ukvibe

(Navras) 4/5

The second part of an evening’s concert that took place in October 2007 at the Royal Festival Hall to commemorate the tenth passing of the great Qaawali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, this music celebrates his life and in particular two major Indo-fusion collaboration albums that he recorded with Canadian guitarist Michael Brook, ‘Mustt mustt’ and ‘Night song’ in the late 1990s. These updated the devotional music of Pakistan and featured experimental Western influences, notably the slap bass technique and became household tunes when remixed by Massive Attack and were used at the intervals of the cricket World Cup at the time. The two albums are regarded as being on a par with the seminal ‘Talking Timbuktou’ with Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Touré of the same period and introduced a whole new audience to Nusrat’s voice. Songs from those two albums feature in the concert in addition to compositions by Rahat and his group. Brook himself has made a virtue out of exploring various world roots rhythms and has played alongside Indian classical musician U. Srinivas, Algerian rai singer (Cheb) Khaled and Armenian flute player Djivan Gasparayan among others. The impassioned vocals of ‘Crest’ impress with improvised vocals by Rahat and minimal instrumentation in the intro, yet the mood changes completely when bass guitar and then rhythm guitar and drums enter. On the epic song ‘Mustt mustt’, Rahat’s singing is akin to that of a jazz vocalist who scats over a burning mid-tempo accompaniment. The subtle use of guitar gives the piece a vaguely Americana meets Indian sub-continent feel with collective chants adding to the layers of sound. Truly intoxicating music. Repeated riffs dominate the melodic, guitar-inflected song, ‘My heart is your life’, with eery sounding keyboards and chanting and harmonium in unison creating a uniquely ethereal atmosphere. In general it is worth pointing out that some of the songs are hundreds of years old and therefore to hear radically updated instrumentation is to hear them in an altogether different light and make them more accessible to a public that is not so familiar with the classic repertoire. A fine tribute to the great singer who was regarded as the finest in his genre of the late twnetieth century and who was able to sing in several languages, vbarying from Farsi and Hindi as well as more usually in Urdu and Punjabi.  Tim Stenhouse

A companion to the second part of the concert reviewed above, this near eighty minute performance from October 2007 is again a homage to legendary qawwali singer Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to tie in with the tenth anniversary of his death, this time with the focus firmly on Rahat himself. Rahat is actually the nephew of Nusrat and similar to families of griots in West Africa, several generations of the same family have devoted themselves to music. Indeed the song form of Sufism goes back several centuries. Rahat began singing from the age of three and trained with his uncle from as early as six years old. Although there are only six songs in total, they average some twelve minutes each and within them there is a good deal of vocal improvisation with the use of rhythmic syllables to embellish a piece. Immediately of interest are the Coltranesque (John Coltrane the jazz saxophone colossus that is) hues of the saxophone intro to ‘Man kunto mauca’, which is song in praise of Ali. Collective vocals with percussion and harmonium all give this number a significantly freer feel and the song builds into a crescendo with vocals, harmonium and saxophone all merging into one. The other song that grabs one’s attention is ‘Allah hu’ with no holds barred vocals and a call and response rapport with the saxophone. In parts this album recalls a live version of the ‘Ragas and Sagas’ album that Jan Garbarek recorded with many prominent musicians from the Indian subcontinent.  Tim Stenhouse

One of the true giants of African music and certainly bearing comparison with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone as key voices of the twentieth century, Miriam Makeba has enjoyed a lengthy career spanning over six decades. Little wonder, then, that even as generous a timed compilation as this one can only really scratch the surface of such an illustrious musical journey. Compiled by Phil Meadley, who does an excellent job of featuring some of the classic as well as lesser known songs, this selection compares favourably with the ‘Mama Afrika’ double CD that came out on South Africa’s premier Gallo label a year ago. While there is inevitably some overlap, fans of Makeba will certainly want to own both. The first CD on the new selection focuses both on the more traditional repertoire that Makeba sang earlier in her career and her tenure of the Manhattan Brothers group. For the latter a trio of excellent songs capture the joyous flavour of the era and include ‘Baby ntsore’ and ‘Ntyilo ntyilo’. After the Sharpville massacre in 1960, Makeba’s passport was revoked and consequently she spent thirty years in exile, with most of the 1960s spent in the United States. Consequently her songs became more politically oriented and three excellent examples are highlighted here with ‘Soweto blues’, ‘Murthala’ and ‘Talking and dialoging’, all reflective pieces on the destructive nature of the apartheid regime. Miriam in fact famously provided a testimony against apartheid at the United Nations. By the end of the 1960s, Makeba moved to Africa and the first CD ends with a couple of her recordings from Guinea (this period is captured in full on the superb CD ‘The Guinea years’ via Sterns) of which ‘Teya teya’ and ‘L’enfant et la gazelle’ are outstanding.

