4 April 2012, World Cafe

1 Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa – Tamtakani (General Pattern)

Moroccan Aziz Sahmaoui with his band of brilliant Senegambian musicians, University of Gnawa, off his 2011 “Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa”.

2 Yemen Blues – Um Min Al Yaman (LevGroup)

Sticking in the North African, Middle East area, Yemen Blues are from Israel and centred around singer and composer Ravid Kahalani, who is of Yemenite extraction, and bassist and arranger, Omer Avital, who spent many years in NYC, playing mainstream jazz.

“Um min al yaman” was written by Kahalani and is about a dreamed journey up a mountain in which he sees his mother waving to him in greeting, but at the same time hears a voice telling him he is alone. The time signature is derived from a traditional beat called Da’Sa – I really love the arresting interplay between horns and strings. It’s from an album called “Yemen Blues”.

3 Tuneyards – Bizness (4AD)

Tuneyards is Merrill Garbus on ukulele, voice and layers of drum loops, and on their 2011 album, “Who Kill”, bassist Nate Brenner. In “Bizness” they throw everything into the mix including a bunch of African sounds, a bit like American indie pop darlings MIA, the Dirty Projectors and Vampire Weekend, only to my ears, Tuneyards is a more uncompromising and better proposition.

4 Fatoumata Diawara – Kanou (World Circuit)

On the subject of media darlings, that was Malian Fatoumata Diawara off her endlessly terrific debut album, “Fatou”. Distributed in South Africa by Sheer Music.

5 Abdu Owiti - Stephen Opio (Dust-to-Digital)


6 Stonik and Kiprono – Molildo Kiruk-Yuk (Dust-to-Digital)

Two obscure vintage gems from Kenya, the first by Abdu Owiti who is of the Luo people from Western Kenya, and the second by Stonik and Kiprono, who are Kipsigis, a pastoralist group. Both groups’ origins can be traced to Southern Sudan.

These recordings come from a remarkable 4 CD collection of vintage stuff all culled from 78 records commercially released for local audiences all around Africa - a bit like the highly influential Anthology of American Folk Music, which came out 60 years ago, only way more diverse. The collection is called “Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM”.

7 Alemayehu Eshete – Yeweyn haregitu (Buda Musique)

When we talk about old African recordings, Ethiopia is a serious well-spring. We’ve listened to the great singer Mahoud Ahmed on this show many times, but I think we’ve never heard Alemayehu Eshete, who is in fact just as soulful and scorching a singer. He started out in Addis’s Police Orchestra, which literally was the police band, had his first hit in 1961 and then founded the Alem-Girma Band with pianist, composer and singer Girma Beyene. “Yeweyn haregitu” is an Eshete and Beyene composition, from the early 70s available on the collection “Ethiopiques Vol 9: 1969 to 1974”.

8 Samuel Yirga – Abet Abet (Real World)

Samuel Yirga the keyboardist with the Ethiojazz-dub fusion band Dub Colossus, from his first solo release, the EP “Hegere” which came out last year.

9 Tommy McCook – Far East Dub (Jamaican Recordings)

Sumptuous pentatonic eastern-sounding horn arrangements and dub bring to mind Augustus Pablo and his so-called “Far Eastern” sounds. Tommy McCook recently released a collection of vintage tracks that came out in the 70s, “Dubbing with Horns”. To my ears, on this track McCook’s flute sounds a lot like Pablo’s melodica, although Pablo has nothing to do with this tune as far as I can tell.

10 Little Axe – Grace (On-U Sound)

Little Axe is the stage name for Bernard Alexander aka Skip McDonald - a longtime musician in the stable of the British dub label On-U Sound. McDonald has had a varied musical history which includes playing in the band behind the first ever rap hit song – “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang. Since 94, as Little Axe, he’s been doing a mix of gospel, blues, Americana and dub. “Grace” comes from another great album that On-U Sound put out in 2011, “If you want loyalty, buy a dog”.

11 Anibal Velasquez y su Conjunto – Cumbia Bogatana (Soundway)

From South of the Mason-Dixon Line to Jamaica, let’s carry on heading south to that furious bubbling cauldron of Afro-Caribbean sounds, Columbia. “Cumbia Bogatana” is out on Soundway’s magnificent collection “The Original Sound of Cumbia 1948 to 79”.

12 Maku Sound System – Esclavo Moderno (MAKU Sound System)

NYC-based Columbian fusion band, MAKU Sound System with “Esclavo Moderno” from their 2011 album, Makumbala – available to you on the Bandcamp website http://makusoundsystem.bandcamp.com/ for a price of your picking.

Viviana Benitez, the band’s manager, told me that that Esclavo Moderno was written by M. Llerena and originally done by Manuel Alvarez y Sus Dangers and released on Curramba Records in 1979. http://www.makusoundsystem.com/

I got to hear about MAKU and Yemen Blues on a podcast about the annual musical festival, Global Fest, at which they played this year. You can get the show on the “All songs considered” website – and I would strongly recommend you do that.

13 Roy Montrell – Every time I hear that mellow saxophone (Specialty)

There is some argument about whether New Orleans and indeed Havana are in the Caribbean, or whether the geographical description the Gulf of Mexico would not be more accurate. What is not under dispute is that both cities are intimately connected, at least musically.

New Orleans guitarist Roy Montrell’s early rock n roll from 1956, heavily infused with mambo, New Orleans style.

14 The Heavyweights Brass Band feat. Edrey from Ogguere – Nueva Orleans (Brownswood)

Cuban rap and NOLA brass band music anyone? The Heavyweights Brass Band, from Toronto, with Cuban rapper Edrey from Ogguere. From the second CD of BBC DJ Gilles Petersen’s latest 2-volume production and compilation adventures in Cuba – “Havana Cultura: The Search Continues”.

