On his aptly-titled sophomore release, Vieux Farka Touré, son of the late Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Touré, has emerged from his father's shadow to become a worthy successor and forward-looking artist in his own right. Fondo, which means ''the road'' in Sonhrai, Touré's native language, is indeed a reflection of the young guitarist's notable evolution. He's come a long way since 2006's self-titled debut, a noteworthy, if somewhat tenuous first step that leaned heavily on his father as well as master kora player Toumani Diabate. The senior Touré, who died during the making of the album, contributed some profound playing to a few tracks. Three years later Touré has come into his own as a globally renowned artist. More than reflecting Ali's work, which predated the blues of the Mississippi Delta to West Africa, Fondo establishes other connections between those western Saharan roots and everything from jam band music to Jamaican dub. The opener "Fafa" is a slow, melancholic groove that carries itself with a hypnotic sort of enigma over a circular chord progression and Touré's double-tracked vocals. The syncopated "Ai Haira" boasts galloping percussion, including a talking drum solo and jam band guitar noodling. "Souba Souba" acts as a sedative before the five-minute long "Sarama" soars with a funky bass-driven rhythm section, in-your-face rock guitar riffs, and eruptive, hyperkinetic drumming. There's an easy glow in the sureness of Touré's execution in the instrumental "Slow Jam" and "Paradise," where the marriage between the western guitar and Diabate's ancient kora is again consummated. It's a vision that recalls Ali Farka Touré's own -bridging the African diaspora from both sides of the Atlantic - and one Vieux continues to expanded on.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Vieux Farka Toure Is His Own Man On Fondo
On his aptly-titled sophomore release, Vieux Farka Touré, son of the late Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Touré, has emerged from his father's shadow to become a worthy successor and forward-looking artist in his own right. Fondo, which means ''the road'' in Sonhrai, Touré's native language, is indeed a reflection of the young guitarist's notable evolution. He's come a long way since 2006's self-titled debut, a noteworthy, if somewhat tenuous first step that leaned heavily on his father as well as master kora player Toumani Diabate. The senior Touré, who died during the making of the album, contributed some profound playing to a few tracks. Three years later Touré has come into his own as a globally renowned artist. More than reflecting Ali's work, which predated the blues of the Mississippi Delta to West Africa, Fondo establishes other connections between those western Saharan roots and everything from jam band music to Jamaican dub. The opener "Fafa" is a slow, melancholic groove that carries itself with a hypnotic sort of enigma over a circular chord progression and Touré's double-tracked vocals. The syncopated "Ai Haira" boasts galloping percussion, including a talking drum solo and jam band guitar noodling. "Souba Souba" acts as a sedative before the five-minute long "Sarama" soars with a funky bass-driven rhythm section, in-your-face rock guitar riffs, and eruptive, hyperkinetic drumming. There's an easy glow in the sureness of Touré's execution in the instrumental "Slow Jam" and "Paradise," where the marriage between the western guitar and Diabate's ancient kora is again consummated. It's a vision that recalls Ali Farka Touré's own -bridging the African diaspora from both sides of the Atlantic - and one Vieux continues to expanded on.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Hess Is More Hits The U.S.
In dark times people turn to art to restore their faith in the simple pleasures of life. The Danish, New York-based multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter/composer Mikkel Hess, a.k.a Hess Is More, has shrewdly revived the art of the absurd in music with just enough dark edges around his quirkiness to maintain a sense of relevancy in relation to the world we live in. And now courtesy of Nublu Records Hess's greatest hits will be released stateside. Simply titled Hits, the compilation reveals Hess's brand of quixotic pop. Dreamlike, catchy and cinematic without becoming encapsulated in a floating bubble devoid of references, the album has an unmistakable surreal patina and there are moments of spaced-out grooves which I like to refer to as inter-galactic pop. Songs like "Yes Boss," "The Magic Invention From T.D.P.R.C," an acronym for The Divine Presence Research Center, and "Don't Tell" display the kind of funny lyrics and out of this world dreamscapes required for head trips and out of body escapes. "Rosenkratz & Gyldenstjerned" is a whistled, space frontier song, while the whistling in "Glove Is In the Air" takes on more carefree, airy nuances and subtle, gypsy-jazz stylings in a ditty that reflects a comfortable familiarity with the known world. "Ssshhhh" is an upbeat, instrumental dancefloor foray that comes complete with an 80's inspired keyboard melody. The mood turns bleak in "In the Fridge," a dark and bluesy existential cry that hails from a cold world annexed by screeching violins and doomsday foreboding. By the end of the album "Never" doesn't necessarily restore your faith in lighter days ahead, though I suppose the 60's inspired la la la chorus and lyrics about never having cheated on his girlfriend or sleeping with a prostitute are tantamount to a step in the right direction.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Rudi Y Cursi Soundtrack Out In All Digital Outlets
Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, co-stars in 2001's Oscar-nominated Y tu mamá también, reunite on-screen for Carlos Cuarón's directorial debut, Rudo Y Cursi. Co-produced by Cuarón's older brother Alfonso ("Children of Men"), Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") and Alejandro González Iñárritu ("Babel") under the trio's new production company, Cha Cha Cha, the movie premiered in L.A. and New York City on May 8th. Already it's one of the highest grossing films in Mexican movie history. Released by Nacional Records, the soundtrack was co-produced by Camilo Lara (Mexican Institute of Sound) and the younger Cuarón. It flaunts itself like sonic bait boasting a who's who list of cutting-edge indie artists from Latin America and the U.S. The 17 deliciously crafted tracks display a refreshing variety of sounds that effectively reel the listener in to enhance the movie-watching experience. Covers of regional Mexican classics and original songs by indie luminaries like Devendra Banhart, Argentinean electro-folkie Juana Molina, Monterray rapper Niña Dioz - Mexico's answer to Lady Sovereign - and Black Lips all conspire to make this soundtrack one of the best I've heard since Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction. There's a rich palette of songs from Mexican hip-hop and Latin alt rock to electronic music, cumbia and indie pop. Banhart's rendition of "Lindo Cihuatlán" is especially haunting, while Niña Dioz's "Prefiero El Asfalto (Por Puro Gusto)" makes it clear why she's causing so much buzz these days as Mexican hip-hop's feisty soon-to-be ambassador. Jóvenes y Sexys' "Amor Platónico" is one track worthy of the repeat function on your iPod. Its diaphanous arrangements and heartfelt, wide-eyed lyrics are in stark contrast with the movies themes of ruthlessness and corruption in the world of pay-to-play sports. Three different versions of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me," including one sung in Spanish by an out-of-tune, seemingly inebriated Garcia Bernal, reflect some of the flick's moments of comic relief. The soundtrack ends with Bostich and Fussible's "Árboles De La Barranca" a Mexican classic naturally turned on its head.
