2 October 2013, World Cafe

1 Los Desterrados – Esta Noche (Enkalador)
Album: Dos Amantes

Los Desterrados (The Exiles) are a six piece from London who draw their inspiration from Sephardic music, with all its multiple sub-categories arising in places where the Sephardic Jews moved to after their expulsion from Spain – Greece, Turkey, the Balkans and North Africa.  That was “Esta Noche”, sang in Ladino, the Latin-based language of the Sephardic - it seems to be some kind of tarantella. 

 

2 Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino – Tira Cavallu (Puglia Sounds/Discovery)

Album: Pizzica Indiavolata

Speaking of tarantella, more from Canzoniere Grenanico Salentino (check out August 2013).  They from the Puglia region of southern Italy and play a style called pizzica – similar to the tarantella and sung in the Greek dialect called Griko.  The new album, “Pizzica Indiavolata” is making waves, and it’s not difficult to see why.  Obtain forthwith.

3 Moussu T e Lei Jovents – Mon drapeau rouge (Le Chant du Monde)

Album: Artemis

The Marseilles based group with sounds inspired by the melting pot of 1930s Marseilles when blues and jazz rubbed shoulders with music from Caribbean, North Africa and Brazil and folk songs in Occitan and Provencal.   There’s also heavy does of ragamuffin in there – they are after all an offshoot of the Massilia Sound System.   “Mon drapeau rouge” is a tribute to Marseilles socialist tradition: “Pass me the red flag, let me hang it from the shutters, pass me the red flag and the black one, while you’re at it”.

4 Didier Laloy & Fabian Beghin – Ambriose’s Forest Party (Homerecords.be) (Fabian Beghin)

Album: Cryptonique

Heading to Belgium now, for an incredible interplay between chromatic and diatonic accordions. One of Beghin’s tunes off their 2008 outing. 

5 Radio Cos – Sete Cuncas (Fol Musica)

Album: Radio Cos

Radio Cos is from Galicia, North Western Spain, and essentially two singer-pandeireteiros, Henrique Peon and Xurxo Fernandes.  Henrique Peon is in fact Mercedes Peon’s brother, and just as enthusiastic as learning from and recording musicians in Galicia’s villages as her.  He draws on a rawer, old sound on this CD and is joined by accordionist Xan Pampin, violinist Nikolay Velikov and Pedro Lamas on various reeds and bagpipes. 

6 Ilaiyaraaja – Aa Kannula

Aa Kunnula

I was totally blown away when I found this old track by Ilaiyaraaja, the great composer for the Tamil film industry based in Chennai.  Rather than in Tamil, this song appears to be in Telugu, the speakers of which live just to the north of Chennai in Andhra Pradesh state.  It’s sung by SP Balasubrahmanyam Janaki.

Here’s clip from the related movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8iC-MV7Ivo

7 Shankar Jaikishan / Rais Khan – Raga Bairagi (EMI)

Album: Raga Jazz Style

Shankar Jaikishan with the sitar player Rais off their ground breaking 1968 album which helped invent the subgenre Indo Jazz.  Shankar Jaikishan is in fact a duo – Shankarsingh Raghwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal - who composed a mass of music for the Hindi film industry between 1949 and 1971.

8 Bachar Mar Khalife – Mirror Moon (Infine)

Album: Who’s gonna get the ball from behind the wall

We have sort special mini-focus on Beirut now, starting with something ultra-current – Paris-based and schooled classical pianist and percussionist, Bachar Mar-Khalife, the son of renowned Lebanese oud player, Marcel Khalife, and his radical interpretation of one of his father’s songs.

Here’s a clip of Bachar with his father, Marcel, on oud, brother, Rami, piano, and Bachar, on percussion doing the same tune: http://vimeo.com/51993055  
 

9 Fairuz – Marreit Beil Shawari (Voix De L’Orient) (SACEM)

Album: Rajioun

The most legendary of Beirut musicians is singer Fairuz, who’s been going since the 50s.  “Marreit Beil Shawari” is unbelievably from the early part of her career.  She was part of the three-person team (“the trinity”) with the Rahbani brothers, Mansour who wrote the lyrics and Assi, who became her husband, composed and arranged the tunes. 

