The Whole Music Experience

World Son De Pueblo   Colombia (Traditional Songs and Dances from) Arc Music I suppose if you’re going to celebrate the music of Colombia you would want to travel to the South American country in December since according to the liner notes for Traditional Songs and Dances from Colombia performed by Son de Pueblo, “for several weeks we celebrate the joy of life...” And that joy of life in Colombia includes rousing Afro-Latin musical traditions from the plains, mountains, and the Caribbean flavored with salsa, rumba, and musical genres from throughout Latin America. Anyone who only knows Colombia through tragic news stories involving drug trafficking or from flavorful coffee beans, needs to delve into traditional Colombian culture whether that is cuisine, traditional music or folkloric dance because this is where you find happy and contented people celebrating their regional offerings and culture heritage.   The beauty of the Caribbean countries is the w...

I found the Film Movement series movie, The Wind Journeys at my local library.  Directed by Colombian Ciro Guerra and featuring accordionist Marciano Martinez, a road flick marries music exploration. While the Colombian rural music, vallenata takes centerstage, other regional musical traditions appear in the movie.  Highly Recommended. (Especially for the students who enrolled in my Songs of the Americas course). http://www.filmmovement.com/

Jordi Savall Hespèrion XXI & other groups El Nuevo Mundo Folias Criollas Aliavox/Harmonia Mundi Fans of early music know that if they wish to take a musical journey to the renaissance, baroque period, or even to King Louis XIV court, Jordi Savall and his ensembles can take them there. I’m not sure where the Savall-Figueras family comes up with the energy to release as many early music gems as they do, but I’m grateful as a music reviewer and armchair scholar. I also started thinking of these musicians as the musical equivalent of a royal Catalan family. They certainly play courtly music, colonial, rustic and otherwise. I’m still catching my breath after reviewing a Bach recording (The Brandenburg Concertos) by Jordi Savall recently. And now he and his musicians have united with early music and folkloric musicians in the Americas, “New World” where they explore colonial music that combined music of American Indians, Spanish settlers, missionaries, and African slaves. Whi...

Totò La Momposina La Bodega Astar Colombian vocalist Totò La Momposina came to my attention in 2004, when her delicious cumbia, Yo Me Llamo Cumbia appeared on the Putumayo compilation Women of Latin America , alongside Chilean Mariana Montalvo, Brazilian Monica Salmaso, Colombian Marta Gòmez and others. She headlined in the Putumayo Presents Women in Latin America tour along with Brazilian Belo Velloso and Mariana Montalvo (mentioned earlier), and if she did not rouse audience members physically, she most certainly roused them emotionally. So years later, I am pleased to receive her recording, La Bodega . Released on an independent label, Totò offers us songs that you cannot sit still while listening to them. In fact, I flew out of my chair and found myself dancing throughout my small apartment. I knew that in order to write this review, I would need to do so in silence because those Afro-Colombian cross-rhythms, thumping beats, punchy brass and Totò’s alto vocals...

Lucia Pulido Luna Menguante Adventure Music Ever since I heard Marta Gomez and Toto La Momposina's tracks on Putumayo Presents Women of Latin America , I have fallen in love with the rich polyphonic rhythms, vocal styles and instruments of Colombia. Then after listening to Marta Topferova play these rhythms on her cuatro, my love for this music grew even more immense. Lucia Pulido hails from Colombia so those rhythms and vocal styles swim in her blood. She and the musicians in her band reside in New York City, where I hear a strong South American community exists. Her recording, Waning Moon (luna menguante) , combines sultry urban jazz with traditional music. Pulido contributes not only spellbinding vocals, especially the magical vocals that resemble Baka pygmy yodels, but she also plays that wonderful South American lute, the cuatro, along with percussion. Of course when I say maracas, and we are talking about maraca playing from places like Venezuela and Colombia, I must...