The Whole Music Experience

Chillon Paddock Zephyr (Peyote Songs of the Native American Church) Canyon Records Kevin Yazzie Hope Harmonized Peyote Songs of the Native American Church Canyon Records It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed Native American recordings for WME. The 2 most popular types of music read on this blog are traditional Native American and Brazilian, thus far. And as far as the indigenous recordings go, peyote and pow-wow songs attract much attention. I just received 3 new recordings from Canyon Records, but for review purposes and the sake of time, I will focus on the peyote song recordings. First, Chillon Paddock, a Dinè woman peyote song practitioner debuts on the label. She also painted the beautiful artwork that appears on the cover of Zephyr (Peyote Songs of the Native American Church), and she practices massage therapy. So you guessed it, her sets of peyote songs (each set contains 4 songs), provide deep healing potential. Her uncle Louie Gonnie Jr. (who I have revie...

The Music Therapy Center website was brought to my attention recently.  Here is the link http://www.paranada.org/organizations/3/center-for-music-therapy-the The center is located in Austin, Texas.

Tomoko Sugawara Along the Silk Road Ancient and Modern Music for the Kugo Motema I normally wouldn’t expect a delicate Silk Road recording to be released on a jazz label. However, Japanese harpist Tomoko Sugawara debuts on Motema’s New World series with her exquisite recording, Along the Silk Road . Although this album marks her third recording, I believe it’s her first recording featuring the kugo, a harp that finds its roots in ancient Mesopotamia. Also known as an angular harp, “chang” (Iran) and “kunghou,” the instrument traveled on the Silk Road from the Middle East and Spain to China and Japan.  Then it mysteriously disappeared during the 17th century. On Along the Silk Road , Sugawara performs solo pieces in which the harp resembles a Japanese zither (koto) as she plucks the tight strings with an occasional strum for emphasis. She also performs collaborative pieces, such as Qawl (ancient Iran), which features a duet of kugo and the Middle Eastern...