César López y Habana Ensemble Todo incluido (Latin World Productions/Universal Music Latino 851 720 001-2, 2005) Even though numerous Cuban recordings have made it to…
Habana Ensemble, Cuba’s Supergroup
Category: Album reviews
Jamaican Guitar Great Catches a Wave
Ernest Ranglin Surfin’ (Tropic Entertainment/Telarc CD-83682, 2005) Ernest Ranglin was an accomplished guitarist in his native Jamaica long before there was such a thing as…
Talkin’ Balkan
Various Artists Rough Guide to the Music of Balkan Gypsies (World Music Network RGNET 1159 CD, 2005) I love albums that get right to the…
Milton Nascimento’s Pietá
Milton Nascimento Pietá (Savoy Jazz, 2005) Now available in the US, Milton Nascimento’s latest CD, Pietá, should delight his numerous fans. The album is dedicated…
When Bhangra Meets the The Mighty Zulu Nation
The Mighty Zulu Nation Abantu (Nation Records, 2004) On Abantu, South African group The Mighty Zulu Nation teams up with Aki Nawaz, of Fundamental. Nawaz…
Songs of the Brave
Brave Old World – Dus Gezang Fin Geto Lodzh [Song of the Lodz Ghetto] (Winter and Winter Music 910 104-2, 2005) True to their name,…
Mauritanian Crossroads
Daby Touré Diam (Realworld, 2004) Mauritania is a crossroads of cultures. It connects the Arabic traditions of North Africa (Magreb) with the sounds of the…
Latin Percussion Masters in Their Element
Ray Barretto – Time Was-Time Is (O+ Music OP109, 2005) Tito Puente – The Rough Guide to Tito Puente (World Music Network RGNET 1162 CD,…
Celtic Czechs
Irish Dew Sance (Indies Records, 2005) Despite the name, this Celtic band is from the Czech Republic. Inspired by the music of the Emerald Isle,…
Hip Flamenco Billy
Mártires del Compás Sin Papeles (World Village) Mártires del Compás represents the hip contemporary urban sound of Seville, the capital of Andalucía (southern Spain). The…