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Pop Culture Press
Around the World
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But there's a whole world of music waiting
to be explored, so here's a wrap-up of a number
of world music releases that have come out since
the beginning of 2006:
Asha Bhosle
Love Supreme (Times Square)
 If
you are a fan of those wild Bollywood musicals
from India, you might have already figured out
that when the enchanting Aishwarya Rai opens
her mouth to sing, well, it ain't her voice
coming out. In fact, the stain of lip synching
shame that has hovered over the US since Milli
Vanilli and been justifiably rekindled with
Ashlee Simpson's shameful SNL display has never
been a problem in India's lavish musicals, and
the woman who has been the voice of Bollywood
starlets for decades is 72 year-old Asha Bhosle.
Celebrated and recognized over and over again,
it is Bhosle's name who will answer the nagging
question about what the heck that cool Cornershop
song "Brimful of Asha" was about.
Bhosle;s new double-CD release Love Supreme,
which consists of one disc of ghazals, or songs
that are written as conversations between lovers
(though sung by a single person), and a second
disc showcases her romantic duets with various
male singers. Disc one is the less intriguing
of the two, with its often schmaltzy, condo
jazz production. Disc two is much more interesting
with its vintage movie soundtrack recordings,
though being able to actually watch the movies
they are taken from might be a better idea.
Boban Markovic Orkestar featuring Marko
Markovic
The Promise: The King of Balkan Brass (Piranha)
Boban Markovic calls himself the king of Balkan
gypsy brass music and with The Promise, is in
the process of transferring his crown to his
17 year-old son and appointed heir, Marko. On
the almost entirely instrumental record (aside
from one song in Macedonian), the band, which
consists of eight brass instruments and four
percussionists. On the opening "Latino,"
you'd be forgiven for wondering if you had discovered
some undiscovered Herb Alpert disciple and the
rest of the record bears some similarity to
mariachi music, mostly due its multiple brass
instruments but also in some of its song constructions.
It also sounds a little like spy movie music
for some reason, but as if played by a marching
band. It's not really a record I can imagine
listening to on a regular basis but is quite
entertaining in small doses, and both Markovic's
play a mean flugelhorn.
Charanga Cakewalk
Chicano Zen (Triloka/Artemis)
 Michael
Ramos returns with the second installment of
his Charanga Cakewalk project. Last year's Loteria
de la Cumbia Lounge introduced his vision of
the fusing of traditional Latin American styles
and electronic music elements. The result was
a record that was at times intoxicating, if
not wholly exciting. Chicano Zen is a more fully
realized effort and builds on the successes
and potholes of its predecessor. The sound is
basically the same although some of the goovier
bits on Chicano Zen are spacier than on Loteria,
but Ramos has also grown as a writer, and the
songs on Chicano Zen are just that much better.
I've had some conversations with people about
how Ramos is unto to a potentially international
hit-making style if he can find the knock-out
pop single to push him over the top, but perhaps
a collection of really cool records will accomplish
the same result.
Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble
Presents
The Songs of Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh: Soul
of a People (Xauen)
Soul of a People celebrates the work of famed
Egyptian composer Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh, whose
music was inextricably linked with the Egyptian
independence movement of the 1910's and many
of his songs are famous throughout the Arab
world. Darweesh himself ended up as a tragic
figure, dying of a drug overdose in 1923 at
age 31, but his introduction of many western
techniques and musical ideas has been recognized
as a modernizing force in Arab music. The Chicago
Classical Oriental Ensemble presents ten of
Darweesh's compositions on Soul of a People
and creates an engaging record, although one
that might not resonate with people who lack
some previous exposure to Arabian music.
Stella Chiweshe
Double Check (Piranha)
Another of Zimbabwe's major musical figures,
along with Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo,
Stella Chiweshe is a celebrated artist and purveyor
of the mbira, or thumb piano, a seemingly
benign instrument outlawed by the British colonial
government and railed against as demonic by
Christian missionaries. In the hands of Chiweshe,
who also had to overcome sizeable hurdles as
a woman playing music in society with strong
gender bias, you can understand why the white
minority feared the hypnotic sounds of this
instrument, and also why Chiweshe is known in
Zimbabwe as Ambuya Chinyakare or "Grandmother
of Traditional Music." Double Check is
a double CD consisting of one disc of the trance-like
songs, which are seriously groovy and deep full
of Chiweshe's husky, chanting vocals, polyrhythmic
drumming and Chiweshe's mbira. It is a collection
of songs that are almost capable of transporting
the listener with the lone guitar song "Vara
Varikuchema" providing one many highlights.
The other side, called "Classic Songs"
is much more pop sounding but still engaging
with buoyant songs and Chiweshe's vocals and
Mbira playing at the forefront.
