The Whole Music Experience

  cover image missing Omara Portuondo Gracias World Village Gracias by Cuban chanteuse Omara Portuondo (Buena Vista Social Club), celebrates 60 years of making music. The 78-year old vocalist shines on this album proving that like wine, women vocalists also grow better with age. This charming collection of songs features delightful duets. O que Sera features Brazilian Chico Buarque, Amame como soy features fellow Cuban Pablo Milanes, the title track features Jorge Drexler and Drume negrita features Cameroon bassist and vocalist Richard Bona. So for those folks out there who enjoyed Omara's duet with the late Ibrahim Ferrer will be thrilled with this new recording. Other guest musicians include Omara's granddaughter, Rossio Jimenez, Cuban pianist Chucho Valdez, percussionist Trilok Gurta, and Cachaito Lopez, among other stellar talent. The sunny album was produced by Ale Siqueira and Swami Jr. Omara personally chose all the tracks which include favorites from her...

Kaila Flexer & Gari Hegedus Teslim Next Village Music It takes a global village to make an album these days, or at least culturally speaking. A few years ago fusion projects were a novelty item, but today, it appears to be a brave new world where musicians forge new paths over bridges built between cultures. Jewish violinist Kaila Flexer and lutenist Gari Hegedus (who I first heard as part of the duo Stellamara), combined their musical passions on Teslim . On this recording, the musicians gleaned from Turkish modes, Sephardic songs, while also adding Celtic, Armenian and Greek music to the mix. This all-acoustic album which features violin, viola, various lutes and exotic percussion, also includes the Swedish national treasure, a nyckelharpa performed by Vasen's Olov Johansson ( Stone's Throw ). The musician popped into the studio while he was traveling through and contributed to the global village sound. This exotic collection of songs, both traditional and newly c...

Aage Kvalbein & Iver Kleive Comfort Me Meditation for Cello and Piano Kirkelig Kulturverksted I don't know about you, but this time of year, when darkness falls on the northern hemisphere of the earth, I need more time to relax. While the heat of the summer sun lends itself to spicy Latin and African music, the winter cold, sends me seeking a warm comfortable place to rest my feet and indulge in a good novel. And also the idea of "comfort music" (similar to comfort food), appeals to me as I hunker down and wait for the first signs of spring to emerge. Norwegian cellist Aage Kvalbein and Norwegian pianist/organist Iver Kleive were thinking along those same lines. Certainly living so close to the Arctic would send anyone seeking a good fire to toast one's feet and music to warm one's thoughts. This duo takes the chill out of winter on their second recording together with KKV, Comfort Me (Meditation for Cello and Piano). This chamber music album features...

Solveig Slettahjell with Tord Gustavsen & Sjur Miljeteig Night in Bethlehem Kirkelig Kulturverksted Most of the time a title such as "Night in Bethlehem" would describe songs sung about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. However, Norwegian chanteuse Solveig Slettahjell's album, Night in Bethlehem literally referred to those nights in a special Bethlehem church where Slettahjell, pianist Tord Gustavsen and trumpeter Sjur Miljeteig recorded sacred songs. The press notes recalled, "After the pilgrims had left the church for the evening and the monks in the Franciscan monastery had retired for the night, the three Norwegian artists spent some creative hours each night in the church." And this nightly church visit in the holy city was captured in jazz-tinged Christmas carols, both traditional and contemporary. You can literally feel the hush tones of the church (built on the site where Jesus was born), along with the rich timbre of the church piano, Milje...

  image missing Kayhan Kalhor Brooklyn Rider Silent City World Village I have over the years heard several recordings by Iranian kamanche master Kayhan Kalhor. The first recording to capture my ears was the recording, Rain by Ghazal which casted an enchanting spell over me. I have also heard his work with The Dastan Ensemble and his recording The Wind with Erdal Erzincan. Kalhor has proven not only his mastership over his exotic instrument, but also his adaptability to a variety of musical genres. That is not to say that he performs his instrument in a variety of genres, but that he fuses his tradition with those from other cultures. And since I have grown to admire Kahlor's work, I feel excited when I see his name gracing yet another CD cover. On Silent City , once again we see Kalhor fusing Persian classical music with another music tradition--European classical meets the Silk Road. The musicians in Brooklyn Rider fall into an experimental-avant-classical style, that ...