15 Dr John – When the saints go marching in (Parlophone)

If the HBO show “Treme” set in the music scene in New Orleans is to be believed, requests to play “When the saints go marching in” draw silent and not so silent groans from musicians. The song has been played to death. Well, maybe not … check out Dr John’s version in which he shares vocals with Mavis Staples from his album “N’wlinz: Dis dat or d’udda”.

I read about Dr John’s reclamation of the song in Ned Sublette’s fantastic book “The year before the flood”. He calls it a “dirge-tempo, minor, spiritual-church version”. He says the version “reminds us that jazz is partly rooted in the dirge, which is to say in making sure the ancestors are put away right”.

16 Pine Leaf Boys – La Valse de ‘Tit Oiseau (Valcour)

We can’t leave Louisiana without listening to some Cajun music. That was the Pine Leaf Boys with “La Valse de ‘Tit Oiseau” – a song by the great veteran songwriter and fiddler, Adam Hebert from Church Point. Many of his songs became classics. By the way, Wilson Savoy, on accordion and fiddle, is the son of the great Cajun revivalist couple – Marc and Ann Savoy. They appear more than a few times in the “Treme” series.

17 Laurie Levine – Not gonna cry (Rhythm Records)

And now to some Americana sounds from up North – north of the Orange River … Jo’burg. Laurie Levine off her fabulous 2011 release, “Six Winters”, and her song “Not gonna cry”. She comes to Cape Town once or twice a year – so go and see her.

18 Mandlakayise Mkhize – Izinombizakithi (Gallotone)

In the second half of 2011 Siemon Allen, the artist and collector, put up a truly heroic bit of crate digging and sonic dot connecting on the blog, “Electric Jive” – which he called “Maskanda Roots 1927 to 1964”. (http://electricjive.blogspot.com/2011/11/maskanda-roots-1927-1964.html)

Mandlakayise Mkhize with “Izinombazakithi” is from the more recent end of the spectrum.

19 Crocodile Male Voice Choir – Sasingaxabene (Better)

On the other end is the Crocodile Male Voice Choir from 1939. They are one of the oldest isicathamiya groups, helping to invent the style. Allen seems to claim them for Maskanda partly because of the vastrap style of accordion playing, a heavy feature of early Maskanda. He points out that the term “Maskanda” derives from the Afrikaans “musikant”.

20 Chanteurs a la Croix de Cuivre – Batata dia Bwanga (Dust-to-Digital)

Two vintage choral pieces, the last one from Kantanga Province in the Congo: Chanteurs a la Croix de Cuivre (Singers of the Copper Cross). Also from the “Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM” collection.

If you like the Opika Pende collection check out the website of the compiler, Jonathan Ward: http://excavatedshellac.com/


21 Baloji – A l’heure d’ete Saison Seche (Crammed)

From modern day Congo – Belgian rapper Baloji from his 2011 album recorded in Kinshasa – “Kinshasa Succursale”.

22 Charles Bradley – Golden Rule (Daptone)

62 year old soul shouter Charles Bradley from Gainesville, Florida with something from, believe it or not, his debut album, “No time for dreaming”, which he did for Daptone – home of Sharon Jones and the Daptones. You’re asking what has this to do with world music? Very little, arguably – I just love the razor sharp brass arrangements and that James Brown funky undercarriage. But you can also say those sounds had a huge impact on Africa in the 60s and 70s.

23 Missionary Mamie Sam – This may be my last time singing (Tompkins Square)

A few months ago we listened to something off the collection of obscure independent gospel releases “This may be my last time singing: Raw Gospel 45 Recordings 1957 – 1982”. Here is another track from it.

24 Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Shadrack(Fremeaux and Associes)

The great gospel singer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, with her trademark rock and roll accompaniment on her version of the McGimsey tune from 1953.

25 Kathy & Carol – Carter’s Blues (Elektra)

Kathy Larisch and Carol McComb only put out one record – the 1965 release on Elektra called “Kathy and Carol” – and it’s a real gem of the 60s folk revival. Both played guitar and autoharp and sang. They freely exchange melody and harmony lines in a close, tight but natural way. You have to wonder why this has never been reissued. By the way, Carol still performs and Kathy is an academic at the California College of Arts.

26 Kathleen McPeake – Eileen Aroon (Topic)

From the 1960s folk revival on the other side of the Atlantic, that was Kathleen McPeake with a Gaelic traditional song. Kathleen McPeake was a member of the family-based group from Belfast, the McPeakes. Wouldn’t you know that half the band were called Francis – father, son and grandson – and all Francises were crack Uilleann pipers.

27 Mary Hampton – Benjamin Bowmaneer (Teaspoon)

Mary Hampton shares Kathleen McPeake’s ethereal, mysterious vocal style. Hampton’s version of a mid-17th century folk tune, with added strange improvvy trumpet playing, from her 2011 album “Folly”.

28 Reet Hendriksen – Kui mina alles noor veel olin (Reindeer)

Norwegian singer Reet Hendriksen was a teenager in 1969, when she put out this song from an album of Estonian lullabies.

29 Didier Laloy, Bruno Le Tron, Markku Lepisto, David Munnelly, Riccardo Tesi - Reel Finlandia (Homerecords)

Here is something to take us away from the ethereal for a moment – a supergroup of diatonic accordion players ….. who meld together traditional folk, jazz, pop and classical. Finnish accordionist Markku Lepisto leads the pack on his tune “Reel Finlandia”.

30 Sinikka Langeland – Spring in the mountain (ECM)

The great Norwegian singer and kantele player. The trumpet opening is by genre defying Arve Hendriksen, whom we’ve heard here quite a few times.