Miguel "Anga" Diaz
Echu Mingua (Nonesuch)
Miguel "Anga" Diaz is a Cuban percussionist
who mixes Cuban and jazz influences on his solo
debut along with solo debut along with touches
of hip-hop and African music. Special appearances
include the great Cuban jazz pianist Chucho
Valdes and also features the last studio appearance
of the incomprable Ruben Gonzalez. The highlight
comes with Anga's reinterpretation of Coltrane's
"A Love Supreme" while a chilled out
version of "Round Midnight" barely
seems to resemble the original. The jungle-soinding
"Tume Tume" also works well. The record
is less successful with some of its attempts
to embrace techno and hip-hop rhythms.
Maurice El Medioni meets Roberto Rodriguez
Descarga Oriental: The New York Sessions
(Piranha)
This record presents the collaboration between
Algerian pianist (and current resident of France)
and pioneer of the rai musical style, Maurice
El Medioni and Cuban percussionist Roberto Rodriguez,
further illustrating the well-documented link
between North African and Cuban musical styles.
The music starts with El Medioni's mellifluous,
and often astonishing, playing augmented by
Rodriguez' rhythms and arrangements. Most of
the record is instrumental, although El Medioni's
vocal turns on the opening "Oran Oran"
and closing "C'etait Il Y A Longtemps"
effectively introduce and close the record.
Highly recommended.
Kal
s/t (Asphalt Tango)
 This
Belgrade-based group takes its name from the
Romani (or gypsy) word for "black"
and makes no attempt to hide it pride in its
heritage, even if it results in discrimination
in a country with its recent history of intolerance.
Driven by the vision and energy of the brothers
Dushan and Dragan Ristic, Kal's self-titled
debut is a raucous and energetic affair with
lots of bite and attitude. The music is still
in a fairly traditional Balkan gypsy style with
two accordions and a swirling violin, but it
is delivered with a punch. It's an impressive
debut.
Mary Jane Lamond
Storas (turtlemusik)
Hailing from Cape Breton, part of Nova Scotia
on Canada's eastern shores, Mary Jane Lamond
lived in the only place outside of Scotland
where Scottish Gaelic is spoken, and her concern
about the survival of this language influences
her record, Storas. The record compiles a number
of traditional songs, some of which date back
over 400 years, and showcases Lamond's ringing,
but understated voice. Also on hand is an absolutely
crack backing band that includes the splendid
Cape Breton fiddler Wendy MacIsaac, whose cousin
is Cape Breton's musical enfant terrible, Ashley
MacIsaac (who's 1996 Canadian folk/techno crossover
hit "Sleepy Maggie" featured Lamond
on vocals). Similar to the work of the Irish
group, Clannad, but less ethereal, Storas is
an unfailingly listenable record, which packs
a lot small moments of satisfaction into it.
Las Rubias Del Norte
Panamericana (Barbes Records)
Las Rubias Del Norte is a Brooklyn-based combo
that specializes in various Latin American musical
forms and cultivates a sort of retro-50's European
bohemian look. The almost entirely Anglo group
learned these styles through academic musical
studies rather than during childhood somewhere
in Latin America, so there is an element of
authenticity missing. The record shows tremendous
versatility and musicianship, and the group
certainly would be great to see in a live setting
in a café or at some sort of dance party,
but it is hard to think of a reason to buy Panamericana
instead of a record by one of the originators
of the music Las Rubias Del Norte take their
cue from.
Le Trio Joubran
Randana (Randana/Fairplay/Harmonia Mundi)
 Le
Trio Joubran consists of the three Joubran brothers,
who are Palestinians from Nazareth. The three
are virtuoso player of the oud, a stringed instrument
similar to a guitar or lute. On Randana, the
Joubran brothers show off their considerable
musical dexterity playing long intricate instrumental
pieces. The effect is fairly hypnotic, although
with just the three ouds, the sound lacks the
rhythmic aspect a percussionist might bring.
The result is a record with an almost classical
approach and feel, which is an advantage in
terms of demonstrating the Joubran's great instrumental
skill, but it also makes the record less engaging
to an audience looking for something more rhythmic;
it's a situation similar to hearing Indian sitar
music without the tabla accompaniment.
Romica Puceanu and the Gore Brothers
Sounds From a Bygone Age, Volume 2 (Asphalt
Tango)
The second volume in Asphalt Tango's Sounds
From a Bygone Age, like the first (which fetaured
violinist Ion Petre Stoican), focuses on Romania.
The subject this time is Romica Puceanu, who
was one of Bucharest's most popular gypsy singers
and made her living for deacdes entertaining
at weddings before her death in a car accident
in 1996. On this recording, she is accompanied
by the Gore Brothers band, considered one of
Romania's premier gypsy bands since the 1930's.
Puceanu has a throaty but very nimble voice
that dances around the violin and accordion
of the Gore Brothers. The sound might be especially
appealing to jazz fans with a strong Django
Reinhardt interest.
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