is a forum for the dissemination of cutting-edge music from around the world. An oasis from the mainstream and its adjoining celebrity culture, Thirsty Ear Music profiles and interviews genre-defying, sonic ambassadors who come from the trenches and reviews music that transcends labels and neutralizes borders. Thirsty Ear tips its hat off to the legends of the past and looks to the innovative artists of today as bellwethers of shifting paradigms in music and beyond.
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.
Buika is back, bearing body and soul in the most poignant album of her career. From the risque cover art to the intimacy and rawness of her themes and vocal delivery, Buika has proven yet again that she’s completely surrendered herself to her art – no matter where it may take her. On Niña de Fuego (Girl of Fire) she plunges even deeper into her emotions and emerges in voice to reveal her inner anguish. Traditional coplas (female-centric Spanish torch songs) and fusions of flamenco, jazz, gypsy rumba, and Afro-Cuban rhythms become heart-wrenching songs of despair and love lost. For the first time Buika includes beautifully rendered rancheras in her repertoire, one of which is testament to her own lyrical prowess as a songwriter.
On Niña de Fuego the singer reunites with producer Javier Limón, renowned for the sophisticated flamenco jazz cross-pollinations that he previously brought to highly praised albums by Bebo Valdés and Diego “El Cigala” (Lagrimas Negras) and Paco de Lucía (Cositas Buenas). On Niña de Fuego, Limón is also a musician, unleashing masterful flamenco guitar flourishes accompanied by an A-list lineup that includes Cuban musicians Iván “Melon” Lewis on piano, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández on drums, and Carlitos Sarduy on trumpet. The sound is anchored by Dany Noel on bass with Ramón Porrina and Piraña on percussion.
The eleven-track disc is a collection of classics, songs composed by Limón and David Trueba, and two -- the tender “Miénteme Bien” (Lie To Me Well) and the saucy “Mentirosa” (Liar) -- penned by Buika herself. Both of these touch on similar themes surrounding the false illusions of love. On “Volverás” (You Will Return) Buika is volatile, at first her voice is hazy, almost diaphanous and then it soars in desperate, untamed vocal flights for the return of her lover. Other album highlights include the elegantly soulful opener “La Falsa Moneda” (The Fake Coin) and “Culpa Mía” (My Fault), featuring a voice and palmas intro that climaxes into a swinging Afro-Cuban descarga.
If you missed Buika's performance last year in Miami, don't miss the chance to see her breathtaking show this time around. Buika will be at the Gusman Theater on September 9th, the only scheduled concert in the U.S. so far this year.
Buika is back, bearing body and soul in the most poignant album of her career. From the risque cover art to the intimacy and rawness of her themes and vocal delivery, Buika has proven yet again that she’s completely surrendered herself to her art – no matter where it may take her. On Niña de Fuego (Girl of Fire) she plunges even deeper into her emotions and emerges in voice to reveal her inner anguish. Traditional coplas (female-centric Spanish torch songs) and fusions of flamenco, jazz, gypsy rumba, and Afro-Cuban rhythms become heart-wrenching songs of despair and love lost. For the first time Buika includes beautifully rendered rancheras in her repertoire, one of which is testament to her own lyrical prowess as a songwriter.
On Niña de Fuego the singer reunites with producer Javier Limón, renowned for the sophisticated flamenco jazz cross-pollinations that he previously brought to highly praised albums by Bebo Valdés and Diego “El Cigala” (Lagrimas Negras) and Paco de Lucía (Cositas Buenas). On Niña de Fuego, Limón is also a musician, unleashing masterful flamenco guitar flourishes accompanied by an A-list lineup that includes Cuban musicians Iván “Melon” Lewis on piano, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández on drums, and Carlitos Sarduy on trumpet. The sound is anchored by Dany Noel on bass with Ramón Porrina and Piraña on percussion.
The eleven-track disc is a collection of classics, songs composed by Limón and David Trueba, and two -- the tender “Miénteme Bien” (Lie To Me Well) and the saucy “Mentirosa” (Liar) -- penned by Buika herself. Both of these touch on similar themes surrounding the false illusions of love. On “Volverás” (You Will Return) Buika is volatile, at first her voice is hazy, almost diaphanous and then it soars in desperate, untamed vocal flights for the return of her lover. Other album highlights include the elegantly soulful opener “La Falsa Moneda” (The Fake Coin) and “Culpa Mía” (My Fault), featuring a voice and palmas intro that climaxes into a swinging Afro-Cuban descarga.
