Artist: Elikeh
Title: Kondona
Label: Ropeadope Records
Genre: Afropop
New Life in an Old Ceremony: Elikeh Experiences Its Kondona
Music can change everything. As the poet wrote, it has charms to soothe the savage breast. And it can also bring a band back from the dead, giving it a new spark of energy and creativity. For Washington, DC-based Afropop band Elikeh, the results of that musical resurrection are proudly displayed on the EP Kondona (released November 20, 2015).
Artist: Shujaat Husain Khan & Katayoun Goudarzi
Title: Ruby
Label: Shujaat Husain Khan
Genre: Indian Classical/Persian poetry
As natural as breathing or walking. That’s the musical marriage between Iranian-born vocalist Katayoun Goudarzi and Grammy-nominated sitar player Shujaat Husain Khan. And it’s also a perfect description of the affinity they both have for the work of the great Persian poet, Rumi. Just how natural is evident on Ruby (released November 6, 2015), the pair’s fifth exploration of the deep beauty of Rumi’s words.
Artist: Ochion Jewell Quartet
Title: Volk
Label: self-produced
Genre: minimal jazz/contemporary music
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
I was unfamiliar with Ochion Jewell when I was first asked to review Volk. I did a little digging on his website and elsewhere. I found a quote he put on his bio page that spoke volumes: ““Growing up in Appalachian Kentucky without any music venues led to a strong connection to the inherent music of nature. No matter where I go, I can still feel the honesty of that place as the foundation of my art and who I am.” Jewell’s training and experience, first in classical music, then in jazz and improvised music, not to mention his work as a sideman with the likes of Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan, Gregory Hines, Kid Rock, Meatloaf, George Strait, Crystal Gayle, and Michael McDonald, were instrumental in forming a unique musical personality.
Artist: Samuel Claiborne
Title: Love, Lust & Genocide
Label: True Groove Records
Genre: alternative rock
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
Artist: Jon Irabagon
Title: Inaction is an Action
Label: Irabbagast Records
Genre: sopranino saxophone/nu jazz/experimental
Rel. date: September 15, 2015
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
When I first saw Inaction is an Action, I was truly curious. A sopranino saxophone solo CD! I had to know what this guy was up to.