A brilliant streamed podcast on Afropop Worldwide about Fairuz can be found at: http://www.afropop.org/wp/hipdeep/

10 Ziad Rahbani – Chirak  (Voix De L’Orient) 

Album: Bil Afrah

Fairuz’s son Ziad Rahbani also started coming in on the action in the 70s.  As well as a lyricist and composer, Ziad is also a playwright and political commentator.  “Chirak” is something he put together in 1972, based on an Armenian folk song.  He plays the accordion on the song.

11 Yasmine Hamdan – Shouei (Crammed Records)

Album: Ya Nass

Yasmine Hamden is another Beirutian now based in Paris.  Her praise song for Beirut from her new album called “Ya Nass”, meaning “Oh people”.  “Beirut, a flower out of season, what a waste if it withered.”

12 Jeroen Van Vliet & Sikeda – Al-Kirbah (Challenge Jazz)

Album: Thin Air

Leaving Beirut … some of might have been lucky enough to see Dutch pianist Jeroen van Vliet play with Carlo Mombelli and Kesivan Naidoo at the Mahogony Room in Cape Town in July or indeed other venues around the country.  If not (or even you did), check out this clip capturing their the Jo’burg stint of their tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnXGhZsWAOA&feature=share

Van Vliet is a fantastic player and composer who’s actually been to South Africa quite a few times since the 90s.  “Al-Kirbah” is he put together with a group called Sikeda for the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2008.  Sikeda is a six piece which includes Iranian born percussionist Afra Mussawisade.

13 Simo Lagnawi – Tourklila (Waulk Records)

Album: Gnawa London

London-based Moroccan Simo Lagnawi with his arrangement of a traditional Gnawa tune on which he plays all the instruments – the gimbri, qaragebs (castanets), and clapping.  It’s from a superb album of basically stripped down traditional Gnawa, called “Gnawa London” out on Waulk Records.

14 Djeli Mah Damba, Baba Sissoko – Djasere (Goodfellas)

Album: Baba et sa maman

One of the sources of Gnawa is the music of the Senegambia region, and I’m not sure we can get more authentic than the music of Djeli Mah Damba Koroba, a veteran singer from the Bamana areas of Mali, and her son, Baba Sissoko, who now lives in Italy.

15 Amadou Diagne – Aida (Waulk Records)

Album: Yakar

Senegalese singer, songwriter and guitarist, Amadou Diagne’s, who now lives in Bath in the UK.  His new album, “Yakar”, is another brilliant release on Waulk Records, produced by Griselda Sanderson who also produced Simo Lagnawi’s album.  Sanderson plays violin – and, I think you’ll agree – her playing really gels with the music and is a huge part of its excitement.

16 Dieuf-Dieul de Thies – Aling Na Djimbe (Taranga Beat)

Album: Aw Sa Yone Vol 1

Mbalax is probably Senegal’s most well known musical export, and a new Dakar-based label, Taranga Beat, has been exhuming forgotten gems from the dawn of mbalax in the 70s, especially from the city of Thies.  Their latest find is the band Dieuf-Dieul de Thies.

17 The Garifuna Collective – Alagan (Cumbancha)
Album: Ayo

The Garifuna Collective, located in Belize in the Caribbean, the cultural collective that Andy Palacio belonged to, with something off their brand new album, “Ayo”, which means “Goodbye”.  There was some question about what would happen to the Garifuna Collective after Palacio died unexpectedly in 2008, but luckily they’ve come through.  Ivan Duran who let up Stonetree Records, which is based in Belize and one of the main forces in keeping Garafunan culture and music alive, produced the album. 

18 Celia Cruz – Chango (Soul Jazz)

Album: Mirror to the Soul: Caribbean Jump-Up, Mambo and Calypso Beat 1954-77

Staying in the Caribbean, one of the greats of Cuban music is Celia Cruz – known as the Queen of Salsa.  She left Cuba in 1959 following the coup and ended up being one of the voices for NYC-based Fania Allstars in 1970s, which was one of the main forces behind the NYC Salsa scene.  Here is something that doesn’t sound like normal salsa, which is probably why I like it.  I found that on the new Soul Jazz collection called Mirror to the Soul: Caribbean Jump-Up, Mambo & Calypso Beat 1954-77.  It’s film, book and CD project.


