If you missed Buika's performance last year in Miami, don't miss the chance to see her breathtaking show this time around. Buika will be at the Gusman Theater on September 9th, the only scheduled concert in the U.S. so far this year.
In the short time innovative drummer Dafnis Prieto has lived in the U.S., his indomitable spirit behind the trap set has elevated his instrument to sonic realms few ever thought possible. Now he's seizing control of his music career by launching his own label, Dafnison Music. Striking out on his own translates into more freedom to experiment and Prieto's wasted no time.
On his indie label debut, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Prieto proclaims his self-liberation and expands his vision from his previous quintet formation to a sextet ensemble that includes saxophonists Yosvany Terry and Peter Apfelbaum, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, pianist Manuel Valera, and bassist Yunior Terry. While the new format opens up the playing field for Prieto, the resulting album is anything but loose. Prieto's compositions are precise, tightly-crafted, and edgy --but he doesn't sacrifice the music's fluidity, demonstrating a knack for constructing complex narrative lines inhabited by polyrhythms and counterpoint melodies.
A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Prieto has played with an array of different groups since his arrival in New York in 1999 -- a Who's Who list that includes some of the most relevant jazz players in the U.S. One of his first jobs was with Henry Threadgill's band Zooid. It was a match made in heaven: Threadgill, one of the most recognized names of the jazz avant-garde, writes meticulously accented music. Since then, Prieto has worked with Claudia Acuña's band, melding straight-ahead jazz and traditional South American rhythms like the Venezuelan joropo and the Argentine chacarera. He's also played in Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Chico O' Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, with pianists Andrew Hill and D. D. Jackson, bassist John Benítez, trumpeters Brian Lynch, Roy Hargrove, and Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and vibraphonist Dave Samuels.
Prieto is known for his pliable, hyperkinetic drumming, energetic sense of groove, and impeccable timing. His synthesis of jazz and indigenous forms are informed by a collation of various Afro-Cuban hand percussion traditions, post-bop idioms, and the avant-garde. Prieto's last two discs, About the Monks and Dafnis Prieto Absolute Quintet were released by Zoho Music; his new disc can be purchased on cdbaby.com.
In the short time innovative drummer Dafnis Prieto has lived in the U.S., his indomitable spirit behind the trap set has elevated his instrument to sonic realms few ever thought possible. Now he's seizing control of his music career by launching his own label, Dafnison Music. Striking out on his own translates into more freedom to experiment and Prieto's wasted no time.
On his indie label debut, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Prieto proclaims his self-liberation and expands his vision from his previous quintet formation to a sextet ensemble that includes saxophonists Yosvany Terry and Peter Apfelbaum, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, pianist Manuel Valera, and bassist Yunior Terry. While the new format opens up the playing field for Prieto, the resulting album is anything but loose. Prieto's compositions are precise, tightly-crafted, and edgy --but he doesn't sacrifice the music's fluidity, demonstrating a knack for constructing complex narrative lines inhabited by polyrhythms and counterpoint melodies.
A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Prieto has played with an array of different groups since his arrival in New York in 1999 -- a Who's Who list that includes some of the most relevant jazz players in the U.S. One of his first jobs was with Henry Threadgill's band Zooid. It was a match made in heaven: Threadgill, one of the most recognized names of the jazz avant-garde, writes meticulously accented music. Since then, Prieto has worked with Claudia Acuña's band, melding straight-ahead jazz and traditional South American rhythms like the Venezuelan joropo and the Argentine chacarera. He's also played in Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Chico O' Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, with pianists Andrew Hill and D. D. Jackson, bassist John Benítez, trumpeters Brian Lynch, Roy Hargrove, and Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and vibraphonist Dave Samuels.
Prieto is known for his pliable, hyperkinetic drumming, energetic sense of groove, and impeccable timing. His synthesis of jazz and indigenous forms are informed by a collation of various Afro-Cuban hand percussion traditions, post-bop idioms, and the avant-garde. Prieto's last two discs, About the Monks and Dafnis Prieto Absolute Quintet were released by Zoho Music; his new disc can be purchased on cdbaby.com.
