During the ’70s, a slew of Cuban songwriters and musicians who had their ears tuned to illegal radio from the States started blending Afro-Cuban music with the sounds of American soul and funk. In this collection, compiled by music historian Dan Zacks, who found some of the source tapes in…
Although standout actress Aishwarya Rai’s pretty face adorns the cover of the newly released The Rough Guide to Bollywood Gold, the music presented here has little to do with the young crossover star of Bride and Prejudice. The tunes, however, are all representative of the golden era of Bollywood films…
Dulce Pontes performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. For tickets ($35), visit http://www.carnivalcenter.org, or call 786-468-2000.
Like late Fort Lauderdale native Jaco Pastorius, throughout his career, bassist Stanley Clarke elevated his instrument to a whole different dimension. Whether as a sideman or as the marquee figure in his own band, Clarke always brings his ax to the foreground as a lead instrument — developing slap and…
Victor Jara was one of Chile’s top folk composers, educators, and political activists until the time of his murder in 1973 during a military coup. On a newly released CD, Chilean vocalist Francesca Ancarola has found an amorous way of paying tribute to the fallen songwriter by revisiting his work…
There are certain instruments folks wouldn’t ordinarily associate with jazz music, and the steel pans (used in soca and calypso) are on that list. But on Andy Narell’s latest disc, Tatoom, the pans are taken to a different level and the jazz tunes that are created here seem abstract at…
While many of his famous Brazilian contemporaries are reissuing hits from their lengthy catalogs, 64-year-old singer Caetano Veloso stubbornly continues to push himself forward, as evidenced on his newest album, Cê. The simple, stripped-down instrumentation here (guitar, bass, drums) is also a nice change from some of his larger samba…
Los Angeles-based vocalist Tierney Sutton is a consummate performer. She offers the casual banter that’s common among modern jazz singers, but she’s spot-on when it comes to her craft. Sutton’s onstage chemistry with the band members she’s played with for more than a decade is obvious during her live performances,…
Although flamenco is the main source of inspiration for this world-renowned Spanish band, the eight members of Ojos de Brujo tend to incorporate various musical influences into their compositions. What else can you expect from a band of gypsies who hail from Barcelona, a literal crossroads for the best musical…
In 2003, trombonist Conrad Herwig performed a weeklong engagement at New York’s Blue Note with a nine-piece ensemble that featured pianist Edsel Gomez and legendary reedsman Paquito D’Rivera for a show billed as “The Latin Side of Miles Davis.” Three nights were recorded, including the Grammy-nominated Another Kind of Blue,…
The son of the recently departed Malian singer and guitarist Ali Farka Touré continues his father’s legacy with style and grace. Thankfully, he is also able to live up to his famous surname when it comes to Malian blues. Almost predictably, Vieux’s self-titled debut album is drenched in musical influences…
After their first single, “Don’t Let Go,” was featured on the soundtrack of the movie La Mujer de Mi Hermano last year, this Bronx-based duo formed by Dominican-born singer Nova (keys, guitar, vocals) and Colombian-born instrumentalist Maya (bass) finally emerges with its debut album. This is one of the most…
In the jam-band world, there is a natural need to fill the void created by the departure of Phish and the Dead — and Tea Leaf Green has met the challenge with flying colors (well… green, at least). Keeping with the jam-band tradition, Tea Leaf Green makes MP3s of its…