Friday, May 8, 2009
CéU Is Back With an EP Signaling the Release of a New Full-Length
Brazilian singer/songwriter CéU, who recently gave birth to her first child, has just released a four-track EP titled Cangote on Six Degrees Records. In anticipation of her second full-length since her 2007 self-titled breakthrough album, Cangote was recorded with CéU's musical soul mate, producer Beto Villares, who last year saw the U.S. release of his own beautifully crafted debut. Producer and engineer Gustavo Lenza (CéU’s touring engineer for the past 4 years) and soundtrack producer Gui Amabis, who collaborated with CéU on the Sonantes project, also added their magic touch to the new EP. The title-track is a daiphanous love song featuring the late legendary Brazilian drummer Gigante Brasil and Cuban keyboard player Pepe Cisneros who adds cool mystique with organ-infused soundscapes. “Bubuia," a song about floating on the surface of life, was written by CéU in collaboration with two of the most prominent Brazilian singers who are part of a new wave of the country's indie music scene. They are Anelis Assumpção, daughter of one of the most important composers and performers to come out of the São Paulo music scene ever – Itamar Assumpção – and Thalma de Freitas, vocalist of the band Orquestra Imperial. The EP also features the first studio versions of two songs that have been part of CéU’s live repertoire. CéU and her live band composed “Sonâmbulo” on the road. The studio version was done with her band and Villares on guitar. “Visgo de Jaca” is a classic samba made famous by singer Martinho da Vila back in the 70’s. This song also features CéU’s live band, who masterfully evoke the right kind of urban feel by updating the song. Soulful drums, percussion and pandeiro are laced with a retro keyboard groove and CéU's tradmark velvety vocals. Starting in July CéU will launch a brief U.S. tour, with performances in Seattle, New York, L.A. and San Francisco. For more info check go to www.sixdegreesrecords.comSunday, May 3, 2009
The Dread Bass Chronicles Sparks a New Dancefloor Revolution
Kush Arora, a member of the San Francisco Surya Dub collective, has solidified his place as one of the most cutting-edge innovators in dub's latest evolution. The Dread Bass Chronicles unleashes urgent, aggressive beats and themes with which Arora is intimately versed in, such as the struggles of being an immigrant. A dancefloor warrior above all, he spikes his frenetic, cultural styled electronic riddims with a coterie of badass emcees to get his point across. Guests on the album include Jamaican chanters Warrior Queen (the Bug) and Bongo Chilli, as well as Panama's MC Zulu, the Bay area's own Wiseproof, and longtime spars N4SA and Jukali. Arora's futuristic style melds subtle bhangra flourishes - remnants of his Punjab heritage - with punk, industrial sounds and in-your-face dancehall. "Dread Bass" may even be on its way to becoming the sound of a post-dancehall world, one in which Arora is the sonic explorer probing new realms of musical mutations.
Friday, May 1, 2009
L.A. Jazz Collective Drops It For the People
Contemporary, forward-looking jazz plus grass-roots commitment to community through music equals a sonic co-op like no other. On its first outing, Sampler Vol. 1, the Los Angeles Jazz Collective channels the boundless spirit of the music in a patchwork compilation of some of the project's finest pickings. This is indie jazz at its best - unafraid to push the envelope and committed to the profusion of ideas that result when creatively inquisitive musicians join forces. One of my favorite tracks, "Loft Scene," injects subtle electronica within cool jazz contours. Who's ever doubted jazz's relevance needs a reality check and shot of Sampler Vol. 1.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Ex Habana Abierta Member Drops New Disc
Madrid-based, singer/songwriter Borris Larramendi, a former member of the collective Habana Abierta and The Habana Blues Band, released his second solo album Libre, which he self-produced and is available on iTunes. I'll write a proper review once I've listened to the entire disc, though I'm sure that Larramendi serves up as much swing and funk as he did when he jammed with HA - and besides, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez plays the trap set and percussion on the album and any project he's involved in, from experimental jazz to timba-funk, is top-notch, El negro doesn't mess around. As for the remaining members of HA, they will be performing in Miami on June 6th at the American Airlines Arena as the opening act for Cuban-American salsa singer Willy Chirino.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
From Angola to Lisbon to the World Buraka Som Sistema Update Kuduro
Buraka Som Sistema's highly anticipated U.S. debut, Black Diamond, is finally here. The Lisbon-based trio makes a strain of kuduro music that's laced with the kind of urgent, raw lyrics that the music demands. Kuduro originally took root in Luanda, the capital of Angola, back in the late 80s, when African producers trying to make techno and house came up with a very different concoction. The African brew sampled traditional carnival music like zouk from the Caribbean, as well as semba and kilapanga from Angola. In its latest incarnation it gained traction in Europe via Angolan immigrants in Portugal where it morphed yet again, through the filter of European dance music. On Black Diamond, Buraka Som Sistema meld Angola's grimy electronic soundscapes and frenetic rhythms with other influences such as dubstep, drum 'n bass, soca and baile funk. Club bangers abound and there's even a true diamond in the rough that outshines the rest in "General," a thumping house track that fuses with sparkling Afro-pop guitars.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mariza Brings Fado to the World
Photo by Isabel Pinto
In recent years Portugal's longing fado music has gotten the international recognition it's long deserved. Much credit goes to the genre's most contemporary exponent Mariza, who herself is at the crossroads of diverse global influences. On her fourth studio album Terrra, fado's reigning queen -- who was born in Mozambique and raised singing in her father's taverna in Lisbon -- enlisted Spain's most in-demand producer Javier Limón, known for his artistry and fusions on the albums of artists such as Buika, Bebo Valdés, Diego El Cigala, and Paco de Lucía, among many others. On Terra Mariza infuses fado with loads of universal appeal by collaborating with a who's who list of high-ranking international artists, including mercurial singer Buika in a duet, Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés, Brazilian luminary Ivan Lins, Cape Verdean icon Tito Paris, and Portuguese rocker Rui Veloso. A beautifully crafted album under the impeccable direction of Limón, Terra ends on a whimsical note with a playful moment between Mariza and Lins, doing their version of "Smile," a Charlie Chaplin composition, on which they had no idea they were being recorded. What follows is an interview with Mariza. Her feisty personality comes through, leaving little doubt that Mariza is a musical force to be reckoned with.
GGC: You’ve stated in previous interviews that you express fado from a different perspective. How so?
M: Well some media write things that I clearly don’t say exactly in that way. What I said is that I don’t call myself a fado singer. I call myself a Portuguese singer and I’m still respecting the basis and the lines of what I learned since I was a child but more and more I have my own perspective about this music. I have my personality that I put inside and that makes me kind of a vehicle of a culture, respecting bases, lines, roots, everything but having my own personality.
GGC: It’s true, however that you’ve taken fado, which is a genre that has many purists, into a modern era and it’s transcended geography. How do you feel when people say that about you?
