| Putumayo Presents: Latin Groove | | Posted Friday, September 08, 2006 10:11:49 AM by BlogJeeves Team | | On Latin Groove, classic Latin traditions are transformed to the brink of mutation, but their native elegance is left intact. Funkanzazenji weave flamenco guitars and kora-like glissandi through sturdy colonnades of drum & bass on "Latin Flavor." El Conjunto Massalia's "Chan Chan" is based on a son by Compay Segundo, but veers off into Steve Cropper guitar riffs and prurient, Serge Gainsbourg-like vocals. "Yorulamento," by the German-based producer Supatone, mutates a stately charanga string section via reverberant synths and drum machines. Colombian rockers Los Aterciopelados, with their slap-happy montuno/house rhythms and whiskey-voiced chanteuse, are silkily subversive, while Ozomatli's "Cumbia de los Muertos" grounds a Mexican cumbia with heavy hits of reggae and hip-hop. As with Putumayo's Arabic Groove and World Lounge compilations, these tracks are post cards from the world music frontier, where mischievous, culturally promiscuous DJs are constantly inventing breathtaking new hybrids. --Christina Roden... | |
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| | | Amar Es Combatir | | Posted Sunday, September 03, 2006 2:11:47 PM by BlogJeeves Team | | It's finally happened. After years of puzzling popularity by way of derivative rock retreads, Mana has finally made the leap to full-bodied musical force on its first album in four years, Amar Es Combatir. The disc is a thoughtful, tender and often terrific collection of pop wizardry. It's buoyed by solid production work, a cohesive sound and singer Fher Olvera's commanding vocal presence. Mana has always drawn inspiration from the arena-rock vibes of everyone from U2 to Journey, but this time, the group takes those blueprints and creates its own urgent framework. It's a thrilling, insanely catchy collection. Everything on the disc crackles with energy, from winsome opener "Manda Un Senal" to swaggering closing track "Relax." In between, the Mexico-based outfit weaves memorable stories of love that are marked by pulsing percussion, driving guitar riffs and emotive vocals. First-rate stuff from a group who finally--at least to these ears--justifies all the fuss. --Joey Guerra... | |
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| | | Ronroco | | Posted Friday, September 01, 2006 2:12:24 AM by BlogJeeves Team | | Gustavo Santaolalla is a talented multi-instrumentalist from Argentina who has been extremely involved in bringing new sounds to an age-old culture. Playing a variety of stringed instruments including the guitar, the guitarron, the charango, and the ronroco, Santaolalla bridges the gap between traditional musics and forward-thinking compositions. He reveals an unusually progressive vision filled with cascades of chiming sounds and the understated influences of Japan, Africa, and Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America. Accompanied by his associate Anibal Kerpel on vibraphone and melodia, Santaolalla has made an instrumental album of intense passion and evocative songwriting. Gustavo's rapid picking and constant strumming of strings provide a solid foundation for his melodic innovations as clusters of notes rise majestically and then quietly fall away. --Mitch Myers... | |
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| | | The Girl from Ipanema: The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook | | Posted Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:11:34 PM by BlogJeeves Team | | This 1995 tribute to the late Brazilian bossa nova master draws from the cream of the Verve/Polygram jazz catalog. Saxophonist Stan Getz, who introduced the sublimely sensual bossa nova to North American audiences in the early '60s, is joined by vocalist João Gilberto on the well-known title track and by guitarist Luiz Bonfa on the exquisite "O Morro Nao Tem Vez." Sarah Vaughan ("Corcovado"), Billy Eckstine ("Felicidade"), Wes Montgomery ("How Insensitive"), and Oscar Peterson ("Wave") also turn in classic performances from the '60s. Jobim himself offers guitar and piano accompaniment on several tracks and duets with Brazilian vocalist Elis Regina on "Aguas de Marco." Although subsequent generations of lame lounge singers have robbed bossa nova of its original mystique, in its pure form, this music is unsurpassed in conveying an intimately romantic mood with carefree sophistication. --Rick Mitchell ... | |
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| | | Escape | | Posted Sunday, August 27, 2006 2:11:38 AM by BlogJeeves Team | | If Ricky Martin is the party boy of Latin crossover pop, Enrique Iglesias is more a romantic traditionalist in the mold of dad Julio. Even his uptempo, lust-driven tunes, like this album's "Love 4 Fun" and "One Night Stand," are hardly the frantic sweatfests Martin provides. Escape, Iglesias's first disc since his 1999 Top 40 breakthrough, is already a guaranteed success thanks to its first single, "Hero," which gained attention when he performed it on the September 2001 Tribute to Heroes. Title aside, this gooey love song isn't really fitting for its adopted purpose as a post-terror anthem ("You can take my breath away"?), but one imagines that won't make much difference. Iglesias is at his best when playing a little sly, like when he appropriates Nelly's "E.I." chant on "Don't Turn Off the Lights" or makes a barely veiled suggestion of what he really likes about you in the opening lines of "She Be the One." --Rickey Wright... | |