The second CD covers the funkier and soulful side to Makeba’s repertoire from the 1970s onwards with ‘Samba’ and ‘Malcolm X’ surprisingly upbeat. The song ‘Quit it’ is an obvious attempt at replicating American southern soul and succeeds on all fronts. Now it is frequently covered by newer artists such as Malian Rokia Traoré. All the classics are on such as ‘The click song’ and ‘Pata pata’ and ‘Kilimanjaro’, all of which put Makeba on the international map and one of the very first world roots artists to appeal to a wider audience. A listing of the recording dates would have enhanced the listener’s appreciation and enabled them to better situate individual songs in the wider spectrum of the singer’s career. Otherwise, for anyone wishing to start with a selection of African singers, Miriam Makeba is one of the key pillars around which to build any serious collection.  Tim Stenhouse

The decade of the 1970s witnessed a vibrant and diverse music scene in South Africa at a time of great political and social turbulence and ‘South African Funk Experience’ goes some way to enlightening us on the myriad styles that were born and developed during the period and beyond. Of course some of the big names are highlighted with the Mahotella Queens and the Soul Brothers (re-issues on CD of the latter’s classic albums would be especially welcome) being obvious examples with the latter’s ‘Bayola’ being an uplifting soul number with mbaqanga backbeat. Some of the most interesting songs are new discoveries. Pride of place goes to the rootsy guitar and vocals of John Bhengu, better known as Phuzushukela (zulu for ‘Sugar drinker’), who delivers a hypnotic groove on ‘Intombi ibhinca isidwaba’ that reminds one of a South African equivalent of Ali Farka Touré. Soul and jazz-funk come together on another new name, Teaspoon and the Waves and ‘Oh yey Soweto’, seemingly inspired by Lamont Dozier’s ‘Goin’ back to my roots’ and featuring a lovely trumpet solo from Ted Nduluka. Elsewhere there is music from the border with Mozambique from J.J. Chanke and the Tiyimeleni Young sisters on ‘Madyisa mbitsi’, the dancefloor novelty of ‘Hula hoop jive’ by Kataki and early 1980s slow burning funk grooves. It is certainly true that this excellent compilation covers as much territory as it possible to do so in a one CD format with disco, soul, funk, gospel, jazz and jive all included on a near eighty minute selection. Jazz is by no means under-represented with several cuts of key musicians. Chris Mc Gregor and big band are featured on the glorious percussion and piano vamped piece that is ‘Andromeda’, featuring UK horn players Alan Skidmore and John Surman. Many South African jazz musicians sought exile in the UK and thus some of the tracks were recorded here. Dudu Pukwana’s ‘Bhloyi’ from 1973 and Gwgwi Mrwebi’s ‘Lily’s express’ are particularly fine pieces of jazz. Funkier jazz surfaced from the mid-1970s and is an indication of the extent to which South Africans were aware of developments in the States. Dick Khoza’s ‘African jive’ and Malomba’s ‘Sangoma’ are examples of this fusion hybrid. Extensive sleeves notes (plus original album covers) with detailed notes on both the general musical genres and the individual artists and songs greatly enhances our understanding of what was happening during the 1970s and early 1980s and will inspire some to seek out further examples. As the sleeve notes rightly point out, no one CD could ever claim to definitively capture all the flavours of such a musically rich and diverse nation. Nonetheless this compilation is an essential starting point to investigate in more depth at your leisure.  Tim Stenhouse

