Destani
Wolf: Again and Again... (Brave Wolf)
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We first heard Destani Wolf as part of the Latin Hip-Hop
group O-Maya, in which her standout vocals blended with
beats, Latin roots, soulful pleas for justice ("Nothing
Less than Freedom"), and even raps about George Bush
("Mentiroso"). O-Maya has since broken up,
in large part replace by AguaLibre, with whom Wolf still
performs.
Again
and Again...,Wolf's debut solo album, further highlights
this talented young woman. It is an
apt vehicle for
her powerful voice, whether it's the bilingual reggae
stylings
of "Cecilita," the funky soul of "You
Should Know," or the brief-but-sweet a capella "Mind
in the Way." Our favorite tracks (given our "world
music" leanings) include "Cecilita," "Enchanted
Soul (aka Tranquilo)," and the tabla-spiced "De
Donde Eres."
Imagine Sade and Lila Downs meeting up in
some little-known urban soul club and you'll have some
sense of the
sound. Wolf frequently performs in the Bay Area, and
it wouldn't
be surprising to see her find broader success with
this strong album.
Uun
Budiman and the Jugala Gamelan Orchestra: Banondari (Felmay)
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Okay,
so this may not have the funky
basslines of Sabah Habas Mustapha. But like his Jugala
All Stars, the Jugala Gamelan Orchestra has a distinctly
modern form of Indonesian music. Under the dictator Sukarno,
Gugum Gumbira took elements of then-banned western rock
music and masked them in traditional music, creating
the dance hybrid known as Jaipongan. Banondari marks
his return, as well as the debut of the singer Uun Budiman.
A fascinating if still somewhat challenging work.
Think
of One: Trafico (Crammed)
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A
brilliant album by a multi-national group of musicians, Trafico blends
brass bands, Gypsy themes, and Brazilian vocals and rhythms
into music
over which veteran singer Dona Cila's voice soars. "When
the band first started," guitarist-singer David Bovee
says," we all left school because we wanted to go to
Senegal. ... We were always coming up with ideas and
getting into
a van and would just go for it. But now sometimes even
airplanes are involved." You won't mind getting stuck
in this trafico jam. Highly recommended.
Duo
En: Winter Cranes (Koto World)
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Koto-shakuhachi
duets aren't often on our playlist. But as the meditative
yin to the yang of energetic global dance tunes, Duo
En hits the spot. The Seattle-based husband and wife
duo (Elizabeth and John Falconer) are serious long-term
students of Japanese music, and they have found a solid
middle
ground
between
their
Western roots and their Eastern musical passion. In their hands, these classical
Japanese instruments sing out Western Christmas standards
"Greensleeves," "White Christmas," and "Silent Night."
Also included is "Somewhere
over the Rainbow Is a Winter Wonderland...)," on which
the koto sounds more like a Western harp. The
title track evokes a more traditional feel, as does "Snow
Dream." Winter Cranes is a fresh and unusual
holiday album rich with quiet beauty.
Chicago
Afrobeat Project: Chicago Afrobeat Project (CAbP
Music)
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Chicago
may be known more for blues than Afrobeat, but this four-year-old
group of musicians may expand some minds. While the somewhat
drifty opener "Talking Bush" fails to move
my nyash, the remainder of the album hits a sweet spot.
CAbP (as
they abbreviate themselves) aren't big on singing, though
there's a rapped
poem on "West Ganji." So while you aren't getting
the biting social commentary of, say, Fela Kuti or Antibalas,
you do get seven long, juicy original tracks with
tight arrangements. Morikeba Kouyate's kora riffs in "Jekajo"
and Tj Okinola's
talking
drum throughout the album are delightful West African
flavors rarely heard in Afrobeat.
Otherwise
it's
mostly what you'd expect: funky polyphonies, attitudinal
horn and sax solos, circular bass and guitar lines, all
competing to get you dancing.
Ali
Farka Toure: Savane (World Circuit
/ Nonesuch)
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Ali
Farka Toure was known as one of the best and most original
guitarists in the world until his recent passing. This
album was already in the works then (on the heels of In
the Heart of the Moon, his Grammy-winning collaboration
with Toumani Diabate) , so it's really his last word
to his fans. So African music fans will be pleased to
know how pleased Toure himself was with the recording. "I
know this is my best album ever," he said. "It
has the most power and is the most different."
Toumani
Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra: Boulevard de L'Independance (World
Circuit / Nonesuch)
Recorded
in a series of all night sessions at Mali's Hotel Mandé,
Diabate's latest offering maintains a vibe of acoustic
tradition while incorporating modern influences (and
musicians from Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Burkina
Faso, as well as Mali) into a rip-roaring ride through
Diabate's imagination, richly appointed with strings
and horns.
©2006
Scott Allan Stevens, Earball Media | 
