American artist Diana Jimenez wrote “Mil Años” as a tribute to her dad, and the Afro-Cuban style of the piece is filled with emotional nuance…
A Daughter’s Heartfelt Tribute
Category: Single reviews
Reviews of single recordings
High Quality Bossa Nova Import
French guitarist Christophe Duflos brings the familiar feel of bossa nova to new horizons through “Bossarena,” a piece flavored not only by some fine trumpeting…
Buy What They’re Selling
“La Vendedora” (the seller) by Cuban/French duo Las Panteras (Eliene Castillo and Martha Galarraga) is a sassy bit of scritchy-scratchy Latin rhythm, jaunty piano, call-and-response…
Clarifying the clarinet
The clarinet is often thought of as an instrument of limited appeal and possibilities, but anyone who opines thusly should listen to “Lili,” an instrumental…
A Progressive Twosome
A Brazilian duo called Máquina Voadora mixes dance rhythms from their home country with rock, jazz and soul overtones on a track called “A hospedaria…
Mama Knows Best
Italy’s Mama Djarra infuses “Mana” with full-blooded declarations of female empowerment, resistance and solidarity, which happen to be a perfect match for the song’s militant…
Tried, True and Terrific
The longstanding relationship between jazz and samba remains as strong as ever, with “Afosamba” by Brazilian pianist Antonio Adolfo and his octet a shining example…
Enjoy the View
Comprised of musicians from several different regions and combining jazz with traditional rhythms from Reunion Island, a band called Jozéfinn’ Austral View is right and…
It Begs the Question
With immigration being the hot button issue it is nowadays, Cuba’s Yeisy Rojas brings her own take on it into focus via “Inmigrante y qué?”…
Northern Southern
A bluegrass outfit from Canada, The Southern Residents hit a bullseye in Americana roots music with “Between Love and Blood.” All-acoustic instruments, fine fiddling, vocals…