5 February 2014, World Cafe

1 Mulatu Astatke – Azmari (Jazz Village)
Album: Sketches of Ethiopia

 
 
 
 

In the 1960s when he was studying in the UK and US, composer and vibes player, Malatu Astatke came up with the amalgam of “5 tone” Ethiopian folk against Western “12-tone music” – as he calls it -  which got called Ethio-jazz.  He’s just released a new album with an expanded version of his British band, Step Ahead, called “Sketches of Ethiopia” – the allusions in the title to the Gil Evans and Miles Davis classic are deliberate.  “Azmari” refers to a kind of Ethiopian bards or griots – and you can almost hear their declamatory style of singing in there despite the lack of vocals.

2 TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo & Honore Avolonto – Setche weda (International Disque (MA 001))

Single

We’re coming up for Mardi Gras in March, the second line parades will get going in New Orleans in February, so I thought we should focus a bit more than usual on the music of New Orleans this month. 

One of the many elements of New Orleans music, and that certainly isn’t one thing, is music of West Africa, especially music from Benin and Yoruba areas in Nigeria, as percolated through the Caribbean, especially Haiti.  Let’s start in Benin with one of the favourites of this show – the totally wonderful or Tout Pouissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo.  An obscure single.

3 Lord Nelson – Shango (World Music Network)
Album: The Rough Guide to Voodoo

The syncretic Haitian religion, Vodou, has also had some influence especially at the level of lyrics – and there all kinds references to Vodou mythology in New Orleans music.  Calypso has never been at a loss for words, and one of the greatest songs about Vodou is by Lord Nelson and focuses on the Shango cults of Trinidad and Tobago.  It came out in 1978.

4 Dr John – My Indian Red (Warner Bros)

Album: Goin’ back to New Orleans

Dr John perhaps made the obvious overtures to Vodou, in fact he named himself after a prominent Vodou medicine man in the Louisiana area.  But he has also paid heavy homage to the Mardi Gras Indians, an essential part of the Mardi Gras tradition.  A few years ago, I played his version of the traditional New Orleans song, “My Indian Red”, that came was recorded as part of the HBO series “Treme”, which sadly has come to an end after season 4.  It was based on a swing arrangement that Danny Barker put together in 1947.  Here’s another version based on the same arrangement that Dr John brought out on his 1992 album, “Goin’ back to New Orleans”. 

5 Allen Toussaint – Lipstick traces (Rounder Records) (Universal)

Album: Songbook

Allen Toussaint is another great of New Orleans music.  Amongst his many musical abilities is moving seamlessly from New Orleans stride and boogie to sophisticated, elegiac chords.  This take of his song, “Lipstick Traces” in from a set recorded at Joe’s Pub in 2009, which Rounder Records brought out in 2013.

6 Professor Longhair – Big Chief Part 2 (Soul Jazz)
Album: New Orleans Funk vol.3 – The Original Sound of Funk

Professor Longhair was another incredible, much loved pianist and composer from NOLA.  Dr John definitely learned a few tricks from him, and aided him in many sessions. “Go to the Mardi Gras” is perhaps Longhair’s most well known tune, but I’ve played that already some time back.  “Big Chief Part 2” is some kind of b-side or outtake of “Big Chief”, another fairly well known song by him.

7 Chris Kenner – I like it like that (Metro Select)

Album: New Orleans: Gris Gris - Voodoo Grooves from the Crescent City

In the 50s and 60s New Orleans became a nexus for rock and roll and soul, and some of the best ever sides came from there.  This classic track was cut in 1961 with Allen Toussant, the pianist and arranger. 

8 Tami Lynn – Mojo Hana (Metro Select)

Album: New Orleans: Gris Gris - Voodoo Grooves from the Crescent City

In 1971 New Orleans soul singer Tami Lynn from Gert Town, NO, had some kind of hit with this song written by Clarence Paul and Andre Williams in the early 60s.

9 Mahalia Jackson – Didn’t It Rain (Legacy)

Album: The Best of Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson was probably the most celebrated gospel singer ever.  She was born and raised in New Orleans. “Didn’t it rain” is an old gospel song dating back to at least the 19^th century that appeared as sheet music in 1920s.  This version was recorded in New York, August 11th, 1958.

