W♥M

Global Roots Festival at the Cedar Cultural Center (25 Sep 2024)

Global Roots Festival 2024 GRF DAY 1 Monday, September 23, 2024 FRÄNDER and BALKAN PARADISE ORCHESTRA Doors: 7:00 PM / Show: 7:30 PM All Ages / Standing GRF DAY 2 Tuesday, September 24, 2024 USTAD NOOR BAKHSH and RAMON CHICHARRON Doors: 7:00 PM / Show: 7:30 PM All Ages / Standing GRF DAY 3 Wednesday, September 25, 2024 MONA MIARI and KOBO TOWN Doors: 7:00 PM / Show: 7:30 PM All Ages / Standingco Read More Global Roots Festival 15 years since its inception, the Global Roots Festival is returning to the Cedar Cultural Center this September 23 to 25, 2024. The three-day event is free and open to the public and offers accessible, free …

The last night of the Global Roots Festival, presented by the Cedar Cultural Center, just ended its three-day event on a very high note with the Arabic music of Mona Miari, and the reggae-dance music of Kobo Town.

On the first night, September 23, the Cedar featured Estonia’s Fränder (featuring three siblings Daniel, Gabbi and Natasja) and Barcelona’s Balkan Paradise Orchestra.

On the second night, September 24, Balochistan’s Ustad Noor Bakhsh and Montreal-based Colombian multi-instrumentalist Ramon Chicharron were the guests.

Ramon Chicharron at Global Roots Festival (24 Sep 2024)

We reported on the event, describing Chicharron’s show as, “…what drove the evening was the beat of the drums, the guitar, the keys and Chicharron’s rapid-fire delivery. It was difficult not to move around even if most didn’t know the dance steps.”

Starting the third night was New York’s Mona Miari (منى ميعاري). Miari was born in Chicago, but she found herself embarking in her music career in Palestine with the “Jerusalem - The Capital of Arabic Culture 2009” festival.

All her songs, sung in Arabic, tells her stories - everything from her family (mother and father), to falling in love during a city siege.

As an introduction to one of her songs about being homesick and reuniting with your loved ones, she got a little emotional and couldn’t hold back her tears. Clearly, she was thinking of someone very close to her heart.

Closing out the night was Toronto’s Kobo Town. They were introduced as a band of immigrants; all the band members were originally from across the globe. The band’s singer and frontman is Drew Gonsalves, who was originally from Trinida (where he took the ‘Kobo Town’ name from a district in Port-of-Spain).

Their music is very reggae-heavy, but more upbeat, like ska or dancehall music.

Gonsalves asked if the audience saw them the last time they were here. When there were some ‘woot’ feedback, he joked that the Minnesota audience had very long lives.

It really wasn’t that long ago, but their first Minneapolis show was at the Cedar on September 5, 2013 (11 years ago).

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Kobo Town at Global Roots Festival (25 Sep 2024)

vu ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Ustad Noor Bakhsh and Ramon Chicharron at the Cedar Cultural Center (9-24-2024)

Global Roots Festival: Ustad Noor Bakhsh and Ramon Chicharron Vuart Push the Button Read More Global Roots Festival 15 years since its inception, the Global Roots Festival is returning to the Cedar Cultural Center this September 23 to 25, 2024. The three-day event is free and open to the public and offers accessible, free …

We Heart Music got the chance to check out the middle night of the Cedar Cultural Center’s three-night Global Roots Festival, a free event featuring musicians from all over the world.

The first act was a rare one as Ustad Noor Bakhsh has embarked on a North American tour at an age when most are retiring. He is from Pakistan, born in the coastal town of Gaddani to a nomadic family of shepherds. But when he first heard the benju, he knew immediately he wanted to learn everything about it.

The benju can best be described as a slide guitar with typewriter keys. It almost looks like a tenor saxophone if you tried to flatten it into a traveling piano. It has the plucky, metallic sound of a zither, but the keys allow Bakhsh to flutter up and down the instrument, improvising and conveying his own distinct voice.

