Mierlița - Stranger in Chișinău

Mierliţa (mir-LEE-tsa) plays rich, swingy, highly-ornamented Romanian music in the Lautari (Roma, or “Gypsy”) style. Intricate melodies and harmonies intertwine with an infectious jazz rhythm section to provide the core of this virtuosic quartet’s sound. Fiddlers Jon Cannon and Abigale Reisman, both students of Lautari master violinist Marin Bunea, bring a contemporary perspective to a full traditional repertoire alongside guitarist Sasha Kern and upright bassist Kirsten Lamb. Mierlita has given acclaimed performances all over New England including appearances at the New England Folk Festival and the Folk Arts Center of New England’s popular Balkan Music Night. Their debut full-length CD, “Stranger in Chisinau,” was released in March 2015.

African Spirits - A Spiritual Jazz Journey Looking Back to Africa [2004]

This album consists of 10 tracks that represent a spiritual jazz journey looking back to Africa: the motherland, the roots of jazz, the birthplace of black music and the ancestral origins of the musicians themselves.
Individually the tracks - some of the best music of its type ever recorded - are in demand in their own right, with most being compiled for the first time. In the 1960's and 1970's many Afro Americans started to look back to their roots and the roots of the music for inspiration, direction and confirmation. Musicians including Yusef Lateef, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and many of the artists on this compilation experimented with African instruments and sounds during this period. It was a time of black celebration, the 'Afro' hairstyle was a prerequisite for hipness. The drum - the most basic rhythm instrument and the foundation that almost all modern music rests on - came from Africa. Indeed, Jazz music itself can also trace its origins back to Africa; in fact scientists, historians and archaeologists have suggested that the entire human race took its first steps in Africa and evolved from there. The music contained on this album, whilst rhythmically strong is also imbued with haunting melodies and spiritually uplifting shades. A major factor behind the making of this music was a reaction against a society based on commercialism and insincerity: this is music with a message, music of substance, music that demands the listener be drawn in. It's music that you can really feel…music that moves and fulfils you, leaving you spiritually uplifted. This album is not just about selecting and bringing together a collection of in demand Jazz cuts…it's about inviting the listener on a musical journey back to Africa, back to ancient civilisation. Enjoy the ride.

Enjoy!

Various ‎– Jazz Meets The World [1975]

Today, “World Music” has become a standard concept and the surpassing of borders between jazz musicians and other musical cultures goes without saying. One of the foundations for the development of jazz into world music was established by MPS during the sixties. With the series “Jazz meets the world”, initiated by Joachim-Ernst Berendt, meetings between jazz musicians and other musical cultures were started. The Irene Schweizer Trio played with musicians from India, George Gruntz worked with Arabic and Toni Scott with musicians from Bali. The MPS-series “Jazz meets the world” is still one of the most important concepts between jazz and traditional music from India, Bali, Cuba, Tunisia, Spain, Brazil and Japan. 

                                                                               Enjoy!

The Baghdaddies - Random Acts Of Kindness [2003]

Touring the world for 14 years, the Baghdaddies’ music is world music with  strong Balkan tendencies alongside Caribbean grooves, Middle Eastern rhythms and even some Geordie [native Newcastle] touches, all awash with influences such as ska, jazz, punk , delivered with theatre and exuberance. Uplifting and infectiously danceable, full of blistering brass, rousing 5 part vocal harmonies and a rhythm section that you can’t keep still to. Songs to listen to and party!
  This album is called Random Acts Of Kindness  and you can't listen to it and not smile. On paper, the lyrics might not aspire to poetry, but the exuberant performance style and musical dexterity brings them to life. Songs like Winter Winds, the title track and 6/8 - We'll Be Late would grace any party. 


                                          

                                                                           Enjoy!

Yusef Lateef & Adam Rudolph The World at Peace, Music for 12 Musicians [1995]

Picture a 12-piece orchestra with percussion from Africa, the Americas, India, and the Middle East; a rainbow of wind instruments (shenai, musette, kudu horn, bass clarinet, tuba, saxophone, trumpet, flute); and ethereal strings (cello, harp, violin, and classical acoustic and electric MIDI guitar). Now, picture a seamless integration of those textures and tones, a ritual celebration of live trance beats, shamanistic polyrhythms, melodies with wings, drum skins on fire, space and silence between thick brush strokes of color.
The compositions are as harmonically elegant as any score in the Duke Ellington catalog. At once earthy and cosmic, Lateef & Rudolph's two-CD set transcends the myopia of genre-based thinking. Reaffirming the power of the creative spirit, The World at Peace offers up pure expression as a source of positivity and wonderment. Its cultural import spans the planet.   

