Category Archives: Reviews

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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Concert Review: Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe… in the presence of a strong, larger-than-life personality.

Date: March 16, 2013
Venue: BAM Cafe (Brooklyn)

Review, video and photos by Dawoud Kringle

There was high energy in the packed venue. Tension rose as the musicians drifted toward the stage, making last minute preparations. Then, after the MC spoke to the crowd introducing Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe a blues pulse drew the audience into its hypnotic undertow. The band moved toward their places, and held up the rock solid pulse the bass drum invoked.

Shelley profileThen Shelley Nichole took the stage. When Shelley takes the stage, there is nothing subtle about it. You know you’re in the presence of a strong, larger-than-life personality. Her powerful voice and indomitable presence are impossible to ignore. Working the crowd like a Baptist preacher, she deftly combines the old time streetwise vibe of a blues singer with the flamboyance of the classic R&B soul funk singers such as LaBelle, Grace Jones, etc.

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Concert Review: Elikeh passed the field test for producing dance energy and getting a crowd going…

Date: February 22, 2013
Venue: Drom (NY)

Review by Matt Cole

On 22 February, Washington D.C.- based multinational band Elikeh played at DROM in Alphabet City. The show was a make-up for an earlier date cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. As I had enjoyed their new CD, Between 2 Worlds, I was looking forward to hearing their live performance.

Massama Dogo (photo courtesy of Massama Dogo)

Massama Dogo (photo courtesy of Massama Dogo)

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Concert review: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi mixing Iranian influences with the passionate tone of a well seasoned club musician.

Date: March 6th, 2013
Location: house concert in Bloomington, Illinois
Review by Phil

Experiencing Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (leader of NY’s SoSaLa) perform at a small-yet-packed house show was a unique night.  Not only was the audience of roughly 30 people (half of them children) different from the usual house shows, but Sohrab’s ability to combine commentary on each song and then blast into high volume horn blowing created an intimate and entertaining evening. I was moved by his personal accounts and melodic songs that mixed Iranian influences with the passionate tone of a well seasoned club musician.

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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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