The Whole Music Experience

Toumani Diabate in concert (wikipedia) Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate Kulanjan Hannibal Records Released at the tail end of the last century, Kulanjan has already become a classic in my book. Bluesman Taj Mahal had been exploring his griot heritage--could feel it in his genes. The renowned musician teamed up with Malian kora player Toumani Diabate, Malian vocalists Kassemady Diabate and Ramatou Diakite and other Malian musicians. The end result takes us to the crossroads where American (U.S.) blues and West African blues intersect. While it is not the only recording out there that marries these traditions, it is my personal favorite among the West African-American blues recordings. Kulanjan provides one fantastic track after another, with no weak ones in the bunch. It opens with Queen Bee , a duet sung with Taj Mahal and Ramatou Diakite. Taj's gruff vocals gravitate around Ramatou's sweeter one. The following track, Tunkaranke features Kassemady singing soaring gr...

The Meditation Music of Deva Premal Into Silence Sounds True German classically trained vocalist Deva Premal has been gifted with one of the most beautiful, healing and soothing voices out there. Along with her partner, Miten and the who is who of Kirtan chant composers, Deva has entranced thousands of listeners, most of them devoted followers, with her perfectly calibrated vocals. Not only that she also contributes her training in various energy healing modalities. Into Silence features some of her favorite work from CDs released during the decade of 1997 to 2007. She sings simple to pronounce Sanskrit chants (mainly) with Buddhist chants brought into the mix, such as Om Mani Padme Hum ( Love is Space ). She delivers each chant with reverence and grace. This CD arrived to me on an incredibly stressful day--everything that could go wrong, did go wrong and not just for me. Fortunately, I kept this music on in the background while I attempted to solve problems and go about...

Murray Perahia Bach Goldberg Variations Sony I feel too exhausted at the moment to write an actual review of Pianist Murray Perahia's gorgeous interpretation of Bach's Goldberg Variations. However, Perahia takes his listeners through a vast palette of emotions with aplomb while performing the short 32 variations--a Bach masterpiece that was originally composed for his "talented protege Johann Gottlieb Goldberg to play on harpsicord." The first recording I heard and enjoyed of the variations was by the late Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Listening to two recordings by Glenn Gould, recorded decades a part, led me to think that I would not enjoy another pianist's recording of this work. However, I find Perahia's version (who has a lot of Bach recordings under his belt), extremely moving and powerful. I borrowed the CD from the library down the street and have listened to several times in the past week. Since this is a healing music site, I want to add ...

Northern Cree and Friends Vol. 7 Dancin' 'Til Sunrise Canyon Records Cheever Toppah and Kevin Yazzie First Light (Harmonized Peyote Songs in Dinè and Kiowa) Canyon Records Verdell Primeaux with Terry Hanks Stories Told (Harmonized Peyote Songs) Canyon Records Elk Soldier The Elk Way (pow-wow songs recorded live at Green Bay) Canyon Records Thee Express Express Yourself (Chicken Scratch) Canyon Records Canyon Records just released a slew of recordings. Since it would take too long to review each CD individually, I am reviewing the CDs in a group. And there are some recordings that have not been included. So I encourage you to visit Canyon Records' web site to see for yourself what is available. Northern Cree have joined their First Nation friends to dance another night away. The pounding drums and hearty vocals appear to be in rhythm with the driving and relentless rain outside my window. It's as if the rain is using my roof as its o...

Bachata Roja (Various) Acoustic Bachata From the Cabaret Era Iaso Records Bachata Roja brings us classic acoustic bachata from the early 60s to the late 80s. This rustic music that hails from the Dominican Republic countryside (later immigrated to the cities), draws comparisons with the Cuban son. Similar to other Latin music traditions, rhythm performed on percussion, or the strums and rapid guitar riffs, keeps this music alive and snappy. Bachata Roja , a collection of some of bachata's stellar vocalists, composers and guitarists, provides us with historical and cultural notes from a politically challenging time for the Dominicans. But you would never guess in listening to these driving rhythms, sprite vocals, and double entendres. Despite some of the lyrics which reflect on some of the less acceptable societal behaviors, I find this music sunny and invigorating. And I am not the only one who finds this music invigorating since this CD has reaped its share of critical k...

