The Whole Music Experience

World Maria Ana Bobone Fado & Piano Arc Music I would think by now fado has become a household word around the world with the international fame of Mariza and Ana Moura.   If you’re searching for a queen of fado, you’ll find yourself wading through an ocean of talent.   While Amalia Rodrigues still inspires the Portuguese people and younger generations of fado singers, the younger singers realize that folk traditions live on through innovations.   Maria Ana Bobone though is the first fadista I have come across who plays piano while she belts out fados.   She’s not the first to innovate or to bring in new instruments to a traditional setting since Cristina Branco has included piano on her recordings while also bringing in jazz elements, and Mariza has performed with orchestras or ensembles featuring trumpet and keyboards such as on her album, Fado Curvo . Honoring her generation of singers, Bobone keeps her instrumental arrangements s...

World Perunika Trio A Bright Star Has Risen Arc Music In the late 1980s, Bulgarian choir music reached international audiences when Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares and Trio Bulgarka enjoyed popularity among world music fans.   Trio Bulgarka appeared on Kate Bush’s Sensual World which introduced Bulgarian vocal music to pop and rock audiences.   Further more, Philip Koutev, an arranger and composer also enjoyed popularity while western ears were introduced to open-throat singing and folkloric music of Eastern Europe.   Closer to home, San Francisco-based Kitka also includes Bulgarian folk songs in its repertoire that also includes Balkan, Russian, Ukrainian, and Hungarian songs. Bright, young and beautiful, the women vocalists who comprise Perunika Trio sing polyphony complete with the exclamatory whoop.   Lead by Eugenia Georgieva, the women hail from Bulgaria and Serbia originally and now make their home in the UK where they have won the ...

World Nilson Mattas Black Orpheus Motema Music The Greek myth featuring the love story about Orpheus and Euridice has captured the attention of music and movie makers.   In 1956, the Brazilian play, Orfeu da Conceicão hit the stages and the sound track, record players.   In 1959, French filmmaker Marcel Camus released the Academy Awards-winner Black Orpheus .   And the Brazilians hadn’t their last word.   Brazilian director Carlos Diegues brought us Orfeu in 1999 (which I have seen).   And this month, Brazilian bassist Nilson Mattas pays homage to the legend-love story with his CD Black Orpheus . Featuring 16 musicians performing both original songs, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfá and Vinícius de Moraes’ samba and bossa nova classics (from the Brazilian play and French movie) and it feels like Brazilian carnival has marched into my apartment.   Equal parts romantic, and effervescent, Black Orpheus feels like a spot of sun...

World Best of Buena Vista (An homage to Buena Vista Social Club) Arc Music In 1999 when I sat with my film colleagues and a film festival audience to watch Wim Wender’s documentary Buena Vista Social Club , I fell in love with Cuban son.   Coming from a background of youthful rock music, I felt in awe as I watched the octogenarian musicians that comprised Buena Vista Social Club perform sweet songs with total abandonment.   I realized that it takes multiple generations to preserve and perform music.   Since that time, several of the Buena Vistas died, including Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Rùben Gonzalez.   However, the spirit of Cuban son and Buena Vista Social Club is alive and well, as it appears on Best of Buena Vista. This CD features Pio Leyva, Juan De Marcos (musician responsible for the formation of Buena Vista Social Club), Puntilitta   Licea, Ruby Calzado, Maracaibo Oriental, Josè Artemio Castañeda, Raul Planas an...

World Sērgio Tannus Son Brasilego Folmusica (Spain) When I received a parcel from the Galician label Folmusica, I wasn’t expecting a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist CD.   Yet, Sērgio Tannus Son Brasilego reminds me of the proximity between Galicia (Northwest Spain) to Portugal.   The Gallego language of the Galician people also shares roots with the Portuguese language so even though Brazil is across the world from Spain or Portugal, Brazilian music shares connections with Galicia.   Besides, some of Galicia’s hottest folk musicians teamed up with Tannus on this sunny recording.   And not only that, I was surprised to see two artists (Ceumar and Antonio Zambujo) whose CDs I reviewed in recent months, sing on the songs, Água Quentinha (Ceumar) and Bethoven Tinha Razão (Zambujo). No wonder their voices felt like a deja vu experience. I much prefer the slower, more sensual pieces, but the samba pieces have me wishing for time on a sunny So...

Jazz Catherine Russell Strictly Romancin’ World Village/Harmonia Mundi (2012) A follow-up to her World Village CD, Inside This Heart of Mine Catherine Russell’s Strictly Romancin’ sizzles with nostalgia.   Opening with New Orleans jazz, Under the Spell of the Blues and then following that with the sultry ballad, I’m in the Mood for Love , why not revisit the album this Valentine’s Day? I admit, I’m reviewing the album a year after its release, but that just proves the staying power of this recording.   Russell has style to burn and she seems equally at ease belting out a bluesy piece as she does in conveying heartfelt emotions with the soulful ballads.   She kicks up dust with Wake Up and Live , which will cause listeners to wake up and dance. I enjoy watching Russell’s videos on YouTube too.   Check out her version of the saucy Kitchen Man or any of the promotional pieces from her World Village recordings.   On Strictly Romancin’...

World/ Classical Ballaké Sissoko At Peace Six Degrees Records West African kora, cello, guitar, and balafon (a West African xylophone) comprise Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko’s At Peace .   After the success of his duo project with French cellist Vincent Segal, Chamber Music , the musical partnership remains strong.   However, At Peace is clearly Sissoko’s spotlight recording with Segal, Moussa Diabate (guitar), Aboubacar Diabate (guitar) and Fassery Diabate (balafon) coming aboard as guests.   During a time when Mali experiences war and oppression, At Peace comes as a sweet breath of air.   During a time when the brightest stars of Mali (the country’s musicians) have been shut out, this music ripples throughout the world.   To put it mildly, the warring factions banned music and musicians in Mali.   However, that hasn’t prevented the musicians from gathering and recording CDs and videos which you can find on YouTube. The...