Continuing the exploration of classic South African grooves from the past, this second volume is devoted to the more soulful and funkier side of the nation’s music during a relatively short period spanning the late 1960s through to the mid-1970s. Black South Africans were heavily influenced by musical developments in the United States and the likes of James Brown, Booker T. Jones and the Stax sound and the organ genius that was Jimmy Smith all weaved their spell over musicians across the Atlantic. One major omission immediately needs to be pointed out. By far the most successful South African group who fused soul and mbaqanga genres, The Soul Brothers, are missing and their absence, especially given their excellent 1970s 45s, is all the more baffling. That aside, this selection is well balanced and covers a mix of well known and totally unfamiliar names. Of the former the Mahotella Queens are extremely popular, but here are heard in a different funkier guise on ‘Wozani makipi’. As ever their soulful vocals impress. Only slightly less popular are the Mgababa Queens with lovely lead vocals over a simple guitar riff and drum beat on ‘Akulalioa Soweto’ which is a stand out track.  A catchy song that sounds as though it could easily be the soundtrack to a South African cricket programme comes in the form of ‘Shortman’s soul’ from the Down Tones.

African funk flavours from the mighty Fela Kuti were not ignored at the time and his influence, particularly in the use of keyboard and drums, is evident on Philip Malela and the Movers’, ‘Intandane Pt.1’. Several instrumental groups aped the Stax MGs formula and unsurprisingly they copied the same type of group titles too. Thus American sounding names such as the Klooks, the Anchors and the Movers (the latter fused soul and marabi music with plenty of horns thrown into the mix) all appeared and then quickly disappeared in quick succession. Often these were released locally on limited 45s and have never been heard outside the townships, let alone the country or African continent. The recordings are of varying quality, but among the better examples are the Soul Prophets’ ‘Soul “Imbaq”’ which is a lovely laid back jazz instrumental with funk guitar riffs. Only one artists features twice on the compilation, Philp Malela and the Movers, and on ‘Tiba Kamo’, the group’s brand of psychadelic guitar, vocals and saxophone solos combine to good effect. Overall a well researched and pleasurable insight into a much ignored sub-genre of South African music.  Tim Stenhouse

Brazilian band the Ipanemas were first re-discovered as a result of a one-off re-issue programme series by Mr Bongo during the 1990s, but it was Far Out who sought original band member Wilson Das Neves out and decided he had better come out of retirement, and ever since the Ipanemas have released a series of well received new albums. This latest effort is probably their most Afro-Brazilian influenced, though the samba grooves are as catchy as ever. The mid-paced samba of the title track has a timeless feel with lovely fender licks and excellent soloing on trombone from Vitor Santos. It is equally a vehicle for Wilson Das Neves’ vocals and throughout the pace is maintained. The faster tempo of the ‘Nega e kota’ reflects the jazz samba sub-genre and is characterised by a wordless vocals duet and nice use of percussion and keyboards. Afro-Brazilian percussion is very much to the fore on the workout that is ‘Eparrei’ with berimbau and an assortment of percussion aiding the collective vocals. Ideally, this listener would have liked to hear more in this vein. Percussion features prominently also on the repetitive riff on guitar with vocals of ‘Euêô’ while on the more delicate samba that is ‘Festa indigesta’, there is an unusual off-beat rhythm pattern. An even more gentler paced samba, ‘Espelho d’agua’ is largely instrumental with wordless vocals coming in two-thirds of the way in. The album does contain the odd filler track such as ‘Olhando tres’, but in general this is a solid effort from Wilson and the band.  Tim Stenhouse

Here is a brand new vocalist only twenty years of age, but with a vastly promising future ahead of him if this first offering is anything to go by. Singer-songwriter Romain Virgo lays down some socially conscious lyrics and elsewhere some lovers tunes and perhaps being born in the parish of St. Ann, which just happens also to be the birthplace of one Bob Marley, has something to do with it. In fact Virgo could well go on to occupy Freddie McGregor territory especially when hearing catchy songs like ‘Live mi’ life’ and ‘Wanna go home rain is fallin’ which is a surefire contender for a hit single. Social worries of present day life in Jamaica are alluded to on ‘Mi cann sleep’ and on the duet with Etana, ‘Who feels it, knows it’ which is a tale of finding it hard to make ends meet. Not everything is essential on this just over sixty minute CD, but a good deal will stand the test of time and being produced by Donovan Germain certainly helps matters. Romain Virgo clearly has a gift both for songwriting and for uncovering a catchy hook and this will stand him in good stead for the future. Mark this singer out as one to look out for in the near future. Tim Stenhouse