Bakhsh was joined on stage by Daniyal Ahmed who played damburag, a long-necked lute. Ahmed was also the translator, road manager and is also a professor of anthropology at Habib University in Karachi. Sadly, their flute player had an accident early in the day and was resting back at the hotel. But Bakhsh’s intricate, nimble finger play of South Asian Ragas and traditional Pakistani Balochi music kept the audience transfixed.

After a brief intermission, Ramon Chicharron and his band took the stage to get the crowd moving.

Chicharron is from Columbia but currently residing in Montreal. His style of music is described as Columbian tropical pop fusion featuring dance styles like Cumbia, Champeta and Dembow.

Although far from his coastal home, Chicharron has found a welcoming home in Canada. His albums have been well received, winning twice “Album of the Year” for 2021- Pescador de sueños and 2022 - Destello de estrellas at the Latin Canada Awards. He just released Niebla on September 13th, and he featured songs about walks through Canadian woods, the contemplative life of Columbian fishermen who only harvest what they need for the day and reflecting on a time before smartphones when stars were used to help guide travelers.

But what drove the evening was the beat of the drums, the guitar, the keys and Chicharron’s rapid-fire delivery. It was difficult not to move around even if most didn’t know the dance steps.

I was surprised to see a section of the audience with notebooks. They looked like U of M students, jotting furiously as if they were in some music theory class. Perhaps, they were. But they should remember the most important part of music: it’s fun. Or as Ustad Noor Bakhsh explained in a 2023 interview with The Guardian: “When I play the benju, I’m still young.”

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Ustad Noor Bakhsh at Cedar (24 Sep 2024)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Lucibela at the Cedar Cultural Center (09/16/2022)

Setlist Amdjer KÁ Bitche Txe Txu Fla Violeiro Laço Umbilical Ven Presto Amor Novo Olhar Profilaxia Bombena Adeus Mamã Mal Amadu Alma Gêmea Justa Recordação Amdjer Ka Bidje Prece Dum Fidje Estronhe Negui Zum Zum Curpim Sab -- Encore -- Mi E Dode Na Bô Cabo Verde Read More Lucibela Celebrated Cape Verdean singer Lucibela is on her US tour, celebrating the release of her new album Amdjer. The tour will stop in at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on September 16, 2022. … Douala Soul Collective MDOU MOCTAR + Invisible Boy, Douala Soul Collective Cedar Cultural Center Sat 04/06/2019 (7pm/$15) thecedar.org Turag guitarist and songwriter Mdou Moctar is touring in support …

Lucibela stopped by the Cedar Cultural Center in the middle of her U.S. tour on Friday to support her recently released album Amdjer.  It was only a few years before that she introduced herself with the debut album Laço Umbilical announcing to the world there was a fresh face to carry on the Cape Verdean musical tradition started by Cesaria Evora.

The evening opened with the Douala Soul Collective, a two-man DJ Combo highlighting music from their Cameroon port city with an eclectic range of music highlighting African rhythms, zouk, funk, soul, jazz, cumbia, disco, hip hop, reggae, while spinning vinyl records and showing some impressive dance moves throughout the set.

Lucibela took the stage backed by three guitarists and one drummer.  But it was her voice that was the highlight of the evening.  A voice described by Banning Eyre of NPR as magnificent, liquid and effortless. 

Lucibela brings a calm, graceful presence, revealing a warm smile that the Cedar Cultural Center website described as: “… a fresh breeze ruffling the bougainvillea blooms and wave tops.”

Luciebela is from Cape Verde, a collection of small rocky islands off the northwestern coast of Africa.  Her hometown of Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, has a rich history of sailors from Brazil, Cuba, England and Portugal, making ports of call and bringing their own musical traditions. 

Listening to Lucibela sway through her set, one is transported to her small island, a place where she started at an early age working in the hotels of the resort town of Santa Maria, with songs from the jazz, bossa nova and rock genre. 

