Category Archives: CD Reviews

CD Review: Sameer Gupta “Namaskar” – a unique approach to Indian / jazz fusion

D06036F00GF8YP87PDH58{0}_large  Artist: Sameer Gupta
Title: Namaskar
Label: Motema Rec
Genre: Indian jazz

 Review by Dawoud Kringle

Bass and piano hang a low note in the air. A sarangi asserts itself as the voice of a sad worldly wisdom. That Ab (or A; I am too engrossed in this beautiful music to pause the CD and check with an instrument or tuner) in the bass, shimmering cymbals, and crystalline piano chords weaving around that ancient voice. The groove and structure of the tabla, bass, and piano make their entrance, and the sarangi establishes the melody and explores its possibilities. Thus does “Aaye Ne Balam,” the first track on Sameer Gupta’s Namaskar CD begins.

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CD Review: Wisaal – an Arabic-influenced world music ensemble based in Lansing, Michigan… an Arabic word meaning links, connections, or unities

Wisaal-FB-Profile-PicArtist: Wisaal
Title: The Warp and the Weft
Label: self released
Genre: World: Middle East, Contemporary

CD Review by Dawoud Kringle

According to the liner notes, the two key components of tapestry weaving are the warp and the weft. The warp threads are the foundation through which the weft threads are weaved to create the design. In the end, the former is hidden by the design revealed by the later. This is the conceptual foundation of Wisaal.

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CD review: Marbin’s “Last Chapter of Dreaming”…is an interesting and thought provoking collection of excellent music!

4PAN1TArtist: Marbin
Title: Last Chapter of Dreaming
Label: Moonjune Records
Genre: nu jazz/fusion jazz

Review by Dawoud Kringle

Do you like music that is difficult to define, brings you to familiar places, takes you somewhere you couldn’t expect without losing its continuity? Marbin’s CD Last Chapter of Dreaming is just what you’re looking for.

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CD Review: Pedra Preta…a promising CD by a tight band, filled with diverse music played at a high level of musicianship

lrgArtist: Pedra Preta
Title: Your Choice
Label: Unit Records
Genre: Afro-beat / Dub / Jazz

CD review by Matt Cole

Pedra Preta is an international trio, with members from Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland, and with a sound rooted in jazz but with many influences and components.  Their album Your Choice was released in 2010 on the Swiss label Unit Records.  The band includes Munir Hossn on guitars and vocals (and most of the songwriting), Toni Schiavano on electric bass, and Flo Reichle on drums and percussion.

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CD Review: Lo’Jo creating audio world cinema…?

pArist: Lo’ Jo
Title: Cinema El Mundo
Label: World Village
Genre: French avant pop/ world

The CD begins with jungle sounds, and a poem (in French, which unfortunately, I don’t understand) by singer / keyboardist / band leader Denis Péan. This led into the second track; a soft, lilting ballad with memorable melodies, seductive backing vocals, and Péan singing / reciting his story.

Lo Jo’s latest release, Cinema el Mundo is a multi-faceted recording marking their 30 year existence as a group, and proving their creative wellspring is far form dry. Péan is joined by his longtime partner Richard Bourreau (violin / kora), Kham Meslien (bass), Baptiste Brondy (drums), and the Nid el Mourid sisters Yamina and Nadia (vocals), Cinema El Mundo guest artists include Menwar, Gan Guo, Andra Kouyate, Vincent Segal, Stephane Coutable, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Eyadou, Niaz Diasamidze and Robert Wyatt.

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