‘La Grande Cantatrice Malienne’ is a sublime recording made by Mali’s Na Hawa Doumbia in the Ivory Coast. It features four beautiful songs dominated by Doumbia’s captivating vocal and set to a stripped-down backing of acoustic guitars, sparing keyboard and percussion played to the native Didadi rhythm of Bougouni in south west Mali.
Parisa Vaaleh is an Iranian American musician/singer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her latest album ‘Fasle Entezar’ is a beautiful, relaxing and at the same time powerful mix of lyrics, music and vocal put together in this fusion, contemporary Persian music.
Swiss Cajun and Zydeco enthusiasts, Mama Rosin, team up with London rockabilly veterans Hipbone Slim and the Knee Tremblers for a cheerful European treatment of classic Americana styles. Mama Rosin have always treated the dance music of the southern states with a rough- and-ready punk approach, mixing rock influences with styles that have their origins in the era of French colonialism and slavery in Louisiana. The Hipbone Slim trio have much the same garage-band attitude. The two bands fuse easily together here, the result is a set that constantly switches styles, from cajun and swamp blues to rockabilly. They’ll sound even better live.
Yehudah Poliker, twenty five years after his smash breakthrough debut album Einayim Sheli, which created the first fusion ever between Greek folk and Israeli rock, Yehuda Poliker comes full circle with his latest album Kol Davar Mazkir Li. The new album is made up of songs with lyrics written by Poliker himself to melodies composed by some of Greece’s top musicians. In a surprisingly touching move, Poliker opens the album singing the title track in Greek, and closes with it in Hebrew.
Thomas Baudriller and Emmanuelle Rouvray, a remarkable duo out of France performing traditional and original Sephardic-Jewish songs in an electronica/dance context. Axerico en Selanik is one of the most surprising albums in recent years to come out on the Tzadik Jewish Series. Charming and endlessly creative, these imaginative interpretations combine a hypnotic rhythmic drive with heartfelt vocals. A modern take on tradition with ecstatic edge!
Ofer Peled is a performer and composer in the field of ethnic jazz in Israel. In his new project “Ararat”, Peled and his ensemble of musicians combine Arabic, Turkish, Gypsy, African, Yemenite and Indian music with modern jazz and original compositions. Peled traveled throughout the world and studied many diverse musical styles, concentrating in recent years on polishing his unique style that has been influenced by all he learned and played on his travels.
In this performance, the musicians of “Ararat” will play a wide variety of instruments, some of which are characteristic of jazz, and others which are traditional ethnic instruments. This combination creates an enjoyable international encounter between East and West, North and South.
Laura and Gianna Caronni, two Argentinean sisters, respectively a cellist and a clarinettist and both singers, deliver on their eponymous album some of the most delicate and intelligent music of the recent years. As a duet, their sound is full of intimacy, yet rich at the same time – due to the stunningly inventive, almost minimalist arrangements. The music sounds exactly like the sum of the artists’ backgrounds: two classically trained musicians enamoured with their country’s folk music. Shades of European Impressionism, of Ravel and Debussy, influences of the South American classical composers like Villa-Lobos, and the unavoidable ghost of tango, all blend perfectly with the melancholy and determination of the folk tunes of the Pampas.
Aventura is one of the most unique artists on the scene today. These four young, dynamic guys with a seldom-seen chemistry continue to produce soulful, original excellent music. Aventura fuses bachata (a guitar-based Dominican folkloric music sometimes called the “Dominican blues”) with R & B, hip hop and other American pop and urban styles. Lead singer Anthony “Romeo” Santos’ original songs are often deep, dealing with social issues. Even when they tackle timeless themes, such as romance and heartbreak, Romeo’s approach always comes from a different angle.
This is the outstanding debut album from the Manchester group, Jadid Ensemble. Skillfully blending flamenco and jazz with Arabic and Turkish sounds, the group produces a blissfully serene album. The album features a range of instruments with Glenn Sharp, the driving force of Jadid Ensemble, on guitars, oud and saz, Paul Cheneour on flutes and neys, Olivia Moore on violin, Adam Warne on percussion, and Gavin Barras on double bass. Weaving their different sounds and styles together, this talented group takes an atmospheric journey through Southern Spain and North Africa.
Pearls Before Swine 