Mamadou Diabate Douga Mansa World Village Regular readers of this blog will know about my fascination with West African griot music and instruments. I was quite pleased to receive a review copy of Malian griot kora player Mamadou Diabate's Douga Mansa . It falls into West African classical music with Diabate playing solo kora throughout. And yet, with this single instrument, Diabate coaxes a rich tapestry of moods from his harp, not to mention an array of striking rhythms. The press notes cited, "..in Diabate's hands, the kora proves capable of infinite variation, encompassing delicately articulated structures, swirling eddies of glissandi, pounding vertical rhythms and roaring cataracts of arpeggio." Which sounds a lot like a review of European classical music and why I am treating this CD as African classical music. West African is not short of virtuoso kora players, a category in which Mamadou finds himself. His cousin is Toumani Diabate, another fabulous ...

Natacha Atlas Ana Hina World Village I have admired Middle Eastern vocalist Natacha Atlas' rich vocals for a long time, but not until now am I able to hear those vocals in an acoustic setting. Her newest album, Ana Hina , produced and arranged by Harvey Brough is a gem. Atlas' vocals find themselves backed by a lush east-west orchestra. And the choice of material covered also spans east and west with covers of Fairuz, Rahbani Brothers, Abdel Halim Hafez and Nina Simone. I have enjoyed listening to Ana Hina from the first moment I placed it in my CD player. The beautiful melodies sung in Arabic, Spanish (on La Vida Callada ), and English provoke a spellbinding quality--a magic carpet ride, if you will. Hearing the Appalachian folk classic, Black is the Color (once covered by Nina Simone as a piano solo), certainly adds another dimension. And the inclusion of a poem by Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo which becomes a musical dialogue between Atlas and multi-instrumentalist Cl...

Monika Mauch (soprano) Nigel North (lute) A Musical Banquet ECM New Series It took awhile before I became a fan of English renaissance lutenist John Dowland's work. I had already been enjoying renaissance lute and vocal music which reminded me of medieval troubadour songs as well as, more contemporary blues. Yet, Dowland was not the easiest pill to swallow, since often, but not always, his lyrics seemed melancholic. Never mind that that was the rage at that time of Elizabethan, England. Many of the Dowland recordings, with the exception of Sting's Songs from the Labyrinth (which is quite edgy), feature bel canto vocals set over the shimmering strings of lutes. Soprano Monika Mauch and lutenist Nigel North bring us a collection of lute songs on their recording, Musical Banquet . The pieces were originally published as a collection called Musical Banquet by Robert Dowland (John's son), in 1610. I do not know how the original pieces were set or how they sounded. But...

Carolin Widmann (violin) Robert Schumann The Violin Sonatas ECM New Series The legendary Romantic era composer Robert Schumann was born during at time when amorous affairs could and often did lead to venereal disease. Since antibiotics had not been discovered yet, many artists, composers, etc succumbed to various disabilities, including deafness, and madness as consequences of the disease. Schumann suffered from madness towards the end of his life, I read due to a venereal disease he had contracted earlier. Married to another legendary figure, Clara Schumann, you might often encounter this musician-composer couple when reading about classical music. Or you might encounter the couple when attending a symphony or chamber music house party. That sadly, is about all I know about the Schumanns at this point. However, the new ECM recording, Robert Schumann The Violin Sonatas , performed by German violinist Carolin Widmann and Hungarian pianist Dènes Vàrjon, acts as my baptism into...

Skruk and Katie Cardenal Mass for the Man in the Street Kirkelig Kulturverksted The Norwegian choir Skruk and Latin American singer-songwriter Katie Cardenal's Misa Campesina (Mass for the Man on the Street) , possesses an inspiring message, I just don't know what it is. While the music with its Caribbean warmth, good will and splendid vocals create a unique listening pleasure, I wish that English translation had been provided. However, despite my lack of foreign language skills, the Norwegian choir and Nicaraguan musicians have created a beautiful setting for composer Carlos Mejia Godoy's Nicaraguan mass for the common people. I am well-read on the late Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda and his words about the common person, so I find myself enjoying this lively mass. And I am all too familiar with the ups and downs of Latin American politics and social causes so this recording hits home with me. The usual musical structure of a mass (kyria, gloria, etc) are included but...