10 Nathan Abshire & The Balfa Brother – Nathan’s Lafayette Two Step (Ace Records)

Nathan Abshire Master of the Cajun accordion: the classic Swallow Recordings

Although not strictly a part of Mardi Gras, there is space to consider Cajun music as part of the canon of New Orleans music – as pointed out in the series “Treme”. In fact there are zydeco/Cajun festivities held at the time of Mardi Gras.  Accordion player Nathan Abshire is one of the greats of Cajun music.  This track was recorded in the 1960s for Swallow Recordings.

11 Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses) – After Mardi Gras (New West)

Album: The Low Highway

Ending off our special on Mardi Gras: “After Mardi Gras” is written for the TV series “Treme” by Steve and Lucia Micarelli the violinist-actress from series.  Earle, himself, also appears in the series.

12 Shovel & Rope – The Fall of Charleston (ATO Records)

Album: Various Artists - Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War

In 2013, Randell Poster, a so-called “music supervisor”, who worked on Broadwalk Empire, put together a wonderful collection of American Civil War songs specially recorded by a bunch of Americana luminaries.  Here’s something somewhat atypical of the project - a ramshackle version of the “The Fall of Charleston”, which is about evacuation of Confederate troops from Charleston and entering of Federal troops in 1865.

13 Lucy Ward – Marching through the green grass (Navigator)

Album: Single Flame

Lucy Ward released her second album in 2013.  This is her version of the traditional song.

14 The Full English – Arthur O’Bradley (Topic)

Album: The Full English

The English Folk Dance and Song Society has recently put together a digital archive of source materials called the Full English, which you should check out: http://www.vwml.org/search/search-full-english.

 

The Society commissioned Fay Hield, who we’ve heard from a number of times here, to create new arrangements for a number of songs on the archive and The Full English band and album was born.  The line-up is terrific – besides Hield, there’s Nancy Kerr, Martin Simpson, Seth Lakeman and Sam Sweeney. 

15 Georgia Ruth – Etrai (Gwymon)

Album: Week of Pines          

Welsh harpist, keyboardist, singer-songwriter Georgia Ruth Williams, or Georgia Ruth, as she’s now calling herself, released a fine album in 2013. 

16 Alasdair Roberts & Robin Robertson – Farewell to the Fowler (Stone Tape Recordings)

Album: Hirta Songs

The Hebridean archipelago of St Kilda was abandoned in 1930s and since then has become home to a number of bird colonies.  Alasdair Roberts’ latest project is a collaboration with poet Robin Robertson about the St Kilda.

17 The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues (2^nd Version) (EMI)

Album: Fisherman’s Box: The Complete Fisherman’s Blues Sessions 1986-1988

Before coming up with their fantastic album of 1988, “Fisherman’s Blues”, the Waterboys spent three years cultivating the new sound for the album and recorded a mass of stuff in the process, including several versions of the title track “Fishermans’s Blues”.  All that stuff has just been put on the 7CD collection called “Fisherman’s Box”.

18 Rant – Tha M’fhearann Saidhbhir (Own label)

Album: Rant

Rant are a fiddling supergroup of sorts – four of Scotland’s finest fiddlers, two from the Shetland Islands and two from the Highlands.  They are Bethany Reid, Jenna Reid, Sarah-Jane Summers and Lauren MacColl. 

19 Karim Baggili – Toummai (with Le Trio Joubran) (Homerecords)
Album: Kali City

Born in Belgium of Jordanian and Yugoslavian extraction, Karim Baggili normally plays classical guitar but for his 2013 outing, “Kali City”, he’s taken up the oud and the results are fantastic.  Here’s backed by what he calls his Arabic Band, the track was Toummai. 

Here a wonderful youtube of two tunes - Lea and Kash – watch to the end, you will not be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkm2qPGfhbA

20 Anoushka Shankar – River Pulse   -- written by Nitin Sawhney (Deutsche Grammaphon)
Album: Traces of you

Anoushka Shankar came up with a homage to her father in 2013 – remember, he died just over a year ago in his 90s.  This is a composition by Nitin Sawhney, who also produced the album.
 