Another terrific selection of original 12” vinyl slabs from the Mighty Two production line, this time focusing on the years 1979 and 1980. By this time the impact of disco was at its height, though about to take a sharp nose dive. Two songs from the era pay homage to the late Michael Jackson with Derrick Lara providing a rendition of ‘Don’t stop ‘til you get enough’, which is at a faster tempo to suit the reggaefied beat and a misguided take by Ruddy Thomas on ‘Shake your body’, a hit for the Jacksons, but in truth ill-suited to the reggae format. However, there is some classic roots reggae with Junior Byles’ ‘Dreadlocks time’ over a classic Studio one riddim a winner all the way and sounding much earlier than 1979. Equally Dennis Brown is in fine form on ‘Your man’ with the honey-toned vocals soaring over the bouncy rhythm. A real find and quite a rarity are the superb harmonies of Earth and Stone on ‘Why girl’ which is the equal of anything the Gladiators or the Mighty Diamonds recorded from the same period. There are some soulful covers with Hortense Ellis impressing on a cover of Ann Peebles’, ‘I can’t stand the rain’ and George Nooks revisiting the Spinners classic, ‘Working my way back to you’. A precursor to the dancehall era is to be found with Wade Bremmer’s, ‘My love’, while lovers rock fans will appreciate the grooves of ‘Sky juice’ by Hugh Griffiths. Something for everyone on this excellent value seventy-five minute sampler of the Mighty Two songbook. Tim Stenhouse

Soca in the twenty-first century has developed into something quite distinct from its rootsier cousin calypso and has now taken on elements of Brazilian samba in its use of percussion, reggae DJ toasting and modern programming beats. Nonetheless underneath all this the roots of soca are still bubbling underneath. This well balanced selection covers all angles. The opener, ‘Barman’ by Rikkai Jai typifies the positive, uplifting rhythms on offer and is a tale of everyday social life which soca makes a virtue out of highlighting. In contrast the highly melodic ‘Work it’ by Patrice Roberts is far more traditional in outlook and is one of the best songs on the compilation. A heavy reggae dancehall influence is evident on ‘Party hard’ by Donae’o which is a repetitive, yet infectous number complete with pared down instrumentation. Elsewhere good time vocals are to be found from Edwin Yearwood on ‘Carnival on my mind’ while soca queen Alison Hinds weighs in with some sweet vocals on ‘Gimme de juh juh’ with no pulling of the punches in the lyrics department. Slightly disappointing is the socafied version of the reggae song, ‘Hold you’, by Gyptian that does not really work and the breakneck speed of ‘Huntin’ ‘ by Roy Cape featuring Maxx. I defy anyone to dance to and keep up with this pace! As a bonus comes a DVD that provides a snippet inside view of the Trinidad carnival earlier this year along with music videos of some of the musicians featured on the CD. All in all a package bound to appeal to the contemporary soca fan. Tim Stenhouse

The follow up to a promising debut from last year, ‘Akhenater’, the new album is another spiritually infused jazz outing, but one on which the musicians sound more confident and at ease in each other’s presence. Nat Birchall has retained the quartet that ably assisted him first time round with Adam Fairhall on piano, Gavin Barras on bass and Gaz Hughes on drums with trumpeter Matthew Halsall guesting and Rachael Gladwin providing some soothing sounds on harp. The emotionally charged piece ‘Higher regions’ with Birchall on soprano pays homage to early 1960s Impulse period Coltrane with modal vamps from Fairhall and an infectious repeated riff from the saxophonist. At a gentler pace and with the band in more contemplative mood is ‘Going to the mountain’, which could just as easily have been composed and performed by Charles Lloyd. One of the most lyrical numbers is the quartet and trumpet composition, ‘Becoming’, with Birchall impressing here and playing with some urgency, taking centre stage in contrast to a laid back solo from Halsall and once again lovely vamping from Fairhall. Possibly the most compelling track of all is the opener, ‘Open the gates’, which is a passionate piece with the band in full flow. Overall there is definite progession from the first album with more cohesive ensemble performances, a more diverse selection of compositions and a greater intensity. A band to watch out for, especially in a live context.  Tim Stenhouse

