01-03-2019 # WORLD:MUSiC:MiX # 33 selected ETHNiC FUSiON tracks # WmW 1993-1983

 Geoffrey Oryema

THE RiVER # WORLD:MUSiC:MiX # 33 selected ETHNiC FUSiON tracks # WmW 1993-1983   Geoffrey Oryema, Agustin Lara, Jean Freber, Manuel Alvarez y Sus Dangers, Abelardo Carbono y su Conjunto, Cumbia Sigo XX, Cumbia Moderna De Soledad, Sheila Chandra, Egberto Gismonti, The Klezmatics, Relativity, Zeca Pagodinho, Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, Ali Farka Touré, Black Uhuru

1993-1983
M U S I C

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Most artists have to pay their dues, but very few have to be smuggled out of their birth countries to avoid death on the way. But for Geoffrey Oryema, that was the only way to survive. Born in Uganda, he was the son of a civil servant who was a police chief and then a cabinet minister and from his father he learned the local folk music, as well as the nanga (the harp), in addition to studying Western music in school.
Geoffrey Oryema
The River (Jean-Pierre Alarcen / Bob Ezrin / Anthony Moore / Geoffrey Oryema) 6:30
Lajok (Geoffrey Oryema) 2:48
from Beat the Border 1993
This highly creative mix of Ugandan songs and laid-back rock should have been a disaster, since the genres meet on the field of ambient dreams -- a woozy terrain amply littered with the rainsticks of fallen warriors. But expat Ugandan Geoffrey Oryema neither tries mainstreaming African sources to fit rock fissures nor piles extra beats and instruments on the heads of reluctant Western forms. Instead, like any good ambient technician, he subjugates every other element to the service of applying textures so palpably rich you wish you could drizzle them over sautéed vegetables. Just to prove it's not all dial twiddling, he kicks in with first-rate songwriting to boot.

Agustin Lara, Jean Freber ‎
Noche De Ronda (María Teresa Lara) 3:20
Granada (Agustín Lara) 2:47
Novillero (María Teresa Lara) 3:25
from Acordeon De Paris 1992
Unfortunately, the anonymous postcard packaging of Acordeon de Paris reveals nothing of the brilliance and pure joy to be found on this collection of accordion music by master Jean Freber. Recording in the '50s with a band of crack jazzmen, Freber runs through 12 songs by the Mexican bolero king, Agustin Lara, and liberally

Manuel Alvarez y Sus Dangers - Esclavo Moderno 2:54
Abelardo Carbono y su Conjunto - Palenque 3:55
Cumbia Sigo XX - Naga Pedale 3:26
Cumbia Moderna De Soledad - Tetero 3:09
from Palenque Palenque: Champeta Criolla & Afro Roots in Colombia 1975 - 91 (2009)
Boasting twenty one pulsating tracks drawn from the northern coasts of Colombia, ‘Palenque Palenque!’ reveals a unique and fascinating story of how Afro Colombian music developed from the 1970s onwards and how the local sound-systems in Cartagena and Barranquilla played such an important role in shaping the sound of the Colombian champeta...

Pioneer of world fusion weaves Indian, Celtic, middle eastern, and other cultural sounds into her hypnotic music. One of the most unusual and successful singers of the '80s and '90s that has attempted to fuse the music of non-Western cultures with Western pop, Sheila Chandra began recording as a teenager in Monsoon. 
Sheila Chandra
One (Sheila Chandra / Steve Coe) 4:40
Roots and Wings (Sheila Chandra) 4:33
Escher's Triangle (Sheila Chandra / Steve Coe) 2:55
from Roots and Wings 1990
Her newest album is the product of her five-year hiatus, during which time she continued to refine her vocal techniques. In many respects Roots and Wings represents the quintessence of Sheila Chandra's music, stripped down to its essential core. The instrumentation is greatly simplified. Gone are the piano, sitar, and the synthesizers, hitherto the main staples in most of the arrangements, and electronic drums only briefly appear on one older transplanted cut,..

A world-renowned multi-instrumentalist and composer whose work reflects the musical diversity of Brazil. 
Egberto Gismonti 
2 Violões (Vermelho) (Egberto Gismonti)  6:01
Dança Dos Escravos (Preto) (Egberto Gismonti) 14:59
from Dança Dos Escravos 1989
...He was profoundly influenced by Brazilian master Heitor Villa-Lobos, his works reflecting the musical diversity of Brazil. From the Amazon Indians' batuque to the Carioca samba and choro, through the Northeastern frevo, baião, and forró, Gismonti captures the true essence of the Brazilian soul in a way that is primitive, yet sophisticated, and reflects it through his personal vision, elaborated by years of classic training and literacy in a wealth of musical languages in which jazz plays a significant role..

Inimitable N.Y.C. band blends klezmer music and socially conscious lyrics with contemporary rock, funk, and avant-garde jazz. 
The Klezmatics
Ershter Vals (Chaim Towber) 4:08
Tantst Yidlekh (Abraham Ellstein) 4:34
Ale Brider 3:26
from Shvaygn = Toyt 1988
Unafraid of shameless schmaltz when it suits the cause of raising an aorta-busting ruckus, these New Yorkers recognize the bent nature of the tunes they cover, playing up the hokey woodblock percussion on the galloping "Tantst Yidelekh" or altering the last verse of "Ale Brider" (We're All Brothers) to "We're all gay, like Jonathan and King David." Making fun of tradition can be a means of honoring the past -- but lest one still think they're sentimentalists at heart, the Klezmatics uncork a healthy dose of rage in an anarchic rendition of the Israeli song "Bilvovi" that will send the relatives running from the room.