21 Maziar – Bot (Pharaway Sounds)

Album: Goush Bedey: Funk, Psychedelia and Pop from the Iranian Pre-revolutionary Iran

Over the last few years I’ve played a bunch of pop music from pre-revolutionary Iran.  Pharaway Sounds have a new collection of that sort of thing. 

22 Jon Balke, Amina Alaoui, Jon Hassell, Kheir Eddine M’Kachiche, Barokksolistene – Ya Safwati (ECM)
Album: Siwan

In 2009 Norwegian keyboardist and composer, Jon Balke was commissed by the Oslo Club Cosmopolite to come with something reflecting a harmonious meeting of different cultures.  He took the Al-Andalus (or medieval Andalusia) as his basis and worked with a baroque ensemble, and musicians from Algeria, Iran, Morocco and Norway as well as trumpeter, Jon Hassel, to come with “Siwan” – which in the Latin-Arab hybrid language of Aljamiado, means “balance”. 

 

23 Augustus Pablo & The Upsetters – Pride (Pressure Sounds)

Album: Lee Perry and his Upsetters present Roaring Lion: 16 Untamed Black Ark Masters & Dubplates)

The great British reggae re-issue label, Pressure Sounds, have uncovered yet more unreleased material by Lee Perry from the Black Ark period in the mid to late 70s.  This is something with melodica player Augustus Pablo at the fore, a great producer in this own right. 

24 Carlton and the Shoes – Love Is All (Studio One)

Album: Love me forever

From the same period as those Black Ark recordings, Carlton and the Shoes with “Love is all” from their 1968 album “Love me forever” recorded at Studio One.

25 Debademba – Djiki (World Village)

Album: Souleymane

Debademba is a Paris-based paring of guitarist and percussionist Abdoulaye Traore from Burkino Faso and Malian singer, Mohamed Diaby. They have a new album out.  “Djiki” features the flautist, Naissam Jalal.

26 Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – Poye 2 (Out Here)

Album: Jama Ko

Buried in the one of the great albums from 2013 is kind of a blues with very obvious links to delta blues – basically a celebration of west African blues with Taj Mahal guesting.

27 Van-Anh Vo – Green River Delta (Innova Recordings)

Album: Three-Mountain Pass

Van-Anh Vanessa Vo is an emerging composer and player from Vietman, who trained for decades in Hanoi and is now based in San Francisco.  This is a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet on which she plays the dan Tranh, which a 16 string zither resembling the koto.

28 Laraaji – I Am Sky (All Saints Records)

Album: Celestial Music 1978 – 2011 (Cosmic Tape Experiments)

Autoharp player Laraaji Nadabrahmananda is often associated with the new age, but that probably is to do him a disservice.  He’s a wonderfully inventive player who’s taken the instrument into new dimensions, especially with his tape experiments.  All Saints Record have collected a bunch of his stuff of his more obscure stuff from between 1978 and 2011 on “Celestial Music 1978 – 2011 (Cosmic Tape Experiments)”.

29 Andrew Bird – Hover I (Grimsey)

Album: I want to see Pulaski at night

Andrew Bird off his new EP with one of his own tunes. 

1 January 2014, World Cafe

1 Frigg – Polkka V (Displeasement Polka) (Sibelius Academy Folk Music Recordings)
Album: Polka V

2 JPP – Speedy Slam (RockAdillo)

Album: String Tease

Two short, sharp, fast and furious mass fiddle tunes from Finland.  Frigg which is actually at Finnish/Norwegian band) Polkka V came out in 2013.  JPP basically invented the Finnish fiddling tradition and Speedy Slam is from 15 years earlier  At core of both Frigg or JPP is the same family, the Jarvela – one or two generations apart.

3 Renaud Garcia-Fons – Camino de Felicidad (Enja)

Album: Beyond the Double Bass

Garcia-Fons is a French bassist of Catalonian decent. He’s known for musical explorations across Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Flamenco as well as classical and jazz traditions.  His daughter, Solea Garcia, does some wonderful Flamenco tinged singing on “Camino de Felicidad”.   