Marcos Amorim, Jorge Albuquerque & Rafael Barata Revolving Landscapes Adventure Music Jorge Albuquerque (bass), Marcos Amorim (guitar) and Rafael Barata (drums), bring us a sedate Brazilian jazz and bossa nova on Revolving Landscapes . Masterful guitar, blends with creative drumming (cymbals suggests waves on a beach), and watertight bass. The trio creates an effervescent jazz-scape and with song titles such as "Waterfall," "Cloudy Day" and "New Landscape" you might guess that this is a somewhat relaxing recording. Often times, the playing feels understated, until you listen beneath the top layers. brings spot-on intuition to "Afternoon in Similar to Brazilian guitarist Celso Fonseca, Amorim's guitar playing possesses sensual qualities and the tracks New Landscape recall Fonseca's songs. I am also reminded of American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and any number of ECM ambient jazz albums. However, while ECM's repertoire has a ...

Jovino Santos Neto Alma do Nordeste Adventure Music For his third release on Adventure Music, Brazilian jazz pianist and composer Jovino Santos Neto celebrates the music of Northeastern Brazil--and what a wealth of musical styles! Alma do Nordeste (Soul of the Northeast), features a variety of Brazilian genres including, Baião, xote, Forrò, marcha and others. Lush Afro-Brazilian polyrhythms provide a backdrop for swirling flute, woodwinds, lush accordion and gorgeous instrumental harmonies. From the cover art to the passionate musicianship of Jovino (piano, melodica, flute), Toninho Ferragutti (accordion), Gabriel Grossi (harmonica), Carlos Malta, Eduardo Neves and Marcelo Martins (woodwinds), Joseman Honaine (10 string guitar), Dudu Lima (basses), Marcio Bahia (drums), Tiago da Serrinha and Durval Pereira (percussion) and Pernambuco (voice)--whew!, this music feels like the sun bursting forth through layers of clouds. Especially on the title track, when the music breaks int...

Jay & Tinesha Begaye Night of Northern Lights Canyon Records Navajo veteran singer Jay Begaye and his 19-year old daughter Tinesha (Navajo-Cree), celebrate the Northern Lights with an electrical collection of round dance songs. Lakota flutist Anthony Wakeman also contributes his talent to Nights of the Northern Lights. While Jay offers impressive vocal, songwriting and drumming talents to this disc, Tinesha shines here with her powerful vocals and round dance song writing skills. She brings feelings of joy and brightness reflective of her youth. And some of you might recall Tinesha's debut CD, Rhythms of Love which was recorded 3 years ago and reflected on her teen years. Jay and Tinesha's story that appears in the liner notes adds warmth to this recording. The actual tracks reflect on both the spirit and secular worlds embellished by hearty vocals and the beat of the round dance drum. Anthony Wakeman contributes flute to Tinesha's Little Brother (dedicated ...

The Wailin' Jennys The Lincoln Theatre Mount Vernon, Washington Friday, April 18, 2008 While tulips bloomed throughout the valley, snow fell from the April sky, and tourists crowded country roads, Winnipeg's The Wailin' Jennys set loose dazzling harmonies. The quartet's debut performance in Skagit Valley drew a capacity (sold-out) enthusiastic audience. The Jennys delivered one immaculate tune after another, with a few hearty side trips tossed in. I doubt anyone left The Jennys' Lincoln Theatre performance disappointed. Members of the Jennys', Ruth Mood (soprano vocals, accordion, banjo, guitar), Heather Masse (alto vocals & standup bass), Nicky Mehta (mezzo-soprano vocals, trap drum, harmonica, guitar) and Jeremy Penner (mandolin and fiddle) performed music--not easily categorized. Perhaps we can invent a new genre called human music. The musicians performed new work and traditional songs, as well as, favorites from their recordings, 40 Days an...

Mamak Khadem Jostojoo (Forever Seeking) Banyan Tree Production I discovered Iranian-American Mamak Khadem's voice in 2002 when I received Axiom of Choice's Unfolding in the mail. But many of you have probably heard her beautiful voice complimenting television show and movie soundtracks. Based in California, Mamak has kept herself busy contributing her vocal talents to many projects, including her newest CD, Jostojoo (Forever Seeking) . In her liner notes, Mamak reflects on the recording. "In the past few years, while traveling to Greece, Turkey, Armenia, and various parts of Iran, I became aware of the many similarities among these cultures and their music." She sought that common ground while infusing music from those cultures with the inspiring words of Iranian poetry, especially illustrious poetry of the ancient Persian poet, Rumi. None of this comes as a surprise to me since Mamak and I had spoken about Rumi's poetry briefly during a 2002 intervi...

