I hadn’t heard of Natacha Atlas until recently and though I don’t usually review this type of music I have to say that I like this CD a lot. Atlas is half English and half Egyptian. She focuses on her Middle Eastern heritage in her music.
The only Atlas album I’ve heard is Ana Hina. The [...]

I have to admit that the first thing I thought when I saw the cover of this CD was, “I don’t like bass clarinet.” