Sung in French but with a distinct Lusophone feel throughout the melody and groove, “Viens sentir le vent” by France’s Laure Trazzi is a lilting…
Enchanting “Viens sentir le vent” by Laure Trazzi
Category: Single reviews
Reviews of single recordings
Sapocaya’s Multicultural Array of Afro-Rooted Jazz
With their instrumental track “Baraúna,” a French band called Sapocaya expertly captures the point where Africa, Brazil, and jazz converge.
Superb Song by Cameroonian Artist Princess Vinia
I don’t know if she’s actual royalty, but Cameroon’s Princess Vinia has a dandy of a track called “Barbasin” that starts with a beat tapped…
Superb Jamaican-American Roots Reggae Collaboration
Clinton Fearon, formerly of the Gladiators and a longtime resident of Seattle, gives an added roots reggae boost to ‘Come with Us’ by the U.S.’s…
Mariah Parker’s Highly Satisfying Mix of Jazz and Samba
There’s been many a meeting between jazz and the rhythms of Latin America, and “Espiritu Samba” by American pianist Mariah Parker is a prime example…
Classic, Timeless Reggae from First Born
An early reggae feel combined with the kind of harmonies that defined the era vocally, “And Not Another” by British/Guyanese collaboration First Born sounds like…
Pulsating Funky Reggae from Babylon North
Swedish reggae band Babylon North expand the parameters of their genre with “Everything I Can (Flames).” The reggae pulse is suggested rather than fully present,…
Cheerful Caribbean Mizik from Abondance
A Montreal-based band called Abondance brings just enough contemporary flavor to “Mizik,” a song with French Caribbean foundation and a feel that’s lighthearted but certainly…
Essential Beninese Roots Music by Duo Landry+
As Benin twosome Duo Landry+ ably demonstrates, African roots music is often best left in a purely traditional state or at least modernized to only…
Horn-Fueled Reggae by The Resolvers
American reggae band The Resolvers have much to say about the gap between the haves and the have nots with their song “They Don’t Know.”…