4 Esma Redzepova – Abre Babi Sokerdzan (Vlax Records)

Album: Stand Up, People

One of greats of Yugoslavian music in the 70s from one of the best collections of 2013 – “Stand Up, People” – basically Roma music from Tito’s socialist state between 1964 and 1980.  If nothing else, there seems to be some consensus that Tito was actually pretty good at tolerating and supporting the Roma populace.

5 Koby Isrealite – Crayfish Hora (Suite Part 4)

Album: Blues from Elsewhere

Koby Isrealite is an Isreali-born South London multi-instrumentalist – and I mean that – he plays just about everything string, wind, key and skin based – including his favourite, the accordion.  And he’s a played in a bunch of settings too – classical, jazz and speed metal.   His new album, called appropriately “Blues from Elsewhere” is some kind of Balkan, middle-eastern, south Asian rhythm and blues concoction. 

6 Monsieur Doumani – Cypriot Sousta (Monsieur Doumani)

Album: Grippy Grappa

The Cypriot band Monsieur Doumani put out one of the most original albums of 2013 – free wheeling arrangements of traditional songs for the bouzouki-like tzouras often strummed with some fury, and trombone and flute. 

7 Cigdem Aslan – Bir allah (One God) (Asphalt Tango)
Album: Mortissa

Turkish-born, and now London based singer Cigdem Aslan put out a cold-stone instant classic in 2013 – her take on rembetika across the Turkish-Greek divide, sung in both language, backed by some musicians with deep knowledge and subtle ability.

8 Omar Souleyman – Mawal Jamar (Ribbon)

Album: Wenu Wenu

Omar Souleyman is no stranger to this show, thanks to the label Sublime Frequencies.  They took him from basically only playing at weddings around Syria - and he’s been incredibly successful at that, his cassette releases recording those wedding over the last 20 years are numerous and very popular – to playing around the world.  In 2013 he released his first studio album, with his long-time keyboardist Rizan Sa’id at his right hand. 

9 Debruit & Alsarah – Alhalim (Soundway)

Album: Aljawal

Another fascinating album from 2013 is a teaming of French musician and producer, Debruit and Sudan-born and now Brooklyn-based singer Alsareh. They’ve been experimenting and refining their sound over the last two years. 

10 Padraig Rynne, Donal Lunny & Sylvain Barou – Lesnoto Horo (Rib Records)

Album: Triad

For some reason I haven’t seen any hype about an album that three great Irish musicians put out in 2013.  It’s Triad, by Donal Lunny who should need no introduction, Padraig Rynne, a magnificent concertina player, and Sylvain Barou whose been punting Breton music in Ireland for some time now.   

11 Linda Thompson – Paddy’s Lamentation (Topic Records)
Album: Won’t be long now

The classic Irish song, “Paddy’s Lamentation”, which dates to the time of the American civil war, from Linda Thompson fabulous new album.   

12 Lisa Knapp – Hunt the Hare Part II (feat. Alasdair Roberts) (Navigator)

Album: Hidden Seam

Speaking of great English singers, Lisa Knapp, part of the new generation of singer and songwriters inspired by the English song tradition put a pretty great sonically adventurous record in 2013 produced by Gerry Diver (who we’ve heard here before and who happens to be her husband).  “Hunt the Hare” is a duet with the fabulous Scottish musician Alasdair Roberts.  More from him in February.

13 The Young Tradition – Wondrous Love (Fledg’ling)
Album: Oberlin 1968

Live recordings of a concert given by an a capella trio of English traditionalists and rule breakers, The Young Tradition, in 1968 at Oberlin College in Ohio, surfaced recently and were put out on the label Fledg’ling in 2013. 

14 Catrin Finch, Seckou Keita – Robert Ap Huw Meets Nialing Sonko (Astar Artes/Mwldan)
Album: Clychau Dibon

Harp collaborations were something of a trend in 2013 and one of the best was between Welsh harpish and Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player, Seckou Keita who now lives in Nottingham. 

