Artist: Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne
Title: I Line My Days Along Your Weight
Label: Important Records
Genre: folk noir/folk music
CD review by Dante Mann
I Line My Days Along Your Weight, the debut album by Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne , is compelling and an intriguing form of modern folk. There is a distinct southern flavor to this album; the music is subtle and minimalist while remaining dynamic and stylistically robust.
Artist: Troker
Title: Crimen Sonora
Label: Intolerancia
Genre: Progressive Jazz/Rock
CD review by Dante Mann
Troker is a jazz-rock group formed in 2003 in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. They are an independent sextet known for their social involvement and high-energy live show. Crimen Sonora, written with live performance in mind, is Troker’s fourth full-length release.
Artist: Yom
Title: The Silence of the Exodus
Label: Buda Musique
Genre: Eastern European/Klezmer/Sufi music
Recommended by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
The French virtuoso clarinettist Yom takes you on a journey through the history of the Jewish exodus. The Silence of the Exodus tells the story of their departure from Egypt to begin long years of wandering through the Sinai Desert… This is a hypnotic journey across a mystical desert, one where oriental cellos converse with Iranian percussion, the double bass and the clarinet.
Artist: Underground Horns
Title: Almost Blue
Label: selfproduced
Genre: brass band playing Afro-Funk/Bhangra/New Orleans grooves and beyond.
CD review by Dante Mann
There is something different about Brooklyn based brass band the Underground Horns and their new album, Almost Blue. It has a pleasing freshness, and part of that is down to the way they have blended New Orleans Jazz, Ethio Jazz, Afro Funk, and obscure hints of Balkan music. Their smooth blend of these genres brought together in a subtle, textured way, makes for a good listen all of the way through. The album features Welf Dorr (alto sax, bass clarinet), Patriq Moody (coronet), Kevin Moehringer (trombone), Andrew McGovern (trumpet), Channel Crichlow (tuba), Kevin Raczka (drums), and Okai Fleurimont (djembe, vocals, whistle).
Artist: Tomás Doncker Band
Title: Big Apple Blues
Label: True Groove Records
Genre: Blues/nu blues
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
Let’s face it; the blues have been done to death. Far from its African roots, its American tradition, during the 60s and beyond, the blues were looted by the (sometimes well meaning) British and Americans. With only a few exceptions, it seemed to have been squeezed for every drop of essence it had, and what was left was sustaining mostly unimaginative musicians who were seduced by its romance and deceptively simple musical structure, and die-hard traditionalists who struggle to preserve the tradition.