                                       

                                    Enjoy!   CD1  &  CD2

 

 

Trio Balkano - Some time now [2006]

Trio Balkano were formed in 1999 by experienced musicians who were trying to express the Greek musical tradition.They created a music style that combines ethnic elements with jazz improvisations, a style which is known as "Balkan jazz" Some Time Now songs However, their compositions are not restricted to one musical genre. They keep searching their ways through the pluralism of their musical environment and the common memories which are carried throughout time and space. Their music is characterized by originality, adaptability and emotional strength. They therefore form a creative and at the same time modern musical identity. 

                                            

                                                                                Enjoy!

Florina Brass Band - II [1999]

Brass instruments reached the Balkan countries through the military bands of the 19th century. It wasn´t too long before they filtered through to the towns and then on to the countryside. The brass band craze spread all over the Balkans and created a new sensation in Balkan traditional music almost instantaneously. For the first time in history the bands used exclusively Western instruments - the very same instruments that would be used by a brass band in, say, New Orleans, but what they played was a particularly fiery brand of their own countries´ traditional music, down to the same scales and odd time signatures that characterize the music of all the Balkan countries. In Greece brass bands form an integral part of the musical tradition of Western and Central Macedonia.

For over thirty years FLORINA BRASS BAND has been one of the main exponents of this important and sadly so far neglected part of local musical tradition.
FLORINA BRASS BAND was formed in 1960 by Tasos Valkanis, the leader of the Florina Town Brass Band and also a folk musician. Occasionally they collaborated with musicians such as Chimerini Kolimvites or Floros Floridis. Based in the small North-Western Greek town of Florina, they performed a thousands of times: from tiny villages and towns in Macedonia to the InterBalkan Festival in Thessaloniki and festivals in France. Their sound and the dance tunes they play are unique in Greek traditional music and can mainly be found in the Western part of Macedonia.   Tasos Valkanis has passed away, but the spirit of the band carries on through his sons Lazaros and Georgios. The members of the band today are Lazaros Valkanis on clarinet, Georgios Valkanis on accordion, Floros Floridis on alto sax, Christos Hasapis on cornet, Panagiotis Ioannou on trombone, Pandelis Stoikos on cornet and Athanasios Samaras on drums.            Enjoy!

Les Misérables Brass Band - Manic Traditions [1994]

As the use of brass wind instruments in popular music rises (Tubas are Very Big this year) more awareness of the wide variety of international regional brass driven music is also rising. From the Balkans to Benin, from Mexico to Switzerland, from New Orleans to the mountains of Peru, Klezmer and much more, there is a lot of very different styles and traditions that have developed from the remnants of military empires and their marching bands.
Le Miserables Brass Band was one of the first groups to pull together many of these elements, finding the connections and make them into something new. Dance, Folk/Traditional, Ceremonial, Religious, Jazz, Rock and categories that had not been widely known in the USA are presented with both great understanding and great energy.
All of the musicians on this recording have gone on to be significant performers, soloists, band leaders, composers, and inspirations to many other musicians.

                                              

                                           

                                                                            Enjoy!

Amancio D'Silva - Integration [1969]

Of all the attempts to bring together jazz and Indian music, this must be one of the most successful. Born in Goa, D'Silva was brought up in the Indian classical tradition, but took to jazz early in life and became a first-rate guitarist. In London during the late 1960s, he got together with British musicians to record three albums, of which this was the first. The ease with which they found common ground is clear from the start of the opening number, 'Ganges', a joint composition by D'Silva and trumpeter Ian Carr, and the remarkable title piece, which is a virtually free improvisation by D'Silva, saxophonist Don Rendell and bassist Dave Green. They strike a perfect balance between the two idioms, and there is none of that phoney 'Eastern' flavouring, featuring sitars and such like, so fashionable at the time. D'Silva plays electric guitar throughout, and the music swings in a completely natural way. 

                                                               Enjoy!

Curandero - Aras [1997]

Brilliant and amazing is just a start to describe the latest released album "Curandero "Aras," by the highly talented artists Miguel Espinoza and Ty Burhoe, aka Curandero. They have had special guest artists  Kai Eckhardt (Bass) and Bela Fleck (Banjo).This six-track disc covers the style of Flamenco embedded with jazz fusion and offers some delightfully interesting and stunning pieces. Incorporating the unique blend of Flamenco guitar, tabla, banjo, and bass the sound textures this group creates is truly fabulous. "Segue" is jazz fire and fury at its best with funky bass lines, driving drum beats, and excellent guitar. Taking the mood to a more serene ambiance, "River" gently flows with a calmness of peaceful tranquility. "Once Upon a Time," features the banjo as the main instrument with an exceptional display of finger picking. Fans of jazz fusion and Flamenco won't be disappointed when listening to Curandero's "Aras," with its creative and distinctive charm of the well-focused and talented cast of musicians.