Lucibela has recently concentrated on the musical genres of her native Cape Verde, morna and coladera, which she said are folk songs that highlight daily life on the island.  A good example is her music video Ti Jon Poca, where a farmer’s day involves dancing with his wife and tilling the rocky, arid soil in hopes of a little rain. 

The set highlighted songs from both of her albums.  Songs like Violeiro, expressing a beautiful longing; Amdjer Ká Bidje, a breezy bossa nova; and Zum Zum (Buzz Buzz), a song that brought the crowd to its feet and Curpim Sab, a song that brought everyone to the dance floor. 

The highlight of the evening wasn’t the songs to dance to but the ones where the crowd sat down, the band stepped back and Lucibela stepped into the spotlight to reveal a depth with songs like Bombena, a slow ballad that revealed deeper shades and hues in her voice; Estronhe, a song that brought quiet stillness in a voice that expanded and subsided with wonderful restraint; and Negui  which highlighted her dynamic range and ability to sustain a singular note that elicited a generous roar from the crowd. 

To finish the evening Lucibela sang Mi E Dode Na Bô Cabo Verde, an apt song to let you know where it all began. 

Lucibela U.S. Tour

9/17 – Chop Shop – Chicago, IL
9/18 – Analog – Nashville, TN
9/19 – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
9/20 – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
9/21 – Sellersville Theatre – Sellersville, PA
9/22 – Lotus – Bloomington, IN
9/23 – Swallow Hill Music – Denver, CO

Douala Soul Collective

Douala Soul Collective

Setlist

Lucibela

Lucibela

Lucibela

Lucibela at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (16 Sep 2022)

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

World Beat: Seun Kuti, Linda Ronstadt, Lucibela

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80: “Love & Revolution” tour Read More Seun Kuti Nigerian Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing “When We Move” with American rappers Common and Black Thought. …

Read more World Beat and Jazz Notes

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
seunkuti.net

Afrobeat pioneer Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 is currently on their “Love & Revolution” tour. The tour will stop in at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on September 21st.

We caught the band at Rock the Garden in June 2015 and wrote, “How fitting on Father’s Day that the heir to the Afrobeat throne, Seun Kuti , led his father Fela’s band, Egypt 80, playing undoubtedly the highest energy hour of the weekend. The Nigerian group was the worldbeat entry to the festival and the first African band to grace its stage. Kuti and his fifteen-plus cohorts made their short time worth it with the tribal, jazz, funk, and rhythmic hybrid that his father pioneered.”

Tour dates:

9/14 City Winery, Philadelpha PA
9/16 City Winer, Washington DC
9/18 Big Climate Thing, Queens NY
9/20 Subterraneon, Chicago IL
9/21 Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis MN
9/23 Big Top, St Louis MO
9/24 Format Festival, Bentonville AR
9/27 Washington's, Fort Collins CO
10/01 Desert Daze, Moreno Valley CA

Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands - Linda Ronstadt’s Musical Odyssey Read More Putumayo This year, Putumayo is releasing Jazz Christmas, an uplifting collection of mostly instrumental jazz for the holidays. If you like World Music, chances are, you probably own a Putumayo album. They are known for compiling some of the best …

Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands
putumayo.com

New Orleans-based record label Putumayo, renowned for bringing world music to America, will be releasing Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands — Linda Ronstadt’s Musical Odyssey this September 30, 2022. This is to accompany Linda Ronstadt’s new book, Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands, published by Heyday Books.

The musical collection was co-curated by Ronstadt and Putumayo founder Dan Storper and includes influential songs from her childhood and career, as well as several of her own interpretations of classic Mexican songs. Package and digital fans will enjoy the best of both worlds, as the CD package will include an album download card.

