Tangle Eye Alan Lomax’s Southern Journey Remixed (Rounder, 2004) This CD has generated a lot of controversy because of its use of samples. New Orleans-based…
Alan Lomax’s Southern Journey Remixed
Category: Album reviews
Missing Latin America
Various Artists World 2003: Music without Frontiers (Narada World 72435-90071-2-0, 2003) This is Narada’s annual sampling of “World Music” favorites from the hands of the…
Bloody Good
Lila Downs Una Sangre [One Blood] (Narada 72435-76757-2-7, 2004) The U.K. magazine Songlines recently included Lila Downs‘ 2000 release Tree of Life as one of…
Otto, Brazilian Top of the world potential
Otto Sem Gravidade (Trama T004/762-2) Great singer songwriters are usually guitarists or piano players. But in Brazil they are also percussionists. Airto Moreira, Naná Vasconcelos…
Diamond Fingers Mines a Gem
Sekou Bembeya Diabate Guitar Fo (Discorama WVF 497016 [distributed in the U.S. by World Village/Harmonia Mundi]) As lead guitarist and point man for longtime Guinean…
Mama Africa Still Radiates
Miriam Makeba Reflections (Heads Up International HUCD3087, 2004) Miriam Makeba is a global music legend who certainly doesn’t need the endorsement of a hack like…
Ravishing Sufi music and poetry
Ensemble Ibn Báya & Cofradía Shushtari, Omar Metioui & Eduardo Paniagua. Ibn ‘Arabi – El intérprete de los deseos [Taryumán al-Ashwáq] (Pneuma PN 360) This…
A rejuvenated Milton Nascimento presents Pietá
Milton Nascimento Pietá(WEA 092749916-2) It’s been six years since Milton last released an album of original material, Nascimento. He looked emaciated and tired on the…
Sky’s the Limit
Kayhan Kalhor and Ali Akbar Moradi In the Mirror of the Sky (World Village 468030, 2004) Presumably for reasons of strict adherence to musical decorum,…
Flamenco Piano Wizard Creates Exciting Flamenco/Jazz Fusion
Diego Amador Piano Jondo (Nuevos Medios/Milestone Records) Diego Amador is a talented young Gypsy piano flamenco from Seville who seamlessly blends flamenco with jazz. His…