The music tears through Buika with such violence you cannot wrestle your eyes away from her for fear of missing the last precious moment of beauty before catastrophe strikes. Continue reading Buika at Union Chapel (Live Review)
Modern British culture was shaped by three things – DJs, radio (especially pirate radio), and clubs. And record shops are the thread between all three. Sanjiv takes a break from his global tour of record shops for his upcoming book to sing their praises on their special day. Continue reading We Love Record Shop Day
From Nigeria, there’s the heavy, heavy sound of Afrobeat, delivered here by Seun Kuti, son of the incomparable Fela whose band Egypt 80 are now under the commanding leadership of Kuti Jr. If Afrobeat is a timeless music, so too is the soulful reggae of Toots & The Maytals. We’re delighted that the still-effusive ‘Toots’ Hibbert will be leading his charges through all those hits – Monkey Man, Funky Kingston, Pressure Drop, Do The Reggay… Continue reading WOMAD 2013 announces Seun Kuti and Toots & The Maytals to join the line-up
Not one but three whopping great collections of classic albums from three titans of Brazilian music are coming out on Warner Jazz. Each multiple album pack costs about the same as a single CD.
Starting with Gilberto Gil: Refazenda, Refavela and Realce from the 1970s as well as 1984’s Raca Humana and the 2002 live recording Kaya N’Gan Daya are bundled together in simple but pleasing cardboard sleeves. These five LPs are a mere drop in the ocean of this highly prolific musical force but they are a great place to start.
The Milton Nascimento five data mainly from the 1990s and while fine, miss out on such classics as Clube da Esquina or Milton but nevertheless contain many fine tunes and Elis Regina’s tragically short career is pretty comprehensively catalogued too.
Another Fela Kuti compilation, no, wait, this is worth a look. Coming in a 2 CD version and Deluxe version with DVD, this compilation pulls in what, in my opinion, are the very best tunes of his output. And teams it up with a rare live performance (his 1984 Glastonbury set).
A fabulous beast composed of various members of Acoustic Ladyland, Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics and Transglobal Underground in Dalston, where else? Should be great or a spectacular mess.
Melt Yourself Down describes itself as “the sound of Cairo ’57, Cologne ’72, New York ’78, London 2013. A riot of colour and noise, they rip the heart from the remains of Acoustic Ladyland and deliver it to the party, still beating. Reanimated with intense, sweaty funk, uplifting horns and blistering Nubian drums, this tightly drilled unit return for their second ever show after selling out the Queen of Hoxton late 2012.”
Note: the show will now take place at The Shacklewell Arms, not the Sebright Arms as had been announced.
Link:
Tickets: www.capitalmusicevents.com/melt-yourself-down-2/
Meshell Ndegeocello returns with an album of songs dedicated to that rarest of souls Nina Simone.
Continue reading Meshell Ndegeocello – Pour une âme souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone
The Sunday Service is back for the people who feel J-A-Z-Z! At the pulpit as ever will be Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge.
Another Sunday Afternoon At Dingwalls with Gilles Peterson & Patrick Forge
- Sunday 25th November 2012
- Dingwalls
- Camden Lock
- 12.30- 7pmish
- Early Arrivial recommended. No guaranteed Entry after 2pm
- Tickets £16
- Limited tickets on the door
- Advance Tickets from http://www.dingwalls.com/listings/
Reunions are becoming increasingly frequent, often with mixed results. For every success, such as The Specials, there is many a disappointment.
The Doug Carn and Jean Carne reunion gives hope of something special. Though Jean Carne recorded successfully in her own right for both Motown and Philadelphia International, it is their work as a duo (and then as husband and wife) which brings the most expectancy.
Their albums from the Seventies recorded for the renowned Black Jazz album hit a nerve with its mix of Coltrane type spirituality and earthy soul. The duo found an audience in the Eighties with the Jazz Dance/Acid Jazz crowd, who revelled in tracks like ‘Higher Ground’ , ‘Power and Glory’ and ‘Moon Dance’.
Over two sets Doug Carn and Jean Carne will include tracks from both their work as a duo and Jean Carne’s solo career. There is one Manchester date at Band in the Wall (20th June) and three London dates at Ronnie Scotts (21st-23rd June).
Look out for a full review from the Ronnie Scott’s show.
In its new production of La Bohème, South African company Isango Ensemble re-imagines Puccini’s Paris in Cape Town, and brings it to Hackney. Does it work? Continue reading Love, death and money. La Bohème / Abanxaxhi
Ronnie Scott’s 10th -11th July 2012 / £24 – £45 / Doors 6pm / www.ronniescotts.co.uk / 020 7439 0747
Only his voice can blend Niger and Mississippi river alluvia with such moving authenticity. His unique, inimitable, self-taught guitar technique owes a great deal to his kora influences, but its shades and phrasing also suggest the great black bluesmen of the deep American South: Blind Willie McTell, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and others.
Flat Earth Society. Photo: Raymond de Vries
On entering the intimacy of one of London’s premier jazz venues, Vortex, it was clear to me that this was going to be a cosy gig. The place was packed out and the 15 members of Belgium’s Flat Earth Society squeezed onto the stage, filling a quarter of the room. Continue reading Flat Earth Society – Vortex, London (Live)
Artists confirmed so far… Alaev Family (Tajikstan/Israel); Ane Brun (Norway); Boubacar Traore (Mali);Buena Vista Social Club (Cuba); Dizraeli and the Small Gods (UK); Grupo Fantasma (USA); Lo’Jo(France/Algeria); Joe Driscoll & Seckou Kouyate (USA/Guinea); Narasirato (Solomon Islands); Peatbog Faeries (UK); Raghu Dixit (India); Sensational Space Shifters (UK/USA/Gambia); Spiro (UK); Terem Quartet (Russia); Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (Japan). Continue reading WOMAD 2012 – Line up announced: Buena Vista Social Club, Robert Plant and Boubacar Traore
In the hot glove of a sticky East African night, the last act of the annual Sauti za Busara festival takes place. ‘Local’ outfit FM Academia – with over twenty members in the band – are rocking the open-air venue (an old walled fort in the centre of Zanzibar Town) with their unique ‘muziki da dansa’ rumba style, when, suddenly, on stage come literally dozens of the festival’s crew. The now over-crowded hugely enthusiastic stage dances out the last number of the 2012 event. Mark Stewart reports… Continue reading Busara Festival to leave its Zanzibar home?