M: Well I don’t, how can I say this to you, I don’t judge myself or my records. I prefer that people listen and try to understand because each person has their own way of feeling music or seeing art. In Portugal for example I never had any problems with the things I’ve been doing and what I think is that I’m trying to be kind of a vehicle of a culture of the heartbeat of a country and of a people, showing that the music we do, our culture is not minor, we have a lot to give, it’s very rich. We are in the back of Europe but we have so many things to show, so many things to give. So it’s a little bit difficult when people say I set out to change, I didn’t change anything, I didn’t want to break anything, I was just doing my music.
GGC: But at the same time, it’s very obvious that you’re open to collaborating with other musicians, and incorporating other influences into fado, which is something that happens in all kinds of music all over the world, there is no such thing anymore as a pure genre because everything is so blurred now and I think in a way you represent this future face and sound of fado, which is very global and eclectic. Would you agree with that?
M: I’m sorry they were knocking on my door and for a few seconds I lost you.
GGC: OK, I don’t know where you lost me. I was saying that at the same time, it’s obvious in your new album Terra, that you’re very open to collaborating and to incorporating influences within fado from different styles…
M: Well more and more, I don’t think people go to see, when they go to see a concert of mine, they’re not going to see a fado concert, they’re going to see a Portuguese singer. This album, Terra, the name Terra means land, land because of the music I do, I’m respecting bases, lines, traditions, roots, everything I learned with my feet in my country, in my Portugal. But at the same time I’m bringing 8 years of touring to this record, where I’m exposed to different cultures, musicians, songs, countries, everything is inside of it. This music is organic, it’s music that has movement, it’s not static, it’s music that moves, it’s music that’s in your soul, in your heart, it moves with your emotions. So when you ask me that the only answer I can give you is this. I’m not trying to break any traditions, I’m not trying to be different, I’m just giving my point of view about music and that’s my truth and I would be not sincere, I would be a fake if I didn’t do it.
GGC: Yeah, I’m not saying that you’re doing it in a calculated way, I’m just saying that you’re a product of the kind of world we live in today, which has a much more universal language when it comes to music.
M: Music is music, people like to put names, like this is bossa nova, this is tango, this blues, at the end we are talking about music.
GGC: Yes, we’re talking about feeling…
M: Music is a kind of religion. I remember in my last concert asking people if they knew the person sitting next to them, sometimes people don’t know who’s sitting beside them, the question I ask is if they notice that for one hour or two hours they were connected by the same line, it was the music, emotions, and in some way we were all a family, while for the most part maybe they have different points of view, different political ideas, different colors, different religions, I don’t know, many different things, but for one hour and a half or two hours we were in connection.
GGC: I think that’s what music is meant to be, a connection for people, a communion between the artist and the listener.
M: Yeah.
GGC: Let’s talk about Terra. I find it interesting that you chose Javier Limón to producer the album. How did that come about?
M: I met Javier in a dinner and we started talking about music and suddenly I felt we were on the same wavelength and I decided to introduce him to Lisboa, to listen to a little bit of fado and suddenly we were making a record.
GGC: Wow, I’m sure I missed a lot of details in between.
M: [LAUGHS]
GGC: I read that you invited him to a taverna. Did he play at the taverna? Did he play guitar? Did you listen to him play?
M: Yeah.
GGC: What did you think at that moment?
M: It was Javier playing, Javier is a musician, he lives for music, so for him playing with fado musicians or flamenco musicians, or Brazilian musicians, for him it’s the same thing, for him it’s music.
GGC: I’m sure you’ve heard all of the great albums he's produced and all of the great artists whom he has produced for.
M: Yes.
GGC: He has a very long trajectory in producing for giants in music. Did that come into play at all in making your decision?
M: No. Actually no. That was something that actually made me think about not asking him to do the record. I’m not here to do a commercial thing. My music is very cultural.
GGC: Anyone who knows Javier’s work knows that he doesn’t produce commercial music.
M: Yeah… and um… but then we started really talking about music very seriously and I felt like he was the person to help get in what I was looking to put in there, the message I was trying to send and he was the one who was not afraid of anything, he understood me so well. You know everybody was afraid, like ‘What do you want to do? You want to put what? You want to make what?' Everybody was afraid and suddenly Javier was the one who made me feel very peaceful inside, like ‘Let’s do it, let’s try, let’s see, if we don’t like it we stop.' And I said, ‘This person, I have to trust in him.’ I showed him what I had and then we started working in his studio in Madrid.
GGC: The album is beautiful. I have to say that I’ve been taken aback by it and especially on some of the collaborations. One of them that comes to mind is “Beijo de Saudade” with Cape Verdean icon Tito Paris. What was that like?
M: I know Tito for many, many years, since I was a teenager. He was the first person to show me African music. We are friends, I love Tito as a person and as an artist and I know he has the same feelings for me. So when I decided to sing this morna, I was singing Portuguese and I asked Tito to sing in Criollo, because in some way we are bridging Africa, some parts of which used to be a colony of Portugal, and Portugal, so we cross in the middle of this bridge.
GGC: I also loved “Pequenas Verdades” sang with Buika.
M: With Concha, yeah.
GGC: She’s wonderful. Two divas singing together…
M: She’s fire onstage, she brings the house down.
GGC: And also there’s a collabo with Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. What was that like?
M: Well Chucho was thinking he was going to be playing something very difficult, you know very jazzy, and suddenly when we say to him ‘No, it’s nothing like that, it’s very simple, we want you to play folk, traditional rhythm from Portugal,’ he was like ‘What?’ And with Chucho you feel the Cuban thing but in a very simple, simple, simple way.
GGC: Well that’s great, he’s known for very complex music.
M: Yeah and this one was not.
GGC: You collaborated with Brazilian singer/songwriter/composer Ivan Lins on “Smile,” a very surprising way to end the album. Very whimsical.
M: Well that was kind of a… we were joking around together, everybody was talking around the studio and Ivan never stopped playing, he’s always on the piano or keyboard, he doesn’t stop, for Ivan everything is music. Let me tell you Ivan doesn’t drive because when he listens to music he crashes. For Ivan music is life, it’s everything, it’s skin, it’s being able to breathe. So all of a sudden he says you know I’m going to do something and you follow me and I said ‘What are you going to do?’ ‘Smile.’ ‘Smile?’ ‘I never played that.’ ‘Oh let’s just have fun.’ And we started playing and we didn’t know we were being recorded, they didn’t stop recording. So we played and when we finished everybody was so serious, looking at us and we looked at each other like ‘We did something wrong.’ And we were like ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry.’ And everybody was like ‘No… this must be on the record.’ ‘I said no way my English is not good enough to put into the record, I’m not going to sing in English. I don’t know how to do it, we were just having fun with the music.’ For the European album we didn’t include it but for North America we decided to put it. It’s like my obrigada (thank you) to all the people who have been supporting my work and being so wonderful to me, it’s like a kind of present.
