Orchestra Makassy – Agwaya (ARC Music EUCD1909, 2005) From the opening bars of the irresistible ‘Mambo Bado’ to the sweet, bitter end of ‘Mume Wangu’…
Sheer Makassy magic
Category: Album reviews
Kuti According to Fela
Fela Anikulapo Kuti – The Best of Fela Kuti, 2CD & DVD Box (Wrasse Records WRASS132) It’s hard to think of anything to say about…
Where there’s brass
Gangbe Brass Band – Whendo (Roots Racines/Contre Jour CJ015, 2004) Best described as afrobeat-goes-trad (afrotrad?), the sound of Benin’s Gangbé Brass Band blends percussion and…
Night Journey
Jennifer Cutting Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey (SunSign SCD2004, 2004) Jennifer Cutting is an Anglo-Irish-American composer/bandleader with advanced degrees in music and ethnomusicology.…
African Beat, Amerind Soul, Indomitable Spirit
Various Artists Garifuna Music – Field Recordings From Belize (ARC Music EUCD 1913, 2005) The music on this disc, raw and fiercely non-commercial though it…
Worlds Collide by el douje
Santa Cruz (California) flamenco guitarist, El Douje, has just released his debut solo album. Entitled Worlds Collide, it’s a bold mixture of traditional and modern…
They Were Some Very Good Years
Bembeya Jazz National The Syliphone Years (Stern’s Africa STCD 3021-22, 2004) The West African nation of Guinea pretty much had to start from scratch after…
Soul of Devotion
Neshama Carlebach Journey (Sameach Music NDS2004, 2004) Neshama Carlebach is the daughter of famous Jewish spiritual leader Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. One of his legacies is…
Get Yer Fra Fra’s Out
Fra Fra Sound Kulembanban (Munich Records BV BMCD 443, 2004) Recording a tribute to a long-deceased man considered the father of Afro-Surinamese music isn’t likely…
Central Asian Persuasion
Various Artists The Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia (World Music Network RGNET 1129 CD, 2005) The countries represented on this CD- Kazakhstan,…