From time to time guitarist john Scofield has veered off into larger ensemble projects and on this occasion it is a collaboration with the Dutch Metropole Orkest with arrangements by Vince Mendoza who has earned a reputation as one of the best,arrangers in the business, successfully fusing jazz and Latin beats. The album title itself refers to the number of musicians on board. Scofield sounds very much at home in this territory and oscillates between blues and funk-inflected guitar to good effect. On the opener, ‘Santana’, a light blues with a Latin tinge in its use of percussion, the guitarist comes across as an updated B.B. King. Throughout the catchy riff retains one’s attention and the punchy orchestrated brass works surprisingly well with the strings far from obtrusive. Indeed there are elements of Gil Evans in the orchestrations. On Scofield’s last album devoted to New Orleans, ‘Piety Street’, an earthier funk sound was discernible and here he continues in that vein on at least two numbers, the full-on ‘Twang’ that coasts along with guitarist and orchestra in fine form and ‘Polo towers’ that could almost be from a Jaco Pastorius album, but is one of the most pared down cuts on the CD with minimal orchestral participation. In contrast an epic big band groove typifies ‘Peculiar’ which depicts the hustle-bustle of the city and is a half-way house between Charlie Mingus and Quincy Jones. In fact one can hear elements of the former’s ‘Bus stop shuffle’ in terms of the brass, though the wah-wah effects from Scofield give the tune a thouroughly modern feel. Overall this is one of John Scofield’s more inspired larger ensemble projects and that is quite distinctive from predecessors such as ‘Quiet’.  Tim Stenhouse

For those not already familiar with John Fahey, he was a truly unique guitarist who managed to conjur up orchestral-like sounds on his guitar and pioneered his own brand of folk-blues, but with a vastly broader musical knowledge and palette and genius for quirky and imaginative titles. These recordings have been compiled from the albums Fahey recorded on the Varrick label between 1982 and 1990 and he sounds as fresh and melodic as ever. At the time of the recordings critics somewhat dismissed them due to Fahey having health issues and suffering from poverty. They do, however, stand the test of time remarkably well and there is no obvious diminution in quality to these ears. All bar two are original compositions and this is quite simply folk-blues of the highest order as only Fahey can play it. The captivating theme of ‘A minor blues’ immediately attracts the listener’s attention as does the eight minute plus ‘Black mommy’. Indeed Fahey excels on the lengthier cuts of which ‘Dianne Kelly is another fine example. The sleeve notes are somewhat basic as is the packaging, but do contain the recording dates. This is a fine way to begin an interest in the guitarist, though thankfully many of his earlier classic albums are now available, often containing within the same CD the original album recording and a slightly later reworking. Fahey was truly a perfectionist in this respect. At fifty minutes the timing here could be more generous.  Tim Stenhouse

Over a decade ago Swiss-French trumpeter Erik Truffaz came to prominence with an album ‘The dawn’ that fused jazz and hip-hop elements featuring rappers, fender rhodes and Miles-inflected trumpet sounds. Subsequent albums have consistently sold well, but Truffaz is not a musician to rest on his laurels and has bravely embarked upon a more challenging fusion of jazz with world beat elements in no less than three cosmopolitan cities, Paris, Mexico City and Benares in India. Therein lies both the major strength and the principal weakness of the triple CD. In seeking to expand his horizons, Truffaz has unquestionably widened his potential audience and justifiably explored some of the very real connections that exist between jazz and world roots. However, by attempting so wide a canvas of influences, he has only partly succeeded in some and fallen short on others. By far the most successful session is that recorded in Benares with Indian classical musicians.