The full tracklist for Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands—Linda Ronstadt’s Musical Odyssey is:

1. Ry Cooder with Lalo Guerrero – Barrio Viejo
2. Linda Ronstadt – El Sueño
3. Los Cenzontles – Palomas Que Andan Volando
4. D. Ronstadt & The Co. – Canadian Moon (New Version)
5. Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris – Across the Border
6. Jackson Browne with Los Cenzontles – The Dreamer
7. Los Cenzontles with David Hidalgo – Naninan Upirin
8. Linda Ronstadt with Dolly Parton – I Never Will Marry
9. Linda Ronstadt – Piel Canela
10. Los Cenzontles – Voy Caminando

Lucibela: Amdjer

Lucibela
lucibela.com

Celebrated Cape Verdean singer Lucibela is on her US tour, celebrating the release of her new album Amdjer. The tour will stop in at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on September 16, 2022.

The new album is a tribute to Cape Verdean women, and features mostly of unreleased songs of twelve songs by composers and authors from Cape Verde of different generations such as Nhelas Spencer, Luis Lima, Toy Vieira, Tibau Tavares, Miquinha, Elida Almeida, Ary Duarte, Daya, and Emilio Moret.

Lucibela U.S. Tour

9/16 – The Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
9/17 – Chop Shop – Chicago, IL
9/18 – Analog – Nashville, TN
9/19 – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
9/20 – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
9/21 – Sellersville Theatre – Sellersville, PA
9/22 – Lotus – Bloomington, IN
9/23 – Swallow Hill Music – Denver, CO

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Vieux Farka Touré at the Dakota (5/18/2022)

Setlist Touré De Niafunké Filipha Diaraby Magni Ni Negaba Fafa Ali Yer Gando Samba Si Kairi Walaïdu All the Same Ba Kaitere -- Encore -- Nha Maïmouna Poussaniamba Tour Dates May 19—SPACE—Evanston, IL May 20—Le Poisson Rouge—New York, NY May 21—World Café Live—Philadelphia, PA May 22—Race Street Live—Holyoke, MA June 8—Crystal Ballroom—Somerville, MA June 10—Infinity Hall—Norfolk, CT June 11—StageOne—Fairfield, CT June 12—Afrika Nyaga Fest—Providence, RI August 4—Celebrate Brooklyn—Brooklyn, NY Read More Vieux Farka Touré Acclaimed Malian artist Vieux Farka Touré will be playing the Dakota Jazz Club, in Minneapolis, on May 18, in support of his forthcoming album Les Racines (World Circuit Records). .…

“You finally made it,” shouted a gentleman from the crowd after the second song. 

In fact he did, Vieux Farka Touré making good on a postponed show from September of last year. 

The introduction from the emcee stated it was their biggest crowd since the Dakota re-opened after the pandemic and the crowd and Touré seemed primed for a festive night. 

The first few songs had everyone seated, though, with Touré playing an acoustic guitar, Marshall Henry on bass and Adama Kone on the percussive instrument, the calabash.  They played like they were sitting around a campfire, slowly passing the time with an open, soulful sound trying to fill the infinite space of a desert night.

Touré played with a warm and playful spirit. He enjoyed interacting with his band mates with a back and forth between him and Henry as if they were still fine-tuning a song. 

Touré highlighted songs from six of his previous albums, which was ironic considering he has a new album being released this week - Les Racines.  Maybe he’s contractually obligated to wait for the release date of 5/20/2022.  After all, this concert is almost a year behind schedule.  Hopefully, a returning tour to the Dakota will be in the works. 

After setting the mood, Touré stood up, strapped on the electric guitar and played “Fafa”, which sounded quite a bit like “Azawade”, a song from The Tel Aviv Session, a collaboration he did with Israeli piano player, Idan Raichel.  We Heart Music covered their concert at the Dakota ten years before. Touré remained seated that night for the music did not call for him to go electric. 

Touré has earned a moniker of being the Jimi Hendrix of West Africa.  I like the Malian Desert Blue Prince.  He definitely has a distinct, singular sound forged by Malian musical traditions and the Blues found in Chicago, the Delta or anywhere else where the Blues can be. 

Touré is the son of legendary guitarist Ali Farka Touré.  The father did not want his son to become a musician for he thought being a professional soldier would provide a more stable life.  But talent would not be denied and the son secretly took guitar lessons behind his father’s back and eventually won his approval.

