The Whole Music Experience

Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt Slide to Freedom 2 Make a Better World Northern Blues In 2003 I interviewed Canadian bluesman Harry Manx at the Vancouver International Folk Festival. As we sat in the gorgeous Jericho Beach park (Vancouver, Canada), and the sun washed over us, Harry and I discussed his unique blend of American blues and classical Indian ragas. I was also introduced to the music of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, founder of the Mohan Veena. As synchronicity played its role, I received 2 albums by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt shortly after that, which I enjoyed immensely. Fast forward to the present where I am listening to Vishwa's son, Salil Bhatt, also a Indian slide guitarist, team up with Canadian slide guitarist Doug Cox on Slide to Freedom 2 (Make a Better World). You'll find nothing short of high-vibrational music on this disc. Blues pieces sung by John Boutte mix with ragas. I especially like the blues piece, I Scare Myself and of course, the rousing For You Blu...

Trio Ifriqiya (Faycal El Mezouar, Èmile Biayenda and Didier Frèboeuf Petite Planète World Village I have had to listen to Trio Ifriqiya’s Petite Planète several times before reviewing it. To label it a fusion project would do this recording an injustice. True, Algerian Faycal El Mezouar’s Arabic oud, violin, percussion and vocals make a good marriage with Didier Frèboeuf’s jazz piano and the neutral drumming of Èmile Biayenda (founder of Les Tambours de Brazza). However, as the album’s title implies Arab-Andalusian music and jazz improvisations only scratch at the surface of a global musical dialogue that travels from West and North Africa to Spain, to the United States and back again. A listener can glean a lot from this trio’s repertoire and do some mind-traveling in the meantime. The opener, Ya Qalbi Khelli el Hal delves into those Arabic modes, complete with Arabic vocals, oud, piano and percussion. Hada al Gharam mixes up the jazz improvisations with the Arabic mode...