M: Well some media write things that I clearly don’t say exactly in that way. What I said is that I don’t call myself a fado singer. I call myself a Portuguese singer and I’m still respecting the basis and the lines of what I learned since I was a child but more and more I have my own perspective about this music. I have my personality that I put inside and that makes me kind of a vehicle of a culture, respecting bases, lines, roots, everything but having my own personality.
GGC: It’s true, however that you’ve taken fado, which is a genre that has many purists, into a modern era and it’s transcended geography. How do you feel when people say that about you?
M: Well I don’t, how can I say this to you, I don’t judge myself or my records. I prefer that people listen and try to understand because each person has their own way of feeling music or seeing art. In Portugal for example I never had any problems with the things I’ve been doing and what I think is that I’m trying to be kind of a vehicle of a culture of the heartbeat of a country and of a people, showing that the music we do, our culture is not minor, we have a lot to give, it’s very rich. We are in the back of Europe but we have so many things to show, so many things to give. So it’s a little bit difficult when people say I set out to change, I didn’t change anything, I didn’t want to break anything, I was just doing my music.
GGC: But at the same time, it’s very obvious that you’re open to collaborating with other musicians, and incorporating other influences into fado, which is something that happens in all kinds of music all over the world, there is no such thing anymore as a pure genre because everything is so blurred now and I think in a way you represent this future face and sound of fado, which is very global and eclectic. Would you agree with that?
M: I’m sorry they were knocking on my door and for a few seconds I lost you.
GGC: OK, I don’t know where you lost me. I was saying that at the same time, it’s obvious in your new album Terra, that you’re very open to collaborating and to incorporating influences within fado from different styles…
M: Well more and more, I don’t think people go to see, when they go to see a concert of mine, they’re not going to see a fado concert, they’re going to see a Portuguese singer. This album, Terra, the name Terra means land, land because of the music I do, I’m respecting bases, lines, traditions, roots, everything I learned with my feet in my country, in my Portugal. But at the same time I’m bringing 8 years of touring to this record, where I’m exposed to different cultures, musicians, songs, countries, everything is inside of it. This music is organic, it’s music that has movement, it’s not static, it’s music that moves, it’s music that’s in your soul, in your heart, it moves with your emotions. So when you ask me that the only answer I can give you is this. I’m not trying to break any traditions, I’m not trying to be different, I’m just giving my point of view about music and that’s my truth and I would be not sincere, I would be a fake if I didn’t do it.
GGC: Yeah, I’m not saying that you’re doing it in a calculated way, I’m just saying that you’re a product of the kind of world we live in today, which has a much more universal language when it comes to music.
M: Music is music, people like to put names, like this is bossa nova, this is tango, this blues, at the end we are talking about music.
GGC: Yes, we’re talking about feeling…
M: Music is a kind of religion. I remember in my last concert asking people if they knew the person sitting next to them, sometimes people don’t know who’s sitting beside them, the question I ask is if they notice that for one hour or two hours they were connected by the same line, it was the music, emotions, and in some way we were all a family, while for the most part maybe they have different points of view, different political ideas, different colors, different religions, I don’t know, many different things, but for one hour and a half or two hours we were in connection.
GGC: I think that’s what music is meant to be, a connection for people, a communion between the artist and the listener.
M: Yeah.
GGC: Let’s talk about Terra. I find it interesting that you chose Javier Limón to producer the album. How did that come about?
M: I met Javier in a dinner and we started talking about music and suddenly I felt we were on the same wavelength and I decided to introduce him to Lisboa, to listen to a little bit of fado and suddenly we were making a record.
GGC: Wow, I’m sure I missed a lot of details in between.
M: [LAUGHS]
GGC: I read that you invited him to a taverna. Did he play at the taverna? Did he play guitar? Did you listen to him play?
M: Yeah.
GGC: What did you think at that moment?
M: It was Javier playing, Javier is a musician, he lives for music, so for him playing with fado musicians or flamenco musicians, or Brazilian musicians, for him it’s the same thing, for him it’s music.
GGC: I’m sure you’ve heard all of the great albums he's produced and all of the great artists whom he has produced for.
M: Yes.
GGC: He has a very long trajectory in producing for giants in music. Did that come into play at all in making your decision?
M: No. Actually no. That was something that actually made me think about not asking him to do the record. I’m not here to do a commercial thing. My music is very cultural.
GGC: Anyone who knows Javier’s work knows that he doesn’t produce commercial music.
M: Yeah… and um… but then we started really talking about music very seriously and I felt like he was the person to help get in what I was looking to put in there, the message I was trying to send and he was the one who was not afraid of anything, he understood me so well. You know everybody was afraid, like ‘What do you want to do? You want to put what? You want to make what?' Everybody was afraid and suddenly Javier was the one who made me feel very peaceful inside, like ‘Let’s do it, let’s try, let’s see, if we don’t like it we stop.' And I said, ‘This person, I have to trust in him.’ I showed him what I had and then we started working in his studio in Madrid.
GGC: The album is beautiful. I have to say that I’ve been taken aback by it and especially on some of the collaborations. One of them that comes to mind is “Beijo de Saudade” with Cape Verdean icon Tito Paris. What was that like?
M: I know Tito for many, many years, since I was a teenager. He was the first person to show me African music. We are friends, I love Tito as a person and as an artist and I know he has the same feelings for me. So when I decided to sing this morna, I was singing Portuguese and I asked Tito to sing in Criollo, because in some way we are bridging Africa, some parts of which used to be a colony of Portugal, and Portugal, so we cross in the middle of this bridge.
GGC: I also loved “Pequenas Verdades” sang with Buika.
M: With Concha, yeah.
GGC: She’s wonderful. Two divas singing together…
M: She’s fire onstage, she brings the house down.
GGC: And also there’s a collabo with Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. What was that like?
M: Well Chucho was thinking he was going to be playing something very difficult, you know very jazzy, and suddenly when we say to him ‘No, it’s nothing like that, it’s very simple, we want you to play folk, traditional rhythm from Portugal,’ he was like ‘What?’ And with Chucho you feel the Cuban thing but in a very simple, simple, simple way.
GGC: Well that’s great, he’s known for very complex music.
M: Yeah and this one was not.
GGC: You collaborated with Brazilian singer/songwriter/composer Ivan Lins on “Smile,” a very surprising way to end the album. Very whimsical.