Touré has the technical skill as well as the soul of a virtuoso.  And when he launched into “Samba Si Kairi” he filled the intimate venue with an epic guitar solo like he was playing a football stadium.  And as quickly as he brought the crowd to a standing ovation, he channeled B.B. King by wailing on his guitar in “Walaïdu”.

To draw the evening to a close, Touré encouraged the crowd to stand up and dance with the final two songs, songs rooted in the west coast African tradition, the type of music that made it very easy to stand up and sway, which everyone in the audience did.

dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

World Beat: Celtic Thunder, Bibb & Koite, Putumayo and Evergreene

Read more World Music.

CELTIC THUNDER
www.celticthunder.ie

Celtic Thunder is a so-called "Irish supergroup", consisting of vocalists Emmet Cahill, Ryan Kelly, Colm Keegan, George Donaldson, Keith Harkin, and Neil Byrne. The band plays a good mix of folk, traditional Irish, adult contemporary, rock… anything to give new meaning to the Celtic storytelling music.

Celtic Thunger's new CD and DVD companion called Mythology, was released last Tuesday (February 19th) on Verve Records.

The DVD is a live show, filmed at Dublin's Helix Theatre in 2012. The show tells the tales of the Celtic People through legends and cultures.

Mythology is already topping the Amazon charts in the World Music > Celtic charts as well as General AAS.

BROTHERS IN BAMAKO
ericbibb.com

Imagine this: American Eric Bibb and Mali's biggest pop star Habib Koité teams up to play the most interest traditional and contemporary blues.

The two 'brothers in Bamako', Bibb and Koité will be playing tracks from their 2012 album, Brothers in Bamako, available via Stony Plain Music, at the Dakota Jazz Club tomorrow - February 26th at 7pm and 9pm.

The duo is currently in their North American tour dates (for world tour schedule, check out ericbibb.com):

02/26/13 Minneapolis, MN Dakota Jazz Club
02/27/13 Chicago, IL Old Town School Of Folk Music
03/01/13 Montreal, QC Scène Rio Tinto Alcan
03/02/13 Quebec City, QC Palais Montcalm
03/03/13 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre
03/05/13 Starkville, MS Mississippi St. University
03/06/13 Austin, TX Paramount Theatre
03/09/13 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club

PUTUMAYO
putumayo.com

The latest Putumayo world music compilation will be focusing on vintage French chanson music from the mid-1900s era. The release will be called Vintage France, and it is coming out on February 26th (tomorrow).

What can you expect but to hear Juliette Gréco and, of course, Serge Gainsbourg.

CEO and founder of Putumayo, Dan Storper, added his comment on this latest compilation, "French artists have created this beautiful, melodic music that has stood the test of time. Perhaps the greatest surprise, was discovering Norbert Slama, a blind octogenarian accordion player who performed with Josephine Baker and Edith Piaf, in my backyard in New Orleans. His performances in a small, vintage café in the Marigny transported me to a bygone era."

Remember, since 2011 you can get Putumayo digitally - but I still recommend getting the actual physical CD.

EVERGREENE MUSIC
evergreenemusic.com

Evergreene Music has released Balkan Arts 701: Bulgarian Folk Dances, the first installment of the Balkan Arts Series (a joint New York venture between Evergreene Music and The Center for Traditional Music and Dance).

What can you expect from the rest of the series? More original recordings were from the 60's and 70's, and to include folk music from Bulgaria, East Serbia, Greek Macedonia and Thrace, and Romania.

The next EP will feature East Serbia in February, Greek rarities from Macedonia and Thrace in the spring, and more Romania and Bulgaria in the summer of 2013.

Curator Martin Koenig talk about the importance of these recordings, "The Balkan Arts recordings are all old-time music and have the same power as the music from Appalachia-the Doc Watson's and the like, and I truly believe that we, the West, now have more of an ability to absorb and appreciate this music than we did in the 60s and 70s. Even my 18-year-old son and his friends now respond to it. With so little of this music around anymore, anything that's this real needs to be cherished."

