Int'l adds coming 09 Oct
artist: Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salimtitle: Ceasefire
label: Riverboat
file under: int’l – THE worldmuzik buzz disc of the fall
grade: A
At approximately the age of seven Emmanuel Jal was pressed into service as a soldier in the Sudanese civil war, fighting for a number of years before meeting and being adopted by a British aid worker who smuggled him into Kenya. He now serves as the spokesman for the Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. On this album he is joined by singer, composer, and oud player Abdel Gadir Salim—their Christian/Muslim collaboration is symbolically moving, but is also musically fascinating; Salim's songs are steeped in both the urban and folk music of his region, whereas Jal is a rapper with roots in American and British hip-hop. They don't blend their styles as much as counterpose them, switching within the same song between Salim's powerful singing and Jal's promising (but not yet fully developed) flow. Highlight tracks include the spare and funky "Nyambol" (04), the strutting "Baai" (08), and an elegant number entitled "Hadiya" (07) in which the rhythm shifts subtly but completely about halfway through into a completely different pattern. It's an especially exciting moment on a generally thrilling album. (4 stars)
note: “Gua” (06) is a re-recording of a massive single for Jal—the original is on The Rough Guide to the Music of Sudan, which also has another cut from Salim.
reviewer: Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
artist: Freddy Fender & Flaco Jimenez
title: Dos Amigos
Label: Back Porch
file under: int’l – Tornadoes reunion!
grade: A
Jimenez and Fender spent their formative years scuffling in the cantinas on the Texas/Mexico border, playing the old songs, singing and laughing, and no doubt sometimes crying for chump change before they got breaks, hit the big time, laid down hits, won Grammy awards, and played with superstars. Dos Amigos is the joyous result of this pair going back to the first steps on the long bumpy road that made them living legends. These 14 songs are the old songs, the popular hits of the day nearly 50 years ago, and they are the ancient songs, the traditional polkas, corridos, and sons that every entertainer cut his teeth on. Recorded live in the studio, Fender and Jimenez are accompanied only by Max Baca on bajo sexto and percussionist Gabriel Zavala. The tape is rolling — there is discussion, much laughter, and above all the free-flowing passion of men in close camaraderie having a fine time. But this isn't a record that merely evokes nostalgia. Hardly. In fact, it is the sound of love: love for the music, love for the tradition, and the sheer love of playing together. The music is raw, genuine, effortless, and also loose, free-flowing, alive. The sheer joy of the performance is here in abundance, full of passion, pathos, happiness, and that bittersweet twinge in the heart that comes from reliving the art of memory. (4 stars)
Note: don’t miss the bleeped-clean intros (2/3 & 9/10)!
reviewer: Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
artist: Dengue Fever
title: Escape from Dragon House
Label: M80
file under: int’l – Cambodia-meets-LA
grade: A-
For their sophomore album, Dengue Fever switch away from their nearly all-covers repertoire to try something a little more bold — writing originals while still developing their rock-music-into-Cambodian-pop-and-back-again approach. Chhon Nimol's singing is again top-notch, even slipping in a bit of hip-hop flow on "Sui Bong" (02), while her greater fluency in English also creates more of a truly unique sound for the band. The Holtzman brothers again provide the musical core, with Ethan's work on organ providing the kind of smoky funk appropriate to the proceedings. Zac's guitar adds good crunch, but it's the strength of the overall arrangements that truly matters the most, as songs slip from bass/drum breakdowns to horn-driven explosions of joy. (3 ½ stars)
Choice Cuts: 02, 05, 01, 10, 03
reviewer: Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
artist: Baden Powell
title: Baden Live a Bruxelles
Label: Sunnyside
file under: Int’l / Brazilian acoustic
grade: A
Baden Powell died in September 2000 at the age of 63—this October 1999 concert, then, is something of a posthumous curtain call. Powell’s first hit in Brazil was penned back in the mid-1950s, so there’s nearly a half-century of material to draw on. Powell’s solo guitar compositions are mixed with others’ material, from Bonfá to Bach. Near the end are four vocal tracks co-written by Powell and Vinicius de Moraes. Some tracks are of extended length, while others have an accompanying intro track (e.g., 5/6, 8/9) preceding them. A beautiful solo acoustic set.
Instrumentals: 05/06, 03, 13, 01
Vocal tracks: 11, 15, 12
reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
artist: v / a
title: Diva Brazil
Label: StreetBeat
file under: int’l
grade: A / A-
I admit that the cover art does not bode well, but if you can get beyond it, this is a pleasant enough collection of Brazilian female vocal work with an electronica fizz. There are several familiar names: Jazzhino (01), Rosalia de Souza (03), Mosquitos (06), Arsenal (10), and Bebel Gilberto (13). Of the newbies, I particularly liked the bounce of the Swedish-Brazilian collective A Bossa Eletrica (08), who nail it down 30 seconds in and don’t look back. Ive Mendes (05) offers a pleasing English-language chugger. The hanging curveball of the set is “Domingo de Chuva” (12), featuring W holding forth on the economy.
Choice Cuts: 03, 08, 05, 01, 07
reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
posted by Anonymous @ 2:07:00 PM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home