Stevin McNamara Om Guitar Sounds True Long-time veteran of the music business, guitarist and producer Stevin McNamara provides us with east-west fusion meditative music on his latest disc, "Om Guitar". He invited an array of guest musicians who brought sitar, tamboura and percussion to McNamara's Indian-sounding guitar. The music provides a wonderful background for meditation, contemplation or for doing work that involves little focus. It is ideal for reading, knitting, and sewing type activities, but would not work well for driving a car. "May Fortune Smile" might interests a few listeners. According to the liner notes, this track "derived from an early evening raga, "Yaman Kalyan," often used as an invocation for good fortune and abundance." And who does not want good fortune and abundance? All four long-playing tracks derive from ragas, which represent a certain part of the day. And all of the ragas have been translated into...

Murray Perahia Bach Partitas 2, 3 & 4 Sony Classical It has been over a decade ago when I ran into an old friend that mentioned he was into Bach. I found that friend pretentious at the time and did not listen to any Bach myself. I did not think that I would understand it since most people that I knew that listened to Bach were academic or they were classically-trained musicians. Then after I started using different types of alternative healing, one of the modalities that I discovered was healing with music. Classical music came up a lot and so did the musical architecture of Bach's compositions. But the real clincher came much earlier when I had heard Glenn Gould performing various Bach compositions. Then I too could see the aesthetic and healing values of Bach. I would imagine listening to Bach everyday for at least an hour would lighten my moods, boost my immune system and offer other positive health effects. (If only I would get around to launching that plan)....

Le Vent du Nord Dans les airs Borealis Records The traditional Quebecois group, Le Vent du Nord's third album, Dans les airs also features the group's third incarnation. The departure of Benoit Bourque feels missed here. But his replacement, Rejean Brunet, formerly of the Flying Beavers group, provides a new dimension. Besides, bringing his accordion on board, he also contributed acoustic bass and piano to this recording. Nicolas Boulerice took on a stronger role on this third time out, by contributing vocal duties on many of the tracks. But violinist Olivier Demers, the other remaining founding member along with Nicolas, handled most of the songwriting duties. Despite a revolving door of band members since the debut recording, La Vent du Nord's fare seem tighter than ever and the playing more mature. The traditional fare of songs about drinking, falling in love with sweethearts or losing at the game of love, fills up most of this disc. We are also informed abou...

Corou de Berra Au fil du temps... independent release Twenty years in the making, France's mixed voices choir, Corou de Berra released a retrospective recording entitled, Au fil de temps... (as time goes by). The six voice choir hails from the French Alps and the vocalists perform traditional songs from Provence, Nice, and Italy. They mostly offer up lush a cappella vocals, even spine-chilling a cappella as on the religious piece, Stabat Mater , or happier fare, Bella bella ciao , which many listeners would have heard at one time or another in their lives. However, the choir has also performed original contemporary polyphony. If you listen to track 8, Di mi pichon , composed by Michel Bianco and Serge Dotti for instance, you will hear those luscious vocal harmonies playing along with swing violin, and not too long ago, the choir produced a retrospective of the late Italian folk singer, Fabrizio de Andre. Peter's War from maschi feminine cantanti appears on this 20...

Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective Watina Stonetree Records/Cumbancha Only in his 40s, the musician and preserver of Garifuna culture, Andy Palacio died recently of a stroke. It's true musicians have been dropping like flies lately, with so many passing away from pneumonia, strokes, heart attacks and cancer. In the last couple of days, Cape Verdian vocalist Cesaria Evora suffered a stroke, right before she was going to headline at the WOMAD festival in Australia. (She is still alive). While the death of a musician to me is always tragic, Palacio's passing on hit both the global music community and the Garifuna peoples of Belize (and beyond), like a ton of bricks falling out of the sky. In a way, you might say that Palacio's journey into preserving Garifuna culture goes back to 1635 when shipwrecked African slaves liberated themselves and found solace on the Caribbean island, St. Vincent. There the African slaves were welcomed by the Arawak Indians and the...