15 Sidi Toure – Ay Takamba – My Takamba (Thrill Jockey)

Album: Alafia

2013 saw a spate of releases from Malian musicians working through the fundamentalist take-over in the north of the country, which for now at least has thankfully been pushed back.  Guitarist and singer Sidi Toure hails from Gao, a city in the northern most part of Mali.  His latest album “Alafia” which means “Peace” is out on the Chicago-based, predominantly post rock label, Thrill Jockey.

16 Bombino – Imuhar (Nonesuch)

Album: Nomad

Bombino, the Tuareg group from Agadez, Niger, put out a fabulous album in 2013, produced by Dan Auerbach in his Nashville studio.  At the centre Omara Moctor who has personal affected by many of the Taureg rebellions in Niger.

17 Lobi Traore – Jama (System Krush)

Album: Bwati Kono (In the Club) Vol 1

One of greats of so-called Mali blues, Lobi Traore.  In Lobi Traore’s case mali blues means a mix of Bambara rhythms and Jimi Hendrix guitar.  Traore died unexpectedly in 2010 and a bunch of live, nightclub recordings are beginning to emerge – they’re actually far fuller sounding and more adventurous than his studio outings.   

18 Ebo Taylor & Uhuru Yenzu – Victory (Mr Bongo)

Album: Conflict Nkru!

In 2012 I was pretty enamored with Ghanian highlife and afro-beat veteran, Ebo Taylor’s release “Appia Kwa Bridge”.  In 2013 the label Mr Bongo reissued something from 1980 – Conflict Nkru! – which is a kind of looser, funkier affair than the usual highlife. 

19 Jupiter & Okwess International – Mwana Yokatoli (Out Here Records/Proper)
Album: Hotel Univers

Jupiter & Okwess International from Kinshasa put out their first international release in 2013 – up there with the best of the year.    

20 Le Grand Kalle – Naweli Boboto (Sterns Music)

Album: His Life, His Music

Joseph Kabasele might not be as well known as Franco but he basically invented Congolese rhumba in the 1956. His recordings have been quite difficult to get up until Sterns released a double-disc retrospective.  Le Grand Kalle is the handle he often went by. 

21 Christine Salem – Maloki (Cobalt)

Album: Salem Tradition

Christine Salem is one the most recent, but one of the most creative purveyors of Maloya music from Reunion.  Maloya is rooted in slave music and Christine Selem takes it into other dimensions by cutting it with rhythms from mainland Africa and singing in a bunch of languages – Reunion creole, Malagasy, Comoran and Swahili. 

22 Dora Juarez Kiczkovsky – A la Una yo Naci (Tzadik)
Album: Cantos Para Una Diaspora

Heading to Mexico where Dora Juarez Kiczkovsky lives.  Juarez traces her roots to Eastern Europe, Spain and Argentina and Israel and tries to link all those cultures to the music of Mexico through her interpretation of traditional Sephardic songs.  “A la una yo naci” is sung in Ladino.

23 Siba – Canoa Furada (Leaking canoe) (Mais Um Discos)

Album: Avante

Siba is Sergio Roberto Veloso de Oliveira and was born in Recife into a family of musicians and poets and one of the founders of the manguebeat movement in the 90s which combined traditional Northeastern Brazilian with western pop music – following on from the Tropicalia movement of the 60s and earlier 70s.  Since then he’s sought to expand his music even further. 

24 The Skatalites – Smiling (Spectrum Audio UK)

Album: Top Deck Presents: Ska Instumentals

2013 saw the release of a bunch of totally fantastic collections of classic ska track from the 60s.  The Top Deck label was one of the first ska labels – it was formed in 1960 by two brothers, Philip and Ivan Yap.  Every track on the two cd collection “Top Deck Presents Ska Instrumentals” is worth hearing. 

25 Don Drummond – Green Island (Soul Jazz)

Album: Studio One Ska Fever! (More Ska Sound from Sir Coxsone’s Downbeat)

Trombonist and composer Don Drummond was one of the greats of the ska scene but his career was cut short in 1965 when he was ruled criminally insane after being convicted of killing his longtime girlfriend.  He died in prison in 1969.  His tune “Green Island” is on another magnificent collection of ska – “Studio One Ska Fever”.

