The Whole Music Experience

V.M. Bhatt and Matt Malley Sleepless Nights World Village When I first saw that Vishwa Mohan Bhatt was releasing a recording on World Village, I got excited, but then after I saw that the master Indian slide-guitarist had teamed up with a rock musician, Matt Malley (Counting Crows), I felt somewhat reluctant to review the CD, Sleepless Nights . While the concept of East meets West, musically speaking, intrigues me, some of those collaborations come off as hyperkinetic Bollywood soundtracks. I know some music fans love that type of music, but at this stage of the game, I desperately need music that soothes, not jars my nerves.  I'm not the average music listener and music is my medicine for healing tension and sensitivities. However, I’m a great admirer of V.M. Bhatt and I have several of his Sense World Music recordings in my collection. He’s well-respected in his homeland, India, for good reason, and here in the West, where he came onto the radar after collaborati...

Florilegium and Arakaendar Bolivia Choir Bolivian Baroque, Vol. 3 Music from the Missions and La Plata Channel Classics (distributed by Harmonia Mundi) When I think of Bolivian music, Andes folkloric traditions surface with panpipes, traditional flutes, charango (a lute made from an armadillo) and bombo drum. I had never connected European baroque music with the South American country, but of course it makes sense that the Spanish colonists and missionaries would have brought baroque music with them. For those of you not familiar with Bolivia, the landlocked South American country is bordered by Peru and Chile on the west, Brazil on the northeast, Paraguay and Argentina in the south. The Andes country’s population is comprised of Afro-Bolivians, Spanish descent, and Creole. However, the majority of Bolivians are Indians of pure Aymara and Quechua backgrounds. So this brings us to the English baroque ensemble Florilegium and the Arakaendar Bolivian Choir (comprised of si...

Dante String Quartet with Simon Crawford-Phillips Debussy String Quartet Ravel String Quartet and Violin Sonata Hyperion/Harmonia Mundi In 2000 or 2001 when I was reviewing cinema, I checked out the film, Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter) by Claude Sautet from the library. While the love story in the film portrayed by French actors Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Beart felt cold and philosophical to me, the music by Ravel struck a chord. Unfortunately, I did not think of writing down the soundtrack information and I ended up checking out every Ravel recording from the library in search of the music. To make a long story short, I finally found the music on Dante String Quartet’s Debussy String Quartet/Ravel String Quartet and Violin Sonata. And I finally found a Ravel and Debussy recording where the musicians perform all the movements of the compositions. I heard only one movement of Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor , Assez vif et bien rythmè and single movements of ...

Frèdèric Chopin (1810-1849) Stephen Hough Chopin Late Masterpieces Hyperion I regret that up until now, I have only heard Frèdèric Chopin’s music in passing. I heard waltzes and lullabies mostly, but I had never sat down with a recording and taken a good listen or attended a piano recital of Chopin’s music. I knew tidbits of information about the Polish composer’s tumultuous relationship with French author George Sands (a woman) and his death at a young age from TB, but only now with the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth (he was either born in February 22 or March 1 in 1810), am I getting acquainted with the composer and virtuoso pianist. I received English pianist extraordinaire Stephen Hough’s Chopin (Late Masterpieces) recording in the mail yesterday. The premise behind the recording revolves around the innovations and transformations that take place in an artist’s work during the last years of life. Many great artists of various disciplines are mentioned in the line...

Catherine Russell Inside This Heart of Mine World Village Ana Moura Leva-Me Aos Fados World Village I received jazz/blues chanteuse Catherine Russell’s third release on World Village, Inside This Heart of Mine in early March. I’ve been champing at the bit because I want to shout out to the world about this fabulous recording. And Ms Russell’s provided us with a spicy repertoire filled with jumpin’ jive, New Orleans jazz (Dixieland, I believe), some smooth standards, swing and blues classics. From the opener, the steamy titular with Russell’s captivating vocals to the New Orleans number, Struttin’ with Some Barbeque . The song even entices a vegetarian like me—rhythmically and melodically speaking. The swinging All the Cats Join In features some stunning solos by Dan Block on saxophone and Jon-Erik Kellso. Russell shows off her vocal prowess on the swing numbers, especially on We the People with its delightful syncopation and on the Gospel-tinged Troubled Waters ....