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

It's a Putumayo Christmas

Maria de Barros: Alegria Download the song "Alegria" by Maria De Barros for free Read More Putumayo Putumayo World Music was established to introduce people to the music of the world's cultures. Th...

Putumayo has been bringing the best of world music to the USA for over a decade, and continues with its latest release, World Christmas Party. Obviously the theme is holiday music from around the globe.

To start off with, a reggae version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Jacob Miller. Miller does a great fun version of the song by replacing various words, like "merry" with "ire" (a Jamaican term for good). I believe this song was taken from his 1978 album, Natty Christmas (which was re-issued in 2007 by VP Records).

My favorite track is "Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree" by Keahiwai. I instantly knew they were Hawaiian based on the laidback rhythm and the distinctive sound of the ukulele.

With such distinctive versions, like a Cuban version of "Winter Wonderland" by Jose Conde, a Brazilian "Deck the Halls" (retitled as "Alegria") by Maria de Barros, a New Zealander's version of "Santa Clause is Coming To Town" (retitled as "Kei Te Haere Mai A Hana Koko") by H.K. Crew feat. K11NA, etc., it's really hard to pass up this album if you love world music.

If you look at the track listing below and think "I don't know any of these musicians", hey, no problem! All Putumayo releases comes with extensive booklets that lists brief biography on each of their artists (written in English, French, and Spanish). Plus recipes!

1. Jacob Miller • Wish You A Merry Christmas
2. Poncho Sanchez • Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
3. Charles Brown • Christmas Comes But Once A Year
4. Keahiwai • Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
5. Jose Conde • Winter Wonderland
6. Maria de Barros • Alegria
7. Heritage Hall Jazz Band • Barra De Navidad Blues
8. Brave Combo • The Christmas Song
9. H.K. Crew feat. K11NA • Kei Te Haere Mai A Hana Koko
10. Alison Brown Quartet with Joe Craven • Carol And The Kings
11. Costa Neto • Boas Festas Moçambique
12. Ed Calle with Arturo Sandoval • Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

The album finishes with an instrumental version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Ed Calle with Arturo Sandoval. The brass sound reminds me of Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass (they didn't do this song off their 1968 album, Christmas Album, but I suspect it would sound very similiar to Ed Calle's version).



After I browsed around the Putumayo's website, I noticed that you can get $10 off if you spend $50 by using the keyword "GIFT". So, in case you needed other suggestions to try and take advantage of the Christmas deal, below are two more recent Putumayo's releases.

PUTUMAYO PRESENTS: YOGA This is a mostly Eastern type of music, and designed as a really soothing, relaxing music. Most of the vocals on this album are women, and they sound so cosmic sometime that I think DJs would love to get a hold of these tracks and put beats to them. Strong tracks include "Ghungate Ke" and "Purnamadah". Tracks: 1 Lucknow Project • Ghungate Ke 2 Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band • Om Hari Om/Sharanam Ganesha (Refuge) 3 Shantala • Purnamadah 4 Wah! • Bolo Ram 5 Ben Leinbach & Geoffrey Gordon • Cerulean 6 Karnamrita Dasi • Devaki 7 Niraj Chag • Bangles 8 Amounsulu • El Bosque Eterno de los Niños 9 Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits • Moods Of Kirtan 10 Susheela Raman • O Rama 11 Krishna Das • Hanuman Baba 12 Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze • Sira 13 Lama Gyurme & Jean-Philippe Rykiel • Offering Chant 14 Yogini • Bliss I don't practice yoga, but reading the liner notes are by yoga instructor (and musician), Sean Johnson, he does a wonderful job on explaining yoga terms. If you are looking for a really calm background music for yoga or mental relaxation, this is the perfect album for you.		PUTUMAYO PRESENTS: TRIBUTE TO A REGGAE LEGEND Celebrating Bob Marley's music, this is a must-have for any reggae fan. What makes this even more extraordinary is that appearing on this compilation are five brand new recording, especially for this release. This is a big deal, because this is the first time that Putumayo produced these new original tracks. My favorite's Brazilian Ceu's version of "Concrete Jungle" (note her vocal beat-box at the beginning of the song). Tracks: 1 Three Plus (Hawaii) • Is This Love 2 Robi Kahakalau (Hawaii) • Do It Twice 3 Rebelution (USA) • Natural Mystic 4 Caracol (Canada) • Could You Be Loved 5 Céu (Brazil) • Concrete Jungle 6 Rocky Dawuni (Ghana) • Sun Is Shining 7 Freshlyground (South Africa) • Africa Unite 8 Northern Lights (USA) • Waiting In Vain 9 Julie Crochetière (Canada) • Mellow Mood 10 Funkadesi (USA/India) • Real Situation 11 Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars (Sierra Leone) • No Woman No Cry 12 Playing for Change (International) • One Love New tracks are: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars's "No Woman No Cry", Freshlyground's "Africa Unite", Caracol's "Could You Be Loved", Rebelution's "Natural Mystic", and Rocky Dawuni's "Sun Is Shining".