                                                               Enjoy!

John Mayer's Indo-Jazz fusions - Ragatal [1998]

 The 'Indo-Jazz Fusions'  were first released in 1967 and 1968. After Joe Harriott died in 1973, John Mayer did not want to carry on with the band. Following a short-lived version with Steve Williamson earlier in the decade, Mayer formed the new Indo-jazz Fusions in 1995. 'Ragatal', their second release, was recorded in October 1997.
 Significantly, the group is no longer called 'a double quintet' (i.e one jazz, one Indian), it is an integrated ensemble; the Indian and jazz elements are now more fully and successfully blended than in the Harriott group. There are other elements of World Music too; 'Miyan ki Malhar' has distinctly South African rhythms. Despite the inclusion of instrumentation associated with jazz (sax, trumpet, double bass) the music is almost all scored, even the solos, John Mayer does not believe in too much improvisation - after all, he is Professor of Composition and Composer in Residence at Birmingham Conservatoire!
However, some solos do sound very spontaineous and in the jazz tradition. Anna Brooks tenor solo in 'Partita' would not be out of place on a Stan Getz record. Even though there is genuine fusion in this music, to my ears the dominant sound is still that of India. Maybe Indian ears would say the jazz influence dominates. Anyway, Duke Ellington said, 'There are two types of music - good and bad.' This is good. 

                                              
                                                       
                                                               Enjoy!

Embryo – Turn Peace [1989]

Back in 1967/68 Christian Burchard was the vibraphonist of Mal Waldron, the pianist who played with Billie Holliday and John Coltrane and who at least the Japanese recognize for the great musician he is. Just how good the Mal-Chnstian alliance still works can be heard on this record. It is a pity that the other great American musician who was involved in the Embryo evolution – Charlie Mariano – is not to be heard on the record. But in a way he is: when Roland Schaeffer plays the nagasuram, an oboe-like instrument that Mariano studied for years in South India (and so often played with Embryo), you think on hearing Mariano himself, until you realize that it is Roland playing in his own special way – more independent and technically superior. Of course Embryo’s important countries are represented on this record. Marocco by El Houssaine Kill, Nigeria by the Yoruba Dun Dun Ensemble of Lamidi Ayankunie and his friends and India by T.A.S. Mani with his College of Percussion.

 Celebrating 20 years of Embryo, TURN PEACE offered many more surprises, showing that Burchard and co. were still fresh and innovative musicians, still willing to try new ideas and forge on whilst still having the knack for recreating the music they originally set out with!

                                                                Enjoy!

Le Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou - S/T [1977]

The Kunkan (Voices) label was established in 1975 by Malian Minister of Culture Youssouf Traore to capture the music of several orchestras from different regions of Mali. Technician Bouboukar Traore proved himself a master in the recording phase when he placed the four microphones and recorded the instruments, particularly the congas.
It is hard to believe that a bunch of electricians, policemen, social workers, a nurse and a bassist / customs man were capable of creating this kind of musical landmark. The messages on these recordings are obviously carried with a holy fire.
  The sound is bold and righteous, but with an other-worldly vibe too – a really haunting quality that grabs us like some of the most evocative Ethiopian sounds of the 70s! At some level, there's definitely a Mali touch going on in the music – some very tripped-out elements in the production, and a way of wrapping things together with an undercurrent of melancholy.
The result is a magnum opus that sounds hypnotic, from the first to the last note.The sound of Le Jazz  Mystère captures the listener in an incredible musical and spiritual hold.

                                                               Enjoy!

Bratsch - J'aime un voyou,maman [1980]

Bratsch is a French group founded in 1975 by Dan Gharibian and Bruno Girard, joined a few years later by Pierre Jacquet, François Castiello and Nano Peylet. Coming from free jazz, these musicians share the same admiration for the klezmer, gypsy, Eastern Europe rhythms. Often in tour, they composed many superb albums with entertaining sounds and melodies, on serious or merry subjects.
”We are not real traditional musicians, says François Castiello. In France, we do not have a very rich musical tradition, whereas, in the Romanian, Yugoslav, Bulgarian musics, there are extraordinary things to discover on expression and play. We are in front of these musics like white European musicians in front of the jazz in the Fifties.”
Bratsch goes on a journey in gestures, atmospheres, dream. Their music and their spectacle evoke the myth : the myth of the remote village, the myth of the migration, the myth of the “gypsyland”. ”We are dreamers. We have much fantasies on music. People over there do not play it like that. I played recently with a brass band of Macedonia : they play during repetitions, before the repetitions, after the repetitions, they will play in the street as they wake up, they still play after the concert. They do not play only for the people sitting in front of the stage.” 

                                            
                                                  
                                                               Enjoy!

Ivo Papasov & His Orchestra - Balkanology [1991]

One of the most revered musicians in Bulgaria, clarinetist Ivo Papasov is a master of Bulgarian wedding music. The superb and largely instrumental Balkanology draws not only on Bulgarian elements, but also the music of Greece, Turkey and Romania. Listening to this heartfelt music (much of it quite fast), one can hear the parallels between Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and East European forms. Papasov is quite the improviser, and in fact, American jazz has had a significant impact on his loose and very spontaneous modal playing. 
  It is utterly astounding to see what new levels these performers have taken these instruments to. You've never heard clarinets, accordians, and saxophones do things like this. Combine those three instruments with bass, drums and guitar and you've got an eclectic mix. The odd time signatures (9/8, 11/16, etc.), the rapid fire tempos they're capable of, and the bizarre key changes these guys are capable of will simply astound you. The female singer (only on 3 songs) has an ethereal voice that is typical of the fine tradition of Thracian singers. Not only are these amazing musicians with incredible imagination & skill...they know how to play fun music that will make you want to dance (it is wedding music after all!)
Highly recommended to the adventurous!

                                                                Enjoy!

Theologos Gryllis - Tsambouna jazz [2001]

Happy new year dear fellows!

Mention of the first tsabouna might date back to ancient Greece
(446-385 BC) through Aristophanes, who refers to it as "ta fysatiria"
(blown things), but the bagpipe-like instrument unique to the Greek isles [not
to be confused with Macedonia's gaida] has come a long way since.
Thanks to a fine instrumentalist, who despite his 62 years, looks to the
future generations, Patmos native Theologos Gryllis meets local jazzmen Yorgos
Kontrafouris, Takis Barberis and Giannis Sarikos - among others - and proves
that when there's a will, there's definitely a way. The tsabouna might
have a limited six-note range and restricted dynamics, but Gryllis does
wonders with these six notes, taking the traditional instrument (made of
goatskin, reeds and goat bones) to new jazz territories. Gryllis' acrobatic
feats dress upbeat jazz standards giving these a local colour without
distorting their 'Western' sense of flow. "I Had Three Loves", dedicated to
the memory of music critic Rinio Papanikola, is a fine example as is the brisk
"Satyrs" conjuring images of a rapturous Dionysaic orgy and the pop-based
"Naxos Bar". Kudos to producer Michalis Koumbios for a wonderfully fresh idea.
A disc well worth exploring, especially by the jazz lover! 

                                                              Enjoy!

V/A - Malaguena all over

Hi folks!I decided to make a selection of songs for you,actually of the same song!It is Malagueña,written by Ernesto Lecuona for his sixth movement of the Suite Andalucia,an old favorite of mine.There are quite numberous versions of this song,so I picked up some of the less known versions,but still interesting enough,across different styles.Hope you like it!

                                                                               Enjoy!

VA - Jazz & Hijaz 1 & 2 [1998]

‘Ethno-jazz’ tracks,recorded in USA in 60’s and 70’s..The artists are Greeks, Armenians, Hebrews, Americans and others..Released with the Greek magazine ‘Jazz & Tzaz’. Rare stuff!

                                      Enjoy!   Vol.1   &   Vol.2

Manu Dibango - B-Sides [2002]

We had never heard Manu Dibango as melodic as this, and chances are you haven't either unless you have collected all the B-Sides from his singles and vinyl releases between '71 and '83.  Happily, Melodie has done this for us.  "No Sax Here" states the linear notes, and how true they are.  If you thought Manu Dibango was a great sax player, wait until you here him on the marimba,xylophone and vibraphone.  His mastery of melody and composition are all the more evident on the lush and varied songs provided here.  "Miango Ma Tumba (village news)" starts off mellow enough, but builds into quite an orchestration.  Standouts include "Dakar Streets," the Latin flavored "Besoka on salsa" and the solitude of "African Night Blues." 

                                                                                Enjoy!

Mukta - Jade [2000]

Here's a unique ensemble--a French Indo-jazz group. None of the players are likely well-known to American listeners, but don't let that stop you from an eminently satisfying listening experience. Traditional jazz instruments--drums, trumpet, guitar, marimba--combine with Indian ones--sitar, tambura, bansuri--to produce a set of tunes that defy easy categorization.
Mukta also makes use of Latin percussion, an additional component that blends seamlessly, thanks to the leader's (Simon Mary's) songwriting skills. The presence of this third culture lets you know these guys are well aware of the environment of world music--but they don't overdo it; they're savvy enough to know how to give their music exactly what it needs to make it glow, scintillate, and throb. 


                                             
                                                   
                                                               Enjoy!