The Whole Music Experience

I'm re-posting this article which also appears in my book, Whole Music . For whatever reason, I woke up thinking about Samite today and the beautiful music he has graced us with. Add caption WM From the Heart of the African Bush: Conversation with Samite Mulondo Other journalists besides me have felt the soothing lullabies of Ugandan multi-instrumentalist Samite Mulondo. The storyteller -musician-humanitarian takes his audiences on journeys to the African bush and also deep into the human heart. Listening to his recordings provide an intimate musical experience and seeing Samite in concert provides a different type of emotional experience that opens eyes, ears and hearts. I first came across Samite when I was seeking African recordings to review for my former website, Cranky Crow World Music. Tunula Eno landed in my mailbox and as I listened to a beautiful set of songs I traveled through a gamut of emotions, from sweet humor to grief (the CD was dedicated t...

World/ Jazz   Carmen Souza Kachupada   Galileo Music Cape Verdean-Portuguese vocalist (and songwriter) Carmen Souza returns with Kachupada .  Exploring jazz and African Diaspora musical styles, Souza pushes musical boundaries singing in a voice that could claim soul sister-ship with American folksinger Victoria Williams.  She opens with the effervescent Manhã l de Dezembro followed by an accordion-laced Donna Lee (American jazz given a French swing makeover).  How do you even begin to describe the third track, Luta (Fight) , other than pan-Africa meets Brazil and Cuba?  Souza sings with syncopation along with poly phonic percussion, savory flute, and beatnik bass lines. As eclectic as the musical portion sounds, Souza possesses an otherworldly voice that when it grounds itself becomes deliciously earthy.  The arrangements by Souza and her producer Theo Pas’cal surprise, tease, and tickle our ears.  Souza’s version of My F...

Dobet Gnahore Na Afriki Cumbancha/Koch At the age of 12, vocalist-composer-dancer-percussionist Dobet Gnahorè told her father that she would not be attending school any longer, but instead would pursue a career in music. At the time of her declamation Gnahorè lived in an arts cooperative-village co-founded by her musician father in the capitol city of the Ivory Coast. And now at the age of 24, Gnahorè appears to be taking the musical world by storm. She draws comparisons to Zap Mama's Marie Daulne for instance--another trailblazer. Her pan-African-multidisciplinary approach, which includes dynamo drumming, turbulent dancing, and vocals that set souls on fire, certainly places her on the same pedestal as Angelique Kidjo and Miriam Makeba, two other performers in which Gnahorè draws comparisons. Her second recording, Na Afriki (not to be confused with Habib Koite's Afriki , out later this month), hops and skips around the African continent. Sometimes, she drops down...

Lura (Portugal/Cape Verde) M'bem di Fora Time Square/Lusa Africa Last year I had the great pleasure of seeing Afro-Portuguese Lura in concert in Seattle. So I was pleased to receive her upcoming (March 27 in North America) CD, M'Bem di Fora . This time around, the dancer-singer-songwriter has ventured further into her ancestral homeland, while sharing various rhythms from the Cape Verdean archipelago. She pleasures our ears and our feet with funana, batuku and the European mazurka (with an African face-lift). African music invites us to explore various rhythms, rituals and healing traditions. Cape Verdean music with its effervescent sounds, soulful rhythms and heartfelt vocals reminds us how to connect as humans and community. Lura brings us many simple stories backed by her stunning vocal talent. And I imagine that the songs on this CD will get the blood flowing and lift moods. It's too bad this recording won't be released in the U.S. until March 27th, because it ...