008) The San Francisco-based Rupa & The April Fishes’ release of their debut recording Extraordinary Rendition on…
Partying and Hardships
Various Artists The Rough Guide to the Music of Hungarian Gypsies (World Music Network, 2008) As the interest in Gypsy (Roma) music increases, labels have…
Austin’s Powers
Grupo Fantasma – Comes Alive (Airesol Records ASCD007, 2006) Brownout – Homenaje (Freestyle Records FSRCD033, 2007) Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada – The Alchemist…
Reissue CDs Revisit Wildly Infectious Rhythms
On the eve of famed Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s upcoming 20-city tour this summer with guitarist Steve Kimock, bassist George Porter, Jr.,vocalist Jen Durkin…
Celebrating Ecuador’s Mestizo Culture
Alex Alvear Equatorial (Colorao Music, 2006) Ecuadorian guitarist celebrates the three cultures that define Ecuadorian culture. On the outstanding Equatorial, Alvear treats the ears with…
Witty and Provocative Stellar Collection of O’Brien Songs
Tim O’Brien Chameleon (Proper American Recordings, 2008) I have always felt that the mark of any worthy musician is whether he or she exudes an…