M: Well that was kind of a… we were joking around together, everybody was talking around the studio and Ivan never stopped playing, he’s always on the piano or keyboard, he doesn’t stop, for Ivan everything is music. Let me tell you Ivan doesn’t drive because when he listens to music he crashes. For Ivan music is life, it’s everything, it’s skin, it’s being able to breathe. So all of a sudden he says you know I’m going to do something and you follow me and I said ‘What are you going to do?’ ‘Smile.’ ‘Smile?’ ‘I never played that.’ ‘Oh let’s just have fun.’ And we started playing and we didn’t know we were being recorded, they didn’t stop recording. So we played and when we finished everybody was so serious, looking at us and we looked at each other like ‘We did something wrong.’ And we were like ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry.’ And everybody was like ‘No… this must be on the record.’ ‘I said no way my English is not good enough to put into the record, I’m not going to sing in English. I don’t know how to do it, we were just having fun with the music.’ For the European album we didn’t include it but for North America we decided to put it. It’s like my obrigada (thank you) to all the people who have been supporting my work and being so wonderful to me, it’s like a kind of present.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Daniela Mercury to Descend on Hollywood Beach
Photo By Haroldo AbrantesFresh off her batería driven trio elétrico in Salvador da Bahia's bacchanalia like no other, Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury will share some of the energy left over from carnaval with South Florida fans during a free concert in Hollywood Beach this Saturday (March 21st). Part of Brazil on the Beach -- a three day event featuring other artists such as Cris Delanno from Bossacucanova, a film screening of Samba on Your Feet, a pro footvolley tournament, capoeira, a percussion parade along the boardwalk, and much more -- Mercury will perform three songs from her new project, Canibália, a CD/DVD multi-media experience which she whimsically calls a disco voador (flying disc), set to land in Brazil around June followed by a worldwide release. The queen of bahian carnaval will also sing songs from her last album, Balé Mulato, as well as some of her greatest hits. Mercury, a Latin Grammy winner, has attracted international attention throughout her career, first as one of the most prominent singers of the axé music craze in Brazil in the 90s (also known as samba-reggae) and then as an innovator who incorporated electronic music in her already pungent mix. Recently Mercury has gotten accolades from none other than cultural commentator and Salon.com writer Camille Paglia, who was invited aboard the performance platform of Mercury's trio elétrico in February as the charismatic diva performed for six hours straight before throngs of revelers following her bloco Crocodilo. In her Salon.com column the author credits Mercury with having restored her faith in pop culture as she explores the reasons behind Madonna's decline in comparing the aging queen of pop to Mercury's goddess-like appeal. Madonna, she writes, has become a "poster girl of android metamorphosis," a displaced person who lost her Detroit, Italian-American roots somewhere along the way. Mercury, on the other hand, remains rooted to Bahia's all-encompassing black culture. She compares the Brazilian songstress's warmth, humor, and relaxed sensuality to Madonna's "laminated posturing" and even gets down to the flesh juxtaposing Mercury's "fluid body language" and "sleek, golden silhouette" to Madonna's "grotesquely sinewy arms and sallow, claw-like hands." It gets better! For a complete read, I've posted the links to the articles below.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Warriors Turned Musicians: Tinariwen Tour the U.S.
Photo by Thomas Dorn (http://www.thomasdorn.com/)Warriors turned sonic crusaders Tinariwen return to the U.S. in April after a long desert hiatus and fresh off a UK tour with folk/electronic group Tuung. With concerts in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, among others, the tour also features the group's first major U.S. festival date on April 18 at Coachella. Live In London (World Village), a new concert dvd, displays Tinariwen’s mesmerizing onstage vibe, infamous among both world music and rock fans alike. The group’s music and fascinating story have captured imaginations across genres. Once actual warriors in the heavily turbulent homeland of the taureg - nomads in the southern Sahara - the members of Tinariwen first put down their rifles in 1982 and replaced them with their voices and guitars, weapons they discovered to be more powerful. They remained underground until 1999 when the group moved to Bamako, the capital of Mali. Tinariwen have since become a symbol for the plight of the tuareg (or touareg), a people plagued by ethnic cleansing, eternal warfare and merciless drought. The band's struggle and transition from gunmen to axmen will be featured in the Al Jazeera documentary Music of Resistance. Their widely acclaimed 2007 album Aman Iman has also been reissued on vinyl.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Bajofondo Tours the U.S.
In support of their release, Mar Dulce (Decca/Surco), Bajofondo will embark on a rare North American tour starting April 1st in Chicago. Hailing from the Rio de la Plata border region between Argentina and Uruguay, as well as Los Angeles, Bajofondo has crafted a hybrid sound that spans multiple regions of the world, melding rock, hip-hop, electronica, tango, Afro-Uruguayan candombe, and milonga. The collective's highly acclaimed album also features guest vocal appearances by artists as varied as Elvis Costello, Julieta Venegas, Nelly Furtado, Mala Rodríguez, and the late Lagríma Ríos.The line-up embarking on the thirteen-city tour includes Gustavo Santaolalla (guitar, percussion, vocals); Juan Campodónico (programming, guitar); Luciano Supervielle (keyboards, turntable); Javier Casalla (violin); Martin Ferres (bandoneón); Gabriel Casacuberta (bass); Adrian Sosa (drums); and Veronica Loza (visuals). With an ever-evolving sound, Bajofondo’s concerts consistently surprise. Their globally-influenced dance music backed by pulsing video art can quickly bleed into bandoneón solo turns that evoke the music of Steve Reich.
A notable member of Bajofondo is the Grammy® and Oscar® winning musical polymath, Gustavo Santaolalla. A primary architect of the rock en español movement over the last 25 years, Santaolalla has cultivated the sounds and careers of artists like Café Tacvba, Julieta Venegas, Molotov & Juanes. Renowned for his film scores, a partial list of Santaolalla’s work includes Ang Lee’s, Brokeback Mountain, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel and Amores Perros, and Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries. Despite the acclaim his work as a composer and producer has received, at heart he is a musical performer and on this North American tour Santaolalla delves into his live music roots.
Bajofondo 2009 Spring Tour
Wed., Apr. 1st – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Thu., Apr. 2nd : Detroit, MI –The Majestic Theater
Fri., Apr. 3rd – Columbus, OH – Wexner Center
Sat., Apr. 4th – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
Sun., Apr. 5th – Toronto, ON – The Mod Club
Mon., April 6th – Montreal, QC – La TuLipe
Tues., Apr. 7th – Boston, MA – Middle East Downstairs
Fri., Apr. 10th – New York, NY – The Highline Ballroom
Sat., Apr. 11th: Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Wed., Apr. 15th – Austin, TX – One World Theatre
Thu., Apr. 16th – Tuscon, AZ – The Rialto Theater
Fri., Apr. 17th – Indio, CA – Coachella
Sun., Apr. 19th – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s
A notable member of Bajofondo is the Grammy® and Oscar® winning musical polymath, Gustavo Santaolalla. A primary architect of the rock en español movement over the last 25 years, Santaolalla has cultivated the sounds and careers of artists like Café Tacvba, Julieta Venegas, Molotov & Juanes. Renowned for his film scores, a partial list of Santaolalla’s work includes Ang Lee’s, Brokeback Mountain, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel and Amores Perros, and Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries. Despite the acclaim his work as a composer and producer has received, at heart he is a musical performer and on this North American tour Santaolalla delves into his live music roots.