Photo: Gazpacho Andalu (from Joe's Pub, New York) Gazpacho Andalù Flamenco De Vuelta E Ida Independent Release Juan Manuel Cañizares Suite Iberia (Albeniz por Cañizares) Sony BMG Masterworks Gazpacho reminds me of a scene from Pedro Almodovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," where the most crazed woman of them all splashes a bowl of gazpacho on the lead character. Tomato, garlic and remnants of sleeping pills run down the face of the woman and soak her dress. This is one side of Spain, (over-the-top characters), via the movie business that has shaped my life, along with hearing fiery flamenco guitar and vocals. My ancestral DNA goes on alert and my heart feels energized when I hear sounds of Andalusia. So I am delighted to have received two flamenco recordings recently. The first recording I am going to mention, Flamenco De Vuelta E Ida hails from the New York based, Gazpacho Andalù. This fusion project blends music from North Africa, South...

The Wailin' Jennys 40 Days Jericho Beach Records Firecracker Red House Records I landed a regular writing gig in the Skagit Valley in Washington, covering the arts. I am currently writing an article on the Canadian folk-bluegrass trio, The Wailin' Jennys. I received the trio's two CDs as part of my research and what I will say is that I have not been blown away by this kind of musical beauty and strength since I listened to the Beatles' harmonies as a young child or when I first witnessed Lo'Jo in concert at WOMAD USA in 1998. Two thirds of the Jennys' current lineup hail from Winnipeg--the silky vocals of Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta carry tinges of the prairies. Their voices wander like tumbleweeds across a desert or like the birds that they sing about on their CDs, "Arlington" (40 Days) and former alto member Annabelle Chvostek's "Swallow" (Firecracker), soar like minstrels on the wind. The third voice of the group has be...

Through a Dog's Ear CD Music to Calm Your Canine Companion Joshua Leeds & Lisa Spector Sounds True Through a Dog's Ear (book) Joshua Leeds & Susan Wagner, DVM, MS Sounds True Two loves have remained constant throughout my life thus far--the love of animals and music. My human instincts and experiences have proven to me that animals enjoy music as much as humans. Certainly animals do not hold intellectual conversations about rhythmic structure and their understanding of music probably does not bode well in an academic setting. However, recent research has proven that animals' moods are affected by music and just like humans, sound healing concepts such as entrainment and resonance are just as true for dogs as they are for humans. According to authors Joshua Leeds (sound healer and researcher), and Susan Wagner (doctor of veterinarian medicine), in their book, Through A Dog's Ear , dogs have refined taste in music. They prefer European classical com...

Aine Minogue Celtic Pilgrimage Sounds True Mesmerizing soprano vocals and shimmering notes of a Celtic harp float off of Aine Minogue's lastest recording, Celtic Pilgrimage. The contemporary Celtic harp and vocals find themselves embedded in a lush sound scape of cello, bansuri flute, drum & percussion, guitar, keyboards, bass, piano, overtone singing and chanting. And the main focus is the process of a spiritual pilgrimage starting with the call to the quest, the home sickness one feels on route, blistered feet, and the redemption at the end of the journey. All of this captured in compelling music. I have taken inner pilgrimages, but never one in the physical world. Yet, thousands of people each year embark on one spiritual pilgrimage or another in various parts of the world. Most of the major religions, if not all of them, have some sort of pilgrimage. These can be found in Europe, Asia, the Americas and beyond with each pilgrimage testing the body, mind, and soul. ...

International Guitar Night Lincoln Theatre Mount Vernon, Washington February 3, 2008 I thought of including a short review for the International Guitar Night concert, led by San Francisco based guitarist Brian Gore with flamenco guitarist Miguel de la Bastide, Malagasy guitarist D'Gary and English folk-blues guitarist Clive Carroll. The 4 extremely talented guitarists found the perfect venue to share their diverse guitar styles in the historic Lincoln Theatre's intimate setting. Brian had mentioned that he enjoyed returning to the theatre and felt that the audience was like a family. Indeed, it did feel cozy throughout the length of the concert. And the musicians comradery and playful humor contributed to the light atmosphere. Each guitarist performed solo work before teaming up in duets, trios and an amazing quartet. I almost fell out of my chair a few times due to the dazzling digital dexterity of these guitarists, who made playing guitar look like a cake walk--wh...