Indo-jazz fusion has been a source of constant attraction to jazz musicians from the late 1950s onwards and the likes of John Coltrane, Joe Harriott, Charlie Mariano and John McLaughlin to name but a few have created some wonderful new musical flavours in the process. From a French perspective Barney Wilen and Michel Portal have been among the most adventurous, though predomiantly exploring African music, while film directors Louis Malle and Jean Renoir have actually directed in India. Miles Davis briefly flirted with Indian instrumentation on ‘On the corner’, but Truffaz has gone much further and the lengthy eighteen and a half minute ‘Tarana’, complete with tabla, female voice and interesting use of piano is the pièce de résistance of the album as a whole. The third CD, which is a little short at under thirty minutes, is not in fact a fusion of jazz with traditional Mexican music, but rather one with electronica beats programmer Murcof who employs all manner of special sound effects. To a large extent this is elevated mood music as evidenced on the track, ‘Al Mediodia’, though long-time fans of Truffaz will doubtless not be disappointed to learn this. Ideally one would have like to hear more, but the chance to record in Mexico and not record anything remotely rootsy is something of a lost opportunity to this writer’s mind. The first CD is probably the most contentious and least convincing of all. It is the most intimate of the three CDs being primarily a duet between Truffaz and the vocalese talents of Sly Johnson who can best be described as a Bobby McFerrin soundalike. There is a misguided attempt at standards on the Lennon and McCartney song, ‘Come together’ and on the songbook evergreen, ‘Nature boy’. However, unfortunately here they just sound trite and plain jazz light. Only ‘Mr Webb’ impresses with bizarrely a vaguely Spanish tone, strange since the theme of the first CD is Paris. Not quite as groundbreaking as one might have hoped, but Truffaz is to be applauded for at the very least engaging in the endeavour and certainly one of the collaborations is worthy of further examination.  Tim Stenhouse

This disparate selection of dancefloor oriented grooves has been selected by DJ Adrian Gibson and covers the whole spectrum of music. Among them are several re-mixes. Afro Elements’ ‘Think’ (not the Aretha Franklin classic) is a percussive funk outing with a jazzy keyboard component and female vocals that builds into a hypnotic groove. Lovers of Lonnie Smith, the hammond organist who recorded for Blue Note in the late 1960s will appreciate a version of his ‘Play it back’ number that has a haunting, eery ambience and is one of the best tracks on the compilation. Back in the late 1970s Beggar and Co were one of the pioneering British jazz-funk bands and member Kenny Washington has unearthed a previously unissued recording of the Blackbyrd’s classic, ‘Rock creek park’, that dates from around 1980. The (relatively) new version sounds fresh and is taken at a quicker tempo than the original.  A couple of new takes on club anthems include the mainly instrumental rendition of ‘Where is the love’ by Valique with an extended intro and catchy vibes riff that is a guaranteed dancefloor filler and interestingly a cover of Janet Jackson’s ‘Nasty’ by Big Pimp Jones. Rather than the glossy sound of the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced original from the mid-1980s, the feel here is altogether earthier. Even James Brown is not forgotten and an instrumental of ‘Mr. hot pants’ by the Jezebel Sextet is an authentic funk ditty with nice brass and the trademark JB guitar licks.  Tim Stenhouse

This is a seminal trio outing and one of the essential Sonny Rollins recordings from a prolific period during the mid-late 1950s alongside such classics as ‘At the Village Vanguard’ and ‘Saxophone Colossus’. For this West coast session, Rollins enlisted the masterful Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Rollins as a youth had been fascinated by cowboys on film and the orchestrated music scores that accompaneied them. When Lester Koenig, founder of Contemporary Records, suggested Rollins recording a a concept album, the saxophnoist knew just what he had in mind. Right down to the iconic sleeve cover with Sonny dressed a cowboy in the desert captured lovingly by ace photographer William Claxton, the album could hardly fail to impress and has enthralled fans of the tenor saxophone ever since. Rollins choose an eclectic selection of old country tunes, some evergreen numbers from the Great American songbook and two originals. For the former, ‘I’m an old cowhand’ is transformed from what might have seemed a gimmicky song into an instrumental piece of great beauty. John Coltrane would take a leaf out of Rollins’ approach when recording ‘My favourite things’ and Chim Chim Cheree’. Of the Rollins originals, ‘Come gone’ is based on ‘After you’ve gone’ and taken at a fairly brisk pace while the title track perfectly conjurs up musically the exploration made by so many adventurers seeking their fortune in the ‘Way out West’. That Rollins recorded this album in 1957 in between ‘The Sound of Sonny’, ‘At the Village Vanguard’ and ‘Newks Time’ is testimony to his sheer commitment, inventiveness and sustainability at the time. A genuinely classic album in every respect.  Tim Stenhouse