26 Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Halfway Right, Halfway Wrong (Sony Legacy)

Album: That’s It!

One of the main keepers of the flame of parade-based jazz from New Orleans, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, in 2013 released their first album of self-penned songs and tunes – “That’s It”.  Jim James from My Morning Jacket, who’s had a long association with the band, co-produced the album, and there a bunch of luminary co-writers too – including Paul Williams. 

27 Nick Lowe – Silent Night (Proper Records)

Album: Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family

Who would have thought Silent Night could sound so groovy.  Nick Lowe’s version is on his new album, which is actually a Christmas album.   

28 Leyla McCalla – Mesi Bondye (Dixiefrog)

Album: Vari-Colored Songs

Staying in the NOLA neck of the wood, Leyla McCalla, a sometime member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, lives New Orleans now.  Her 2013 album is mainly based on Langston Hughes poems, includes some old Creole songs from the area. 

29 Stein Urheim & Mari Kvien Brunvoll – Sound of his motor (Jazzland Recordings)

Album: Daydream Twin

Stein Urheim and Mari Kvien Brunvoll are from Norway.  I really like their album from 2013 – Daydream Twin. That song was called “Sound of his motor”.

30 Chris Wildman – Eagle-man (self-released)

Album: Solo Flight

Loyal listeners will remember Chris Wildman who presented this show a few years ago.  In 2013 he brought out an album of his own compositions for solo piano called “Solo Flight”.  Contract Chris at chris.musicplay@gmail for more details.

4 December 2013, World Cafe

1 Jupiter & Okwess International – Yaka (Out Here Records/Proper)
Album: Hotel Univers

Jupiter & Okwess International have been going in Kinshasa from early 90s but only just brought out their first international release.  They’re being marketed as part of the Congotronics scene – Staff Benda Belili, the Kasai Allstars, Konono No1 - the music of the multiple rural ethnicities of Kinshasa played on amplified instruments on the street at distorting high volumes.  The hype goes that Jupiter Bokondji got his edgy chops playing in East Berlin rock bands in the early 80s – he’s diplomat’s son. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Owiny Sigoma Band – Jonny Ra Ha (Brownswood)

Album: Power Punch

Continuing with more new edgy African sounds this time from Kenya: the Owiny Sigoma Band are teaming British post-rock musicians, the Elmore Judd Collective, and nyatiti player (the nyatiti is kind of lyre) and teacher Joseph Nyamungu and drummer Charles Owoko who met and recorded their first album in 2011 in the village of Owiny Sigoma (hence their name) under the auspices of “Art of Protest”, a voluntary organization promoting local music.  Their new album called “Power Punch” and was recorded in London and it’s definitely a punchier affair than their first. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Tanama (Localization Records)

Album: Faya

Rounding off our little look at the noisier side of African fusion is the wah wah kora playing of Sekou Kouyate, the Guinean who plays with Ba Cissoko and London-based New Yorker rapper-guitarist Joe Driscoll. 

4 Vieux Farka Toure – Kele Magni (Six Degrees)
Album: Mon Pays

Turning things down a notch, Vieux Farka Toure, like most Malian musicians contemplates the recent events in his country on his new album.  He’s from the Timbuktu area – pretty much of the epicenter of the fundamentalist take over.  Sidiki Diabate, a kora player like his father Toumani Diabate’s son, features heavily on the album. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Etran Finatawa – Ahewalen  (Riverboat)

Album: The Sahara Sessions

The fundamentalist incursion into Mali occurred on the back of some kind of nationalist Taureg uprising – one of many that have occurred in the region over the years.  Etran Finatawa, from Niger have both Taureg and Wodaabe members – the Wodaabe being another historically nomadic group with its own language, history and traditions – and their reaction was to head for the desert and record a set of subdued fireside largely acoustic jams that reflect a cross-cultural solidarity of people stuggling in the face of modernity, conflict, poverty and arbitrary national borders.  On a sadder note, one Etran Finatawa’s co-founder, Bagui Bouga, died recently on tour in Switzerland.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Tamikrest – Itous (Glitterbeat)

Album: Chatma

 Tamikrest, although a relative young band, are emerging as one of the greats of Taureg rock.  After the incursion they are living in Algeria and their album, Chatma (sisters), deals the courage of Tuareg women and the suffering of the past year.  The magnificent singer Wonou Walet Sidati, who cut her teeth in Tinariwen, is in full flight and they conjure a wonderfully heavy, dubby sound. 