Kala Ramnath and Rupak Kulkarni The Divine Wheel Sense World Music Indian classical violinist Kala Ramnath is no stranger to my ears. I have heard several of her delightful recordings and I am especially fond of her jugalbandi recordings. On one of her latest recordings, The Divine Wheel , she teams up with bansuri flute player Rupak Kulkarni. Recorded live at the Saptak Festival in India, the musicians perform Raag Jog and Raag Des . Most of the tracks are short enough for radio play with the exception of the longest track, Vilambit Gat in Ektaal which runs 23 minutes. Kulkarni's bansuri flute compliments Ramnath's violin and these two players take their listeners to transcendental heights. The live recording adds to the excitement. Listeners of this disc might wish they enjoyed front row seats at that festival performance. I have tried to listen to this CD at bedtime, but find it too active. It is definitely a daytime listening experience for me and one that captur...

courtesy of Ixtlan Recording Consortium Kevin Locke Earth Gift Ixtlan Recording Consortium Lakota flutist, storyteller and dancer Tokaheya Inajin (Kevin Locke), has tirelessly promoted culture and music to both adults and children throughout the years. His newest recording, Earth Gift offers a profound connection to this great planet through the songs of the Lakota. The recording shows Locke paying homage to the earth, to his ancestors, animal spirits, and collector of Native American songs, Frances Densmore. Producer and musician Tom Wasinger (Joanne Shenandoah & Mary Youngblood), offers his expertise on this disc. Besides producing Earth Gift , he also played cymbalom, percussion, udu and zither, not to mention instruments made directly from the natural world. Locke (rattles, vocals and flute), joins up with Doug Good Feather (lead vocals and drum), Gracie RedShirt Tyon (accompaniment vocals) and Wasinger. The end result is a recording that connects heaven and earth th...

Gustavo Dudamel & Simòn Bolìvar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela Beethoven 5 & 7 Deusche Grammophon The connection between Venezuelan youth and Beethoven might not seem an obvious one at first. Imagine, a youth orchestra comprised of children once at-risk, but now leaving an impression on international classical music lovers. Conductor Gustavo Dudamel (25 years old at the time of this recording), revealed his connection to the Great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the liner notes. "As a six-year old, Gustavo Dudamel's favorite game was to line up his toy soldiers in orchestral formation to conduct them in an imaginary performance of Beethoven's 5th Symphony . By the time he was twelve, he was conducting his local youth orchestra. Two years later he had his own chamber orchestra. At 17, he became chief conductor of the Simòn Bolìvar Youth Orchestra…" According to the liner notes, Dudamel grew up in Barquisimeto, the capital of the state of Lara....

image of Mozart from Wikipedia Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Marie Pierre Langlamet (harp) and Sabine Meyer (clarinet) Mozart (Flute Concerto 1, Concerto for Flute & Harp, and Clarinet Concerto EMI Classics Narciso Yepes Guitarra Espanola Vol. 2 Deusche Grammophon Great Moments from La Traviata Cheryl Studer, Luciano Pavarotti Deusche Grammophon Nikolaus Harnoncourt Handel Messiah Sony BMG Valery Gergiev & Kirov Orchestra The Nutcracker Philips Although classical music contributes wonderfully to a person's CD collection, health and well-being, these CDs can be expensive. Also it takes time to explore various composers and compositions before each listener finds his or her musical medicine or favorites. Therefore, I recommend a trip to a local library where an array of famous and not-so-famous works can be explored for free. Libraries in larger cities offer a wider variety, but even in a small town, you can find a few gems. I have been perusing the shelves...

Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin Ampora Decca Records I have never been a fan of Lee Ritenour's work and I associated it with smooth jazz. However, on Lee Ritenour (guitar) and Dave Grusin (piano) classical crossover album, Ampora , I am actually quite pleased with the music. I would even call it sublime. Musical guests include the folk singer James Taylor singing an early music folk song Since First I Saw Your Face , solo violinist Joshua Bell on Gabriel Faure's Pavane, Op. 50 and Antonio Carlos Jobim's Olha Maria (Ampora) , soprano Renee Fleming also on the pavane and George Frideric Handel's Duetto: Scherzano Sul Tuo Volto , which she performs with classical trumpeter Chris Botti. The recording starts off with nuevo tango that recalls the late Astor Piazzolla and continues with a suite of Latin American dances. This is followed by a pavane, then English folk songs, a Brazilian piece, Ravel's Ma Mere L'Oye (Mother Goose Suite) and ends with baroque music. ...

Andras Schiff Ludwig Van Beethoven The Piano Sonatas Volume VII (Sonatas opp. 90,101 and 106) ECM Records Andras Schiff Ludwig Van Beethoven The Piano Sonatas Volume VIII (Sonatas 109, 110 & 111) ECM Records Hungarian concert pianist Andras Schiff took on the great task of recording all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas in chronological order. The pianist completed the cycle with The Piano Sonatas Volume VII and Volume VIII . Now, while I did not travel the entire journey of the 32 sonata cycle (I only heard 5 of the 8 CDs), I still experienced quite an adventure. As you might imagine, Schiff embodied the Romantic Era composer since he was spending so much time with the sonatas and the composer. One read through the liner notes that accompany these recordings, reveals the deep and thoughtful, even heartfelt relationship that Schiff developed with Beethoven. He performs these sonatas from the inside out, which was something the late Canadian pianist Glenn Gould did...

Gundecha Brothers and Pushparaj Koshti Temple Voices Sense World Music Pushparaj Koshti Surbahar Sense World Music The ancient vocal form Dhrupad seemed to be in slow terminal decline according to the liner notes for The Gundecha Brothers' latest recording, Temple Voices . Also in the liner notes, "The Gundecha Brothers are at the forefront of the revival in fortune that has overtaken the ancient vocal form, Dhrupad." It had fallen victim to the popularity of the Khayal tradition. Also from my understanding of it, Dhrupad had also suffered the reputation of being painfully slow, and one writer for The Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 2 had compared Dhrupad to watching paint dry. I actually appreciate this ancient Indian vocal style. Yes, it unfolds slowly, but for those with patience (which is not many these days), this gentle unfolding does pay off. The vocal fireworks that contributed to the popularity of the Khayal form are not present in the same regard. ...

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...

Baka Beyond Baka Live March Hare Music Call of the Forest Favorites Of The Baka Beyond White Swan What is not to love about the international Afro-Celtic fusion group Baka Beyond? In this day and age of doom & gloom, these musicians get people on their feet dancing to acoustic African groove married to shimmering Celtic fare. Not only that, founders of the BB, Su Hart and Martin Cradick should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for all of the work they have done with the Baka Pygmies of the Cameroon forest. Well, maybe another year... In the meantime, Baka Beyond & Baka Gbine's Baka Live gives listeners a chance to hear electrifying performances. The gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous people, Celtic and African music have all been bridged. We end up with a rich celebration of cultures and a friendly vibe that can only leave smiles on people's faces. I know that I smile a lot when I listen to these recordings. You can almost hear the dancing going on an...

Photo from rockpaperscissors.biz Photography by Ashley Coombes Julie Fowlis (Scotland) Cuilidh Shoeshine Records and Cadiz Music Hailing from one of the westernmost points of Europe, on the island North Uist, vocalist Julie Fowlis shares ancient and contemporary Scotch Gaelic songs with an international audience on her recording, Cuilidh . This crossover artist and music-preserver prefers to sing the songs in Scotch Gaelic, a language spoken only by 60,000 people and on the remote island where Fowlis resides. The Scotch Gaelic dialect bodes well for these lilting melodies reflecting on scandals, shipwrecks and defiant women who either walk out on their own wedding or marry someone against their parents' wishes. According to the press notes, the songs on this album range from 10 years ago to several 100 years ago. The songs are sung in a clear lyrical voice backed by traditional Celtic/Gaelic instruments and the songs range from rousing to melancholic ballads. And al...