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| | | A Lo Cubano | | Posted Thursday, August 24, 2006 2:11:45 PM by BlogJeeves Team | | While North American rap drowns in its own clichés, international artists are invigorating the genre with their own musical traditions. The Orishas, a Cuban group based in France, use Afro-Cuban religion to summon the spirit of hip-hop. Named for gods of Santeria, they came together in 1998 when members Yotuel and Ruzzo hooked up with Roldan and Flaco-Pro (a veteran of Sergeant Garcia) through a cultural exchange program between French and Cuban rappers. Collaborating with French hip-hop producer Miko Niko, they bring the attitude of Havana streets to the rest of the world, appealing to the Buena Vista Social Club crowd as well as the hip-hop heads. On their debut, A lo Cubano, the song "537 C.U.B.A." (their remake of Compay Segundo's "Chan Chan") gives new meaning to the term "old school." And the sound of sacred Santeria beats and traditional son weaving through sharp-edged lyrical attacks with groove-heavy bass and drum tracks on tunes like "Represent," "Atención," and "Atrevido" make for a cool joyride through the back streets of Havana. --Jesse "Chuy" Varela... | |
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| | | The Best of Carlos Gardel | | Posted Tuesday, August 22, 2006 2:11:51 AM by BlogJeeves Team | | The dates and facts surrounding the birth of Carlos Gardel, even his real name and nationality, are still argued about--more than 60 years after his death in a plane crash. But his place as the greatest singer in the history of tango is indisputable. Gardel not only nearly singlehandedly defined the tango-cancion (sung tango) and set the standards of interpretation. For many, he embodied the very spirit of tango--urbane yet streetwise, romantic but also tough, sensual but oh-so-cool. This collection, smartly selected and reasonably improved aurally, offers ample proof. North American audiences may recognize songs such as El Dia Que Me Quieras (sung by Luis Miguel, Julio Iglesias), Mi Buenos Aires Querido (Iglesias) and Por Una Cabeza (soundtrack True Lies). Gardel brings to his performance impeccable intonation, precise phrasing and just the right pathos. These are the definitive versions by a master at the peak of his powers. --Fernando Gonzalez... | |
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| | | Santana | | Posted Saturday, August 19, 2006 2:11:50 PM by BlogJeeves Team | | By the time Santana arrived on the San Francisco scene in 1968, the Grateful Dead's freeform antics were already legendary. But Santana was a jam band of another order--fueled by Latin rhythms, blues, bebop, and straight-ahead rock. Having set the audience at the 1969 Woodstock festival on its collective ear, the band did the same for the nation with its self-titled debut, released later that summer. Songs such as "Evil Ways," "Jingo," and "Soul Sacrifice" contain extraordinary ensemble playing, powered by percolating congas and timbales and topped by the grippingly human cry of Carlos Santana's guitar. The 1998 reissue of the album contains three bonus tracks recorded live at Woodstock: "Savor," "Soul Sacrifice," and "Fried Neckbones." --Daniel Durchholz... | |
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| | | Un Poquito Quema'o | | Posted Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:11:58 AM by BlogJeeves Team | | Here is a hot band out of Paris that has an eclectic Latin sound with attitude that rivals the best of Ozomatli and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Sergent Garcia weds dance-hall reggae and ska to Cuban son and salsa, and the result is relentlessly upbeat and danceable. The band is 14 members strong and has a big sound that includes horns, turntables, bata drums, congas, guitars, flute, and an excellent piano player. Just try and keep that grin off of your face. The band members may sing in Spanish, but you will find that this CD is about having serious fun in any language. --Jeff Grubb ... | |
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| | | Vince Guaraldi - Greatest Hits | | Posted Sunday, August 06, 2006 10:11:53 PM by BlogJeeves Team | | He's best known, and deservedly so, for the jazzy music he wrote for Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" characters, but San Francisco-based Vince Guaraldi was also a highly regarded trio and ensemble pianist whose laid-back grooves are still a treat to hear. Greatest Hits samples his various stages, from big hits "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "Samba de Orpheus" to his work with Latin guitarist Bola Sete ("Days of Wine and Roses") to, yes, his beloved "Peanuts" compositions ("Good Grief," "Linus and Lucy," "Christmastime Is Here"). --David Horiuchi... | |
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