7 Sons of Kemet – Going Home (Naim)

Abum: Burn

Global fusionists with their set up of double drums, tuba and various reeds - the great Seb Rochford is one of the drummers. 

8 David Buchbinder – La Roza Dos (Tzadik)

Album: Walk to the Sea

Trumpeter David Buchbinder is from Canada and for the Ladino song “La Roza” he teamed up with the Cuban pianist, Hilario Duran.  It comes from a lovely album out on the label Tzadik called “Walk to the Sea”.

9 Gabriele Coen Jewish Experience – Leena from Palestinab (Tzadik)
Album: Yiddish Melodies in Jazz

Staying with the label Tzadik, but exploring the nexus of Jewish music and jazz a bit more overtly, the Gabriele Coen Jewish Experience with the 1920’s Con Conrad and J Russel Robinson tune, “Leena from Palestina”.  Gabriele Coen plays various saxes and clarinet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Sezen Aksu – Kacincam Seni… (World Village)

Album: Optum

Sezen Aksu is one of the greats of Turkish pop music.  She became ultra famous in the 70s when she performed songs she had written herself and since then has apparently sold more than 20 million albums. She is also known for her daring – singing in Kurdish when it was officially banned in Turkey. Optum was release in 2012. 

11 Monsieur Doumani – The Forest Ranger (Monsieur Doumani)
Album: Grippy Grappa

Monsieur Domani are a young Cypriot trio who play guitar, bouzouki-like tzouras and variety of woodwinds and do fabulous free-wheeling arrangement of traditional songs. 

12 Rena Stamou – Bed of Pain (Mississippi/Change Records/Tompkins Square)

Album: Bed of Pain: Rembetika 1930-55

“Bed of Pain” -  an absolute classic rembetika tune recorded in 1950 by Rena Stamou, one of the most famous rebetisses, who was 19 at the time, and written by the great bazouki innovators in the genre – Vassilis Tsitsanis.  The song was apparently inspired by a rich married women with whome Tsitanis had an affair and who died of TB shortly after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 Cigdem Aslan – Pane gia to praso (Asphalt Tango Records)

Album: Mortissa

The combined Turkish and Greek origins of rembetika have been much discussed, and Cigdem Aslan, a Turkish Kurd who now lives in London, celebrates these origins together with Jewish and Armenian ones on her album.

14 Cuneyt Sepetci and Orchestra Dolapdere (LM Dupli-cation)
Album: Behriye Ciftetellisi

Orchestra Dolapdere is named after a Roma area of Istanbul and clarinet player Cuneyt Sepetci is main star.  They play modern takes on classic Turkish Roma music as well as folk songs from Albania, Macedonia and Spain.  They have a collection called “Bahriye Ciftetellisi” out on A Hawk and A Hacksaw’s own label called LM Dupli-Cation.

15 Meridian Brothers – El Jazz Del Chupasangres (Staubgold)

Album: Devocion (Works 2005 – 2011)

The Median Brothers is basically mainly Eblis Alvarez (although he’s helped by fairly constant group of musicians) and he’s appeared on a bunch of international releases recently, but he did three albums of quirky, experimental electronically based re-inventions of classic urban Columbian music between 2005 and 2011 not available outside of Columbia until now.  “Devocion” is a collection of that stuff.

16 Chico Cervantes y su Conjunto Internacional – Cumbia de la paz (Caliente)
Album: En la Onda de Chico Cervantes

The tune is from 1973.  The singer is Cesar Cerventes.

17 Nana Vascencelos – Berimbando (Far Out Recordings)
Album: 4 Elementos

Heading further south to Brazil, Nana Vasconcelos is one the most famous percussioinists and folk-jazz musicians of the last 45 years and he’s still going strong.  One of his best instruments is the berimbau – a bow with the resonator and hitting stick – basically the same as the instrument found in Southern Africa (called an uhadi here) and most famously played by Madosini.  This is a berimbau piece as its name would suggest. 

