In review--Groovin' on African Blues
Putumayo Presents African Blues Putumayo World Music (Release Date: April 24, 2012) While many world music listeners think of Mali when the topic of African blues comes up, African blues it seems traverses the African continent. Personally, I’m glad that Putumayo World Music pointed that out to me with African Blues --a compilation that features plenty of groovy Malian blues, but also includes Taj Mahal’s collaboration with Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar, which by the way, is nowhere near Mali. As it turns out, the track, Dhow Countries by Taj Mahal Meets Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar is my favorite song on the compilation. Mahal’s dusky signature wed to the Arabic strings of the Zanzibar orchestra hits the spot. Besides, it is the only song sung in English so I can understand the story in the song. So you’re wondering who else appears on the compilation. The usual suspects such as Tinariwen (a Tuareg rock band from Mali), who teams up...