In addition to the wonderful re-issue programme of classic 1970s music, the Syllart label occasionally releases some quality new recordings with Mandekalou and Kékélé standing out in recent years. This latest project produced by Ibrahim Sylla is the third album by Malian bluesman Idrissa Soumaoro, the last one being some seven years ago. The singer-guitarist has enjoyed and benefited enormously from a long and varied education that includes a period studying Braille musicography at the University of Birmingham. Indeed Soumaoro has constantly shifted between educational duties on the one hand and being a musician on the other. In 1996 he became Inspector General of Music at the Ministry of Education in Bamako and has even received the high distinction of being awarded the Knight of National Order in Mali. It should come as no surprise, then, that such a broad-minded individual would come up with an extremely diverse album that takes on board a plethora of influences from other African nations and beyond. These include Congolese rumba, Mandingo, Chicago and soul-blues as well as Malian traditional music genres. The sheer variety of sounds is quite breathtaking. Long-time fans of acoustic Malian music will salivate at the haunting instrumentation and gorgeous female vocal accompaniment on ‘Awnitié’, an album highpoint for sure, while the opening song, ‘Aou bè di?’ with hypnotic n’goni riffs and delicious vocals will recall Bassekou Kouyaté at his very best. Where this album’s real strengths lie, however, are in the take on Chicago blues on ‘Sigui ka fô’ with harmonica, or the laid back soul-blues of ‘N’tériou’ that is so authentic that even James Carr would feel at home here. Guest musicians include one of the last appearances in the recording studio of Ali Farka Touré on ‘Bèrèbèrè’ and vocals from fellow Malian singer and songstress Kandia Kouyaté on the 1970s Cuban feel of ‘Femmes, je vous salue’, with due homage paid to the women of Mali. Clearly Idrissa Soumaoro is as much a musicologist and evidence of this can be found on the dramatically tense track, ‘Bô kolo’ that features a variety of African instrumentation and percussion that takes on board North African bendir and darbouka, as well as West African cabassa. Among band members French multi-instrumentalist François Bréant impresses on bass, organ and keyboards more generally. Expect this to be one of the most played African albums of the summer. An absolute delight from start to finish. Tim Stenhouse

Haitian music is one of the most neglected in the area of world roots music. Previously the documentary and soundtrack album from film director Jonathan Demme some twenty years ago now and an excellent compilation of the ‘Rough guide to Haiti’ from Andy Kershaw more recently have been among only a handful of releases to inform an international audience about what is happening currently in Haitian music. There has been a good deal of new and re-issued music via aficionados of the larger Haitian diaspora community in the United States, but this has been strictly limited to local communities there. It is therefore a great bonus to have a new release widely available to a European audience and one from a band soon to grace the concert stage here as part of an appearance at this year’s Africa Oyé festival in Liverpool on the weekend of 19/20 June. Ti-Coca, the lead vocalist and his group Wanga Nègès were formed in 1976 and combine elements of some of their musical neighbours, in particular a more laid back variant of the Dominican merengue rhythms and Afro-Cuban percussion. Indeed there are many connections between Cuban and Haitian music with Haitian choir music surviving in the east of Cuba to this day. Here the pan-Caribbean stew has been expertly channeled into a cohesive musical dish with lyrics in Haitian Creole. The album works well as a whole, but key tracks include ‘Benita’, ‘Apantè’ and possibly most compelling of all the lengthy Cuban-influenced ‘Pè Bawon’. Ti-Coca’s raspy vocals compliment the sweet sounding pared down instrumentation of accordeon, banjo, double bass and various percussion. The group were in fact discovered almost fifteen years ago when travelling musicologist and filmmaker Charles Najman and local guide came across the group playing in the Haitian countryside, about two hours from the capital Port-au-Prince. Ti-Coca and Wanga-Nègès promise to be one of the surprise hits of the Africa Oyé festival. Catch them if you can, or indulge yourself in some gloriously rootsy Haitian country music. Excellent recording sound and extensive bi-lingual sleeves notes to provide some historical backdrop to the group and the individual songs. Tim Stenhouse