18 Bessie Jones – O Day (Mississipi Records)

Album: Georgia Se Island Singers: Join the Band

The Georgia Sea Island Singers are from the island of St Simon, one of string of islands that run from South Carolina to Florida.  This a 1960’s recording made by Alan Lomax of “O Day” with singer Bessie Jones at the forefront.  There’s some fabulous fife playing and voices used in lieu of drums, which were banned when this music was being forged in the 19^th century.

19 Brushy One-String – Chicken in the Corn (RiseUp Original Version) (RiseUp Entertainment)

Album: The King of One String – Acoustic

Sticking in the same sonic neck of the woods and in the general geographic neighbourhood - Brushy One-String is from Jamaicia and as his name suggests plays a one-string guitar (the low E string in case you were wondering). He mashes things up nicely.  His most well known tune is “Chicken in the corn” – a sort of highly jaunty country-blues rap reggae.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra – Fu Man Chu (Axe Attack Ltd)

Album: The Benevolence of Sister Mary Ignatius

Lee Thompson and Mark Bedford from the ska-revival Madness convened some sessions to have a go at playing the ska and early reggae tunes that inspired them in their youth.  A pretty great album resulted.  “The Benevolence Of Sister Mary Ignatius” named after a teacher at the Alpha School for Boys in Kingston, Jamaica, where the first ska musicians received their music education.  Desmond Dekker song “Fu Man Chu” was first recorded in 1968.  Rootsy dub producer of the moment, Mike Pelanconi – aka Prince Fatty – does the production honours.

21 The Abyssinians – Declaration of Rights (Studio 1 Records/Jamrec Music)

Single

Speaking of roots reggae, one of the best exponents were The Abyssinians and one of their best songs is Declaration of Rights. 

22 Hannah Martin & Phillip Henry – The Nailmaker’s Strike, Pt 2 (Dragonfly Roots)

Album: Mynd

Devon-based Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry’s fabulous intertwining of the Declaration of Rights and trad classic Poverty Knock.  They call it The Nailmakers Strike and it commemorates an 1862 worker march in Bromsgove. 

23 Linda Thompson – Never put to sea boys (Topic Records)

Album: Won’t be long now

Linda Thompson has new album out and she’s enlisted most of her family in its making – Jack, Kami, Muna, Teddy and ex-husband Richard.  “Never put to sea boys” is a tradish sounding shanty she co-wrote. 

24 Qetiq – Qizdar (Dreyer Gaido)
Album: Qetiq: Rock from Taklamakan Desert

Qetiq are a Uyghur band from Xinjiang in NW China and have come up with a rather fetching mix of rock and traditional music from the region.  “Rock from Taklamakan Desert” is their first international album.

25 German Khatylaev, Claudia Khatylaev – The Sacred Bird (L’Oiseau sacre)

Album: Arctic Spirit (Music from the Siberian North – Sakha People)

From way north - Sakha or Yakutia which is part of Siberia – German and Claudia Khatylaev have been on a mission to preserve the music of Sakha and been collecting songs and instruments and creating ensembles and repertoires for years now.  Artic Spirit: Music from the Siberian North is a fairly epic sounding collection of some of their work. 

26 Spiridon – Ajanyum Artyha (Cinq Planetes)

Album: Guimbardes

The khomus, a kind of jaw’s harp, is the national instrument of Sakha and Spiridon Spiridonovich is a key player.  This should blow your head off. 

27 Kelompok Kampungcan – Hidup Ini Seperti Drama (Light in the Attic)

Album: Mencari Tuhan

Kelompok Kampungcan were a sort of psychedelic folk band using instruments of their own making and operating in the late 70s and early 80s in Indonesia --- and were banned at the time for their effort.  The re-issue label Light in the Attic released their almost impossible to find album “Mencari Tuhan”. 

28 Arve Henriksen – Saraswati (Rune Grammafon)

Album: Place of Worship

A cracking track off Norwegian trumpeter Arve Hendriksen’s new album.