Bajofondo 2009 Spring Tour
Wed., Apr. 1st – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Thu., Apr. 2nd : Detroit, MI –The Majestic Theater
Fri., Apr. 3rd – Columbus, OH – Wexner Center
Sat., Apr. 4th – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
Sun., Apr. 5th – Toronto, ON – The Mod Club
Mon., April 6th – Montreal, QC – La TuLipe
Tues., Apr. 7th – Boston, MA – Middle East Downstairs
Fri., Apr. 10th – New York, NY – The Highline Ballroom
Sat., Apr. 11th: Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Wed., Apr. 15th – Austin, TX – One World Theatre
Thu., Apr. 16th – Tuscon, AZ – The Rialto Theater
Fri., Apr. 17th – Indio, CA – Coachella
Sun., Apr. 19th – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Fly Trio Soars with "Sky & Country"
I love jazz trios. Their uncluttered, crisp lines and intimate conversations are the best way to get turned on to the music. Modern jazz history can point to some spellbindingly dynamic trios. Sonny Rollins, Albert Ayler's mind-bending forays, and Ornette Coleman come to mind. The Fly Trio follows in their footsteps, except that they place a premium on inclusiveness and shifting perspectives. This is one ensemble that is devoid centripetal undertakings. Opting on an equation that thrives on equality, no one voice dominates and there's no centerpiece whose star power casts long shadows on supporting sidemen. The members of Fly Trio are in fact session musicians, but more than that, they are A-list players and composers who have accompanied some big names in the jazz world - Stan Getz, Chick Corea and Pat Metheny amongst others. On their new album saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard have reunited once again to promote the ideal of collectivity. But it's not like they're sacrificing individuality either. Each player contributes something unique to the whole, making this trio's functionality optimal, not just in a technical sense. These cats are musically interesting and relevant. Three is the new, hip formation and Ballard's opening track "Lady B" delivers with a supple tone that sets the vibe. "CJ" exudes very cool, sultry contours and "Dharma Days" is playful with jumping bass and subtle, yet kinetic drums rounding out Turner's laid back phrasing. Sky & Country closes with the unhurried, expansive "Super Sister" which features a rollicking drum solo almost midway and a creeping bass line accented by Turner's lamenting sax. Lookout, the Fly Trio is reclaiming the spirit of true collaboration for jazz.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Altered State of RH+
RH+ is an alt rock band from Chile that just released its U.S. debut Quintana Roo (Nacional Records). They concoct a sound that's as expansive as their country's wildly diverse geography. Hopscotching through the sonic equivalents of their narrow topography of extremes, their ambient, aural landscapes are urban, glacial, and trippy - the last description ties in nicely with the Atacama desert, where the native hallucinogen known as San Pedro (Peyote in Mexico) grows abundantly. RH+'s mind-altering froth isn't as potent as San Pedro, but it's enough to get you fantasizing about being stranded in a desert where shamans once roamed. You can read my entire review of Quintana Roo in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald. http://www.elnuevoherald.com/entretenimiento/musica/story/397284.html
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Sounds of Brazil at SXSW
As the number of Latin bands performing at SXSW continues to make impressive gains, this year marks a notable upsurge in Brazilian artists. Close to 30 bands have been confirmed to play at Austin's yearly indie music fest (March 18-22), bumping Brazil up among the top five foreign countries with the largest contingents to descend on Texas' coolest city. Many of them are going the route of Sao Paulo electro-pop darlings CSS, by singing in english. From the cute alterna-pop of Ceara's own Telerama to the irreverent alt-rock of Vinil Laranja, a band from Belem, this year's lineup reflects the diversity of a new generation of Brazilian artists who no longer feel pigeonholed by the sheer size of their country and its linguistic isolation within Latin America. I spoke to publicist Tracy Mann of MG Limited to get the lowdown on the Brazilian invasion. Mann, a SXSW consultant, is an authority on Brazilian music who has worked tirelessly to raise its profile in the U.S. GGC: Why has there been such an increase in the number of Brazilian bands coming to SXSW?
TM: Because my partner, Mark and I, we’re independent consultants at SXSW and public relations and we have been on two trade missions to Brazil in 2007 and 2008, specifically to see bands and meet independent labels and in 2008 Brent Grulke, creative director for SXSW also went with us on one of these trips. So a lot of these bands that you’re seeing are prior bands that either we actually saw when we were in Brazil or we met with their representative and it generated a lot of interest at SXSW.
GGC: Now was Gilbert Gil’s appearance at SXSW a few years ago any indicator that there would be more representation of Brazilian music? Was it in any way a turning point that made you all realize ‘hey this could be something that could take off. We have all of these Latin acts from different countries in Latin America and there’s not as much Brazilian music. Why don’t we go out and find them?’
TM: I’ve lived in Brazil since the 70s and I’ve known Gilberto Gil since that time. And I’ve been working with Brazilian acts touring nationally in the U.S. or releasing records. I certainly wanted to bring that into the excitement I think and the fantastic commercial opportunity at SXSW. I’ve been going to Austin for 23 years so I knew that there was an audience for Brazilian music. I mean they have amazing things there Lissette. They have the biggest Brazilian library archives in the world at the University of Texas library. They have an escola de samba made up of all gringos, you know capoeira school all gringos and when we gave Gil the key to the city in 2007 I mean they had this huge display of capoeira and samba and there was one actual Brazilian in the crowd. So it seemed like a great, very hospitable place to have particularly younger bands come in and get their feet wet in the American market. I would say the real turning point was the year before Gil came when we brought Lenine. And Mark and I and a partner actually financed that cause there was no way to bring him and we were working with him and we were just dying to have him and he played a showcase and it was just you know an incredible thing. He got a booking agent, he got IMN it’s his booking agency, right away, and got all this kind of attention and it was really, really good.
GGC: So you were also directly involved in bringing Gil in 2007?
TM: Yes, yes, because I was working on that record at the time, Gil Luminoso. You know I suggested it and he was coming, it was right when he was starting that tour. I brought it to his attention and I asked him if he would come.
GGC: Let’s talk about some of the bands you’ve listed, there’s too many to obviously name them all. Are there any there that you recognize that you could talk about, or that you’re familiar with?
TM: Well, first of all, I mean to me Patu Fu is just fabulous. They have a long career in Brazil already. They’re post-modern pop, they’re very cool, so definitely one of my picks. But what I wanted to say was that the diversity of music is what blows my mind. I would say a good half of these people sing in English, they deal in alternative rock that people could identify with any number of countries, it’s really not specifically Brazil, they sing less world music per se; people are doing a lot of interesting hybrids, a lot of punk rock in this line up. It’s very interesting.