19 Chicha Libre – Juaneco en el Cielo (Barbes/Crammed)
Album: Canibalismo

Chicha Libre are a Brooklyn based group who take chicha, the music that developed in the slums of Lima in Peru in the late 60s and 70s that combines surf guitar with Andean folk, as their point of departure.  All kinds of samples and sequencers are deployed on the fine 2012 album, “Canibalismo”. 

 

20 Bomba Estereo – Rocas (feat. B’Negao) (Soundway)

Album: Eleganci Tropical

Bomba Estereo have taken things to even trashier dance spaces building on the Afro-Caribbean tradition of their home city, Barranquilla, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.  Some of you might have been lucky enough to see them in South Africa and Swaziland earlier this year.  “Rocas” is with Brazillian rapper MC B Negao.  Singer Liliana Saumet is the group’s irrepressible front person. Wish all dance music was this good.

21 Congo Nutty feat Rebel MC, Tenor Fly, Daddy Freddy & Nanci Correia – Get Ready (Ninja Tune)

Album: Jungle Revolution

Congo Nutty used to be Michael West aka Rebel MC and started this life as mover and shaker in the UK rap and hip hop scene.  Later he was a pioneer in London’s jungle scene.  After converting to Rastafarianism he dropped out of music and went to go and live in Ethiopia.  Luckily he’s back now and firing on all five, bringing all his musical legacies together with the great Adrian Sherwood behind the mixing desk. 

22 The Jamaican’s – Ba Ba Boom (Heartbeat)

Congo Nutty’s “Get ready” draws heavily on a classic rock-steady track by The Jamaicans.   

23  John Holt – Ali Baba (Treasure Isle)

24 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics – I Shave the Barber (Pressure Sounds)
Album: Pleasure Dub

Errol Brown’s quite fantastic 1974 dub remix of John Holt’s 1969 classic Ali Baba.  The dub version is called “I shave the barber” and credited to the great Jamaican sax player Tommy McCook and one of his backing bands, The Supersonics. 

25 Clinton Fearon – One Love (Stern’s Music)

Album: Heart and Soul

Staying in Jamaica … well sort-of … Clinton Fearon started his career playing bass and guitar and supplying his wonderful baritone in one of the great reggae bands of the 70s – The Gladiators.  He now lives in Seattle and has recently taken to doing stripped down versions of songs he wrote for The Gladiators.  Here’s a fine example from his latest album, which I promised a few months ago. 

26 Alex McMurray – All my rivers (Threadhead)

Album: I will never be alone in this land

Alex McMurray is singer songwriter living in New Orleans and steeped in its various traditions.  “I will never be alone in this land” really oozes this tradition.  You’ll see in action on the Season 2 of the HBO series Treme. 

27 Mavis Staples – Far Celestial Shores (Anti-)

Album: One True Vine

Speaking of singer songwriters steeped in Americana as I so often do, I thought it would a good idea to listen to Nick Lowe, who is in fact English, sometime.  Mavis Staples, one of the greats of soul, provides a good opportunity – she did a fabulous version of one of his gospel songs on her new Jeff Tweedy produced album “One True Vine”. 

28 Bill Frisell – A Beautiful View (Okeh/Sony)
Album: Big Sur

The inestimable Bill Frisell from his really great suite of new tunes that he wrote at Glen Deven Ranch on the Big Sur coastline in California.   

29 Unni Boksasp Ensemble – Reveenka (Unni Boksasp)

Album: Kvite fuglar

Norwegian Unni Boksasp started singing traditional songs, but has moved on to write her own songs which are very much in the tradition. 

30 Christian Wallumrod –  Banadsbangla (ECM)

Album: Outstairs

From composer, pianist and harmonium player Christian Wallumrod with his usual startlingly beautiful combinations of Norwegian folk, early church music, modern classical, improv and, here, Indian devotional music.