Relativity
Blackwell Court/Highland Laddie/Gillies' Taxis/Double Rise (Phil Cunningham / Traditional) 6:44
Rosc Catha Na Mumhan (Piaras MacGearait) 5:27
Má Théid Tú 'Un Aonaigh (Traditional) 4:32
from Gathering Pace 1987
An occasional Celtic folk group, formed in the 80s, the line-up comprised Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals/keyboards), Micheál Ó Domhnaill (b. 7 October 1952, Dublin, Eire, d. 8 July 2006, Dublin, Eire; vocals/guitar), Phil Cunningham (b. 27 January 1960, Edinburgh, Scotland; accordion) and Johnny Cunningham (b. 27 August 1957, Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland, d. 15 December 2003, New York, USA; fiddle). The members of the quartet each had flourishing solo careers, but cross-fertilised their Irish Scots heritage with absorbing results. A top line draw in the USA, where three of them lived, their British debut was a coup for the small salt-town of Northwich, Cheshire, who presented them in a packed marquee in the local park. Their music fashioned an energetic Celtic force with some graceful rock touches.

Zeca Pagodinho
SPC 3:23
Jogo De Caipira 3:05
from Zeca Pagodinho 1986
Zeca Pagodinho is regarded by the samba traditionalists as a rare talent in the partido-alto lineage. At the same time he is a commercial success. Having won several gold and platinum records with his albums, he had compositions recorded by Beth Carvalho ("Dor de Amor"), Alcione ("Mutirão de Amor"), and Jorge Aragão ("O Vôo do Albatroz"), and was paid tribute by Aldir Blanc and Moacyr Luz with "Anjo da Velha Guarda." Born in the working-class suburb of Irajá, Rio's north side, from an early age he was a regular at the rodas de samba (samba get-togethers) of the suburbs, singing and presenting his compositions...

During a long and uncommonly productive career, Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida achieved a ubiquity in popular music that has yet to be fully recognized. Largely responsible for the Brazilian/North American "samba jazz" that would eventually catch on in the form of a musical trend known as bossa nova, he played behind dozens of well-known pop vocalists and improved the overall texture of many a studio production ensemble.
Tasteful, low-key, and ingratiatingly melodic, Charlie Byrd had two notable accomplishments to his credit -- applying acoustic classical guitar techniques to jazz and popular music and helping to introduce Brazilian music to mass North American audiences.
Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd
Orchids in the Moonlight (Edward Eliscu / Gus Kahn / Vincent Youmans) 3:11
Jalousie (Vera Bloom / Jacob Gade) 3:20
La Rosita (Gus Haenschen) 2:27
from Tango 1985
This unusual CD finds guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd (who have both mastered bop and Brazilian music) performing 11 tangoes with the assistance of bassist Joe Byrd and drummer Chuck Redd. Although the two acoustic guitarists have their short solos, the emphasis in this delightful set is on their ensemblework, respectful interpretations of the melodies and those infectious tango rhythms.

This talented African guitarist's technique has often been compared to Delta blues legend Robert Johnson. 
Ali Farka Touré ‎
La Drogue 5:36
Cheri 4:35
Laisse Les Phases 4:38
from Ali Farka Touré (Red) 1984
One of the most internationally successful West African musicians of the '90s, Ali Farka Touré was described as "the African John Lee Hooker" so many times that it probably began to grate on both Touré's and Hooker's nerves. There is a lot of truth to the comparison, however, and it isn't exactly an insult. The guitarist, who also played other instruments such as calabash and bongos, shared with Hooker (and similar American bluesmen like Lightnin' Hopkins) a predilection for low-pitched vocals and midtempo, foot-stomping rhythms, often playing with minimal accompaniment.

Long-running Jamaican roots reggae group who were popular from the late '70s through to the '90s. The most successful of the second-generation reggae bands, Jamaica's Black Uhuru maintained their high quality despite numerous personnel changes throughout their many decades together. The first reggae band to win a Grammy award, for their 1983 album Anthem, Black Uhuru offered a dynamic and progressive sound during their 1970s and early-'80s heyday.
Black Uhuru 
Ion Storm (Michael Rose) 3:49
Big Spliff (Michael Rose) 4:06
Cool Off 3:15
from The Dub Factor 1983
Released the same year as their Grammy-winning Anthem album, Black Uhuru's The Dub Factor figures as one of the most impressive of reggae's electronic age dub releases. Bristling from the fine mixing work of Soljie and Maxie, the album is basically a reworking of the band's breakthrough Chill Out release from the year before, albeit in often unrecognizable form. But if you like your dub with a healthy dose of apocalyptic effects from syndrums, synthesizers, and mixing board alike, then The Dub Factor will do the trick. More than just a empty exercise in knob twiddling, this Black Uhuru dub excursion by Sly & Robbie will no doubt please both fans of the group and habituates of quality dub titles.