GCC: During your two recent trade missions in 2007 and 2008, were you able to detect any trends? I know Brazil is such a huge country and to talk about it in monolithic terms is impossible, but are there any trends, specifically with the younger generation, of course the whole thing about the hybridity in music, there’s no such thing as purists in music any more, there is no such things as genres, but were there any trends that you were able to detect while you were there?
TM: Well I would say particularly traveling in the northeast the techno brega continues to be really big and there are a lot of sort of like garage gatherings late at night where people play it all night long.
GGC: And is that going to be reflected at all at SXSW?
TM: There’s no techno brega, there’s one brega, but it’s not techno and that would be La Pupuna, they’re from Belem.
GGC: It’s always been said that Brazilian music is so insular due to the sheer size of the country the market there can support its own vast industry. Has that changed in the last several years as we see more music being exported?
TM:You know I was just really very impressed by stories people told us, in fact from bands that aren’t being represented at SXSW. The people who are doing a great business via MySpace and they’re getting signed to U.S. and Canadian labels just on the basis of the music that they’re putting up on their MySpace. I think that, you know especially with Gil’s leadership on this, I think that Brazilian musicians are very far in thinking in terms of how to use the Internet as a method of communication and they sort of understand that they’re in a somewhat isolated spot, that this is their best tool to reach into the outside world and they’re really into that. I mean a number of these bands that are coming to SX, will be doing full tours of the United States that they booked fully through MySpace and Facebook. No agents, no nothing.
GGC: Yeah I guess that’s the nature of the music industry now, they’re cutting out the middleman.
TM: I will say, it’s quite impressive how music is still regionalized. I mean there are still local scenes, like I said the techno brega scene is happening in Belem, in the state of Pará. We were in Minas Gerais in the summer too, and there you see a very evolved style of music, I mean those people obviously have a really intense musical education, from classical background and it goes into making music that is instrumental in more of a western European tradition perhaps. I think if we mention the great Milton Nascimento, he too has kind of that Minas lineage because his music is so complex melodically and harmonically.
GGC: He was part of the Clube da Esquina scene.
TM: Yeah, yeah, then in Goiania they have a metal and hard rock scene. They’ll be some bands from Goiania.
GGC: Speaking of the Internet have you heard of this singer/songwriter who passed away very young, he killed himself, Yonlu? Luaka Bop is going to release an album.
TM: I did read about that.
GGC: It reflects the whole of idea of communicating through the Internet and making DIY music in your own bedroom…
TM: And getting it out to the world even if you’re in your bedroom, yeah I agree.
GGC: It’s fascinating.
TM: I mean the other thing too that I think is really interesting Lissette is that Brazilians, I mean I’ve been going to Brazil for over thirty years, the young Brazilian musicians are organizing, creating professional organizations for themselves at a rate that really astounds me. This one guy who’s coming with a couple of these bands, Eduardo Ramos, he’s the guy who was originally managing CSS, so you know he’s pretty smart about how to export music, but he also realized that they needed to have a better internal system because touring in Brazil is really difficult financially and organizationally and he set up a network just in the state of Sao Paulo that has 26 venues that bands can come and do around the state and he’s really working on that, not only for the Brazilian bands in Sao Paulo and other states, but also as an exchange with bands in the U.S. who want to come down and you know have a full itinerary in Brazil.
GGC: That’s amazing.
TM: So that’s happening too.
TM: Because my partner, Mark and I, we’re independent consultants at SXSW and public relations and we have been on two trade missions to Brazil in 2007 and 2008, specifically to see bands and meet independent labels and in 2008 Brent Grulke, creative director for SXSW also went with us on one of these trips. So a lot of these bands that you’re seeing are prior bands that either we actually saw when we were in Brazil or we met with their representative and it generated a lot of interest at SXSW.
GGC: Now was Gilbert Gil’s appearance at SXSW a few years ago any indicator that there would be more representation of Brazilian music? Was it in any way a turning point that made you all realize ‘hey this could be something that could take off. We have all of these Latin acts from different countries in Latin America and there’s not as much Brazilian music. Why don’t we go out and find them?’
TM: I’ve lived in Brazil since the 70s and I’ve known Gilberto Gil since that time. And I’ve been working with Brazilian acts touring nationally in the U.S. or releasing records. I certainly wanted to bring that into the excitement I think and the fantastic commercial opportunity at SXSW. I’ve been going to Austin for 23 years so I knew that there was an audience for Brazilian music. I mean they have amazing things there Lissette. They have the biggest Brazilian library archives in the world at the University of Texas library. They have an escola de samba made up of all gringos, you know capoeira school all gringos and when we gave Gil the key to the city in 2007 I mean they had this huge display of capoeira and samba and there was one actual Brazilian in the crowd. So it seemed like a great, very hospitable place to have particularly younger bands come in and get their feet wet in the American market. I would say the real turning point was the year before Gil came when we brought Lenine. And Mark and I and a partner actually financed that cause there was no way to bring him and we were working with him and we were just dying to have him and he played a showcase and it was just you know an incredible thing. He got a booking agent, he got IMN it’s his booking agency, right away, and got all this kind of attention and it was really, really good.
GGC: So you were also directly involved in bringing Gil in 2007?
TM: Yes, yes, because I was working on that record at the time, Gil Luminoso. You know I suggested it and he was coming, it was right when he was starting that tour. I brought it to his attention and I asked him if he would come.
GGC: Let’s talk about some of the bands you’ve listed, there’s too many to obviously name them all. Are there any there that you recognize that you could talk about, or that you’re familiar with?
TM: Well, first of all, I mean to me Patu Fu is just fabulous. They have a long career in Brazil already. They’re post-modern pop, they’re very cool, so definitely one of my picks. But what I wanted to say was that the diversity of music is what blows my mind. I would say a good half of these people sing in English, they deal in alternative rock that people could identify with any number of countries, it’s really not specifically Brazil, they sing less world music per se; people are doing a lot of interesting hybrids, a lot of punk rock in this line up. It’s very interesting.
GCC: During your two recent trade missions in 2007 and 2008, were you able to detect any trends? I know Brazil is such a huge country and to talk about it in monolithic terms is impossible, but are there any trends, specifically with the younger generation, of course the whole thing about the hybridity in music, there’s no such thing as purists in music any more, there is no such things as genres, but were there any trends that you were able to detect while you were there?
TM: Well I would say particularly traveling in the northeast the techno brega continues to be really big and there are a lot of sort of like garage gatherings late at night where people play it all night long.
GGC: And is that going to be reflected at all at SXSW?