vu () ♥ putumayo.com

Putumayo Presents - South Africa and Latin Party

Read More Putumayo World Music http://weheartmus... Putumayo World Music was established to introduce people to the music of the world's cultures. Th...

When it comes to world music, no one can hold a candle to Putumayo. This New York company started out in clothing, then to music, and now, ta-da, books. I should also point out that all Putumayo CD releases comes with 30+ page booklet, written in English, French, and Spanish, so it just made perfect sense to me that they'd venture into printing.

Just in time for the Summer, for a limited time, if you buy three Putumayo CDs, you get Putumayo World Party absolutely free. Can't decide what to get? Here are two albums for your consideration:

Putumayo Presents - South Africa

For the first time, 2010 FIFA World Cup, is taking place on Africa's soils, and to celebrate, Putumayo's latest compilation is called South Africa. Sadly, I think the South African team did not make it into the final rounds, but I don't think that would stop the vuvuzelas from invading the final knockout games.

One thing I've picked up from listening to this Putumayo's album is that South African's music is, it's quite calm and cool. There's some hints of reggae (Zoro's "Work" is a really good example), traditional Kwaito (Bholoja's "Mbombela"), and sometime rap (Blk Sonshine's "Nkosi"). The different style of music, reflects a rich and diverse culture found in South Africa. Although I could not tell you if all eleven official languages were sung, I can tell you that there's Zulu on the a cappella "Ngahlulele" by Soweto Gospel Choir.

My favorite song is the English song, "Beautiful Feet" by Nibs van der Spuy. The slow acoustic really brings out van der Spuy's beautiful voice.

Be on the lookout for Putumayo's next release Tribute to a Reggae Legend (which contain a track from my favorite Bralizian, Céu).

Putumayo Presents - Latin Party

Salsa anyone?! The rhythmic sound of this compilation took me away to a sweaty dance floor in a packed Latin dance club - far from the Midwest where I reside.

This CD infuses sounds from many regions of Latin America, combining salsa, cumbia, Afro-Cuban, funk, soul, and jazz. The percussion, the brass horns, the vocals - muy caliente!

Putumayo, the company that put together this quality collection of tunes, successfully pieced together a variety of fresh faces in the Latin scene. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn’t already have an extensive collection of Latin music that includes these new artists. If you’re looking for some dance-able music to throw on for your party this summer, this is perfect.

I really enjoyed the song “Asi Se Compone Un Son” by Cecilia Noël. Her voice is solid and she definitely sounds a bit like the “Queen of Salsa,” Celia Cruz.

Also, keep your eyes open for the group Yerba Buena out of New York. Nominated for a Grammy in 2003, they’ve gained quite a bit of recognition and have a great, funky sound. The lead singer, Cucu Diamantes, recently released a solo album as well. Itunes has been recommending I buy both artists’ music for a year now. Time to get out the wallet

 

 06/29/2010 00:29:34 ♥ vu y nicole ♥ www.putumayo.com