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Sample Track 1:
" Fue a de lou" from La Violette
Sample Track 2:
"La Violette" from La Violette
Layer 2
CD Mention

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Sounds Roots, CD Mention >>

five women, five men / ten reviews of global sounds / hot as summer sun

Now and then, the CDs needing review vastly outnumber the words I have available to write about them. And then, dear reader, it's time for me to distill the essence of each album, reducing it to an essence so simple and elegant and distinct that it can be expressed in just 17 syllables. Yes, once again it's time for a batch of world music CD reviews in haiku. Hold onto your cherry blossoms. 

Luisa Maita: Lero-Lero (Cumbancha Discovery)

Post-samba tunes; the
female Seu Jorge sings the
human condition.

Cheikh Lo: Jamm (World Circuit)

Just forty minutes?
Lo's first in 5 years has gems
but too few of them.

Cesaria Evora: Nha Sentimento (Lusafrica)

Cape Verde meets Cairo
warm Arab strings back a voice
rich with smoke and life.

Mohsen Namjoo: Oy (Fabrica)

The "Persian Dylan"
shoves Iranian music
to a new level

Khaira Arby: Timbuktu Tarab (Clermont)

Praise and joy and prayer
with vibrant power, Arby
sings Mali's culture

Max Wild: Tamba (ObliqSound)

Tamba, meaning "dance,"
is what you might do, gently
as Afro-jazz does.

Michele Choiniere: La Violette (self-released)

Franco-folk? No thanks.
And yet, these stringy dance tunes
pluck up feet and heart.

Magnifico: Magnification (Piranha)

Yugo bad boy brings
gypsy beats, sharp lyrics, and
one shake-ass party!

Tara Linda: Tortilla Western Serenade (Physalia)

Spaghetti western
with extra salsa; torch songs
to light the border

Avishai Cohen: Aurora (EMI Music)

Peace through ethno-jazz?
Bassist Cohen plays sparkling
rhythmic modern roots

 08/13/10 >> go there
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