TM: There’s no techno brega, there’s one brega, but it’s not techno and that would be La Pupuna, they’re from Belem.
GGC: It’s always been said that Brazilian music is so insular due to the sheer size of the country the market there can support its own vast industry. Has that changed in the last several years as we see more music being exported?
TM:You know I was just really very impressed by stories people told us, in fact from bands that aren’t being represented at SXSW. The people who are doing a great business via MySpace and they’re getting signed to U.S. and Canadian labels just on the basis of the music that they’re putting up on their MySpace. I think that, you know especially with Gil’s leadership on this, I think that Brazilian musicians are very far in thinking in terms of how to use the Internet as a method of communication and they sort of understand that they’re in a somewhat isolated spot, that this is their best tool to reach into the outside world and they’re really into that. I mean a number of these bands that are coming to SX, will be doing full tours of the United States that they booked fully through MySpace and Facebook. No agents, no nothing.
GGC: Yeah I guess that’s the nature of the music industry now, they’re cutting out the middleman.
TM: I will say, it’s quite impressive how music is still regionalized. I mean there are still local scenes, like I said the techno brega scene is happening in Belem, in the state of Pará. We were in Minas Gerais in the summer too, and there you see a very evolved style of music, I mean those people obviously have a really intense musical education, from classical background and it goes into making music that is instrumental in more of a western European tradition perhaps. I think if we mention the great Milton Nascimento, he too has kind of that Minas lineage because his music is so complex melodically and harmonically.
GGC: He was part of the Clube da Esquina scene.
TM: Yeah, yeah, then in Goiania they have a metal and hard rock scene. They’ll be some bands from Goiania.
GGC: Speaking of the Internet have you heard of this singer/songwriter who passed away very young, he killed himself, Yonlu? Luaka Bop is going to release an album.
TM: I did read about that.
GGC: It reflects the whole of idea of communicating through the Internet and making DIY music in your own bedroom…
TM: And getting it out to the world even if you’re in your bedroom, yeah I agree.
GGC: It’s fascinating.
TM: I mean the other thing too that I think is really interesting Lissette is that Brazilians, I mean I’ve been going to Brazil for over thirty years, the young Brazilian musicians are organizing, creating professional organizations for themselves at a rate that really astounds me. This one guy who’s coming with a couple of these bands, Eduardo Ramos, he’s the guy who was originally managing CSS, so you know he’s pretty smart about how to export music, but he also realized that they needed to have a better internal system because touring in Brazil is really difficult financially and organizationally and he set up a network just in the state of Sao Paulo that has 26 venues that bands can come and do around the state and he’s really working on that, not only for the Brazilian bands in Sao Paulo and other states, but also as an exchange with bands in the U.S. who want to come down and you know have a full itinerary in Brazil.
GGC: That’s amazing.
TM: So that’s happening too.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Electronic, Afro-Peruvian crew Novalima has just released their third album Coba Coba on Cumbancha records. Their soulful blend of African roots music from Peru's coastal regions and global beats follow closely a worldwide fascination in urban youth culture to meld the ancestral and folkloric with the mechanization of the 21st century. Still, there's nothing hackneyed about Novalima. The band provides a fresh perspective, presented with an authentic sonic accent. My review of their album is now up on El Nuevo Herald's site.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Mark Rapp Brings Fresh Ideas to Jazz With His New Album
Mark Rapp is a young, up and coming trumpeter who seems to have found his footing in a sound that can best be described as soul jazz. On his new album, Token Tales, Rapp displays his knack for producing crisp melodic lines with both flair and a down-to-earth sensibility that intuitively gets the listener grooving. He knows just when to build momentum and expand the boundaries of improvisation. His tone is street wise and hip, but elegant enough to get nods from both novice and experienced audiences. Rapp can just as easily turn up the heat and then turn inward to radiate an ember glow. He weaves in global influences through his skillful playing of the Australian didgeridoo, a reminder that the world is increasingly a smaller place where there is no room for purists in music. In composition and playing, Rapp is a revelation and one of many young innovators who hold a key to the future of jazz in the present tense. In one word, Token Tales is ALIVE.
Friday, January 2, 2009
La Novia del Filin Shows Gratitude and Cuban Music Begins to Resurface in the U.S.
Lots of news on the Cuban music front. Last month the infinitely sultry doyenne of filin, Omara Portuondo, released her latest album Gracias, in commemoration of sixty years as a recording artist. On this collection of Portuondo's personal favorites, the female star of the Buena Vista Social Club is accompanied by musicians she greatly admires. Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca, the legendary Chucho Valdés, Brazilian singer/songwriter Chico Buarque and Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona are just some of the luminaries setting the mood. Now in her late seventies, Portuondo has much to be thankful for. She's lived a storied career, first as a dancer in Havana's premier Tropicana nightclub in the forties and then as a singer for the vocal group Quarteto Las D'Aida (the equivalent of the Supremes). Late in life, the success of the Buena Vista Social Club has brought her worldwide recognition, along with a new lease on her artistic life.Just in time for the dawning of a new era in American politics, and in hopeful anticipation of a thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations, Juan de Marcos González's Afro-Cuban All-Stars launch a U.S. tour in February that will take the revolving collective to thirty plus cities across the nation. In reflecting the reality of a growing number of Cuban musicians who opt to live outside of the ever-restrictive island, the 2009 version of the Afro-Cuban All-Stars is comprised of A-list Cuban musicians who reside all over the world. From Minnesota to Amsterdam, González has assembled a group of expatriates who are at the top of their game. A combination CD/DVD titled Absolutely Live on Gonzalez's DM Ahora! Records (London) and GG & LL Records (Mexico) will be available exclusively during this tour at concerts and at select online retailers. The package includes DVD footage of a concert at Tokyo's Zepp, and CD audio and DVD of a previously unreleased concert at The Staaten Hall during The Hague's North Sea Jazz Festival. For a city near you visit www.rockpaperscissors.biz/go/cuba
Last but not least my friends at FUNDarte, in conjunction with the Miami Light Project, are putting on their most anticipated show of their performance season. Every year in February sand and sea become the backdrop for the Global Cuba Fest on the shores of Miami Beach. The series of concerts showcases the best contemporary live Cuban music that's accessible to Americans. This year non other than Cuban-Canadian rockero Alex Cuba makes his live Miami debut. I caught up with the afro-haired singer/songwriter over the summer in New York at the Latin Alternative Music Conference and he expressed some trepidation at the prospect of playing Miami for the first time. I assured him that times had changed and that for the most part music and art were no longer caught in the crosshairs of local Cuban-American politics as they had been in the past. Plus audiences in Miami, as in the rest of the U.S., are hungry for Cuban music in its many forms. Also on the bill are saxophonist Yosvany Terry, and Miami's own Grammy-winning Cuban diva, Albita. For details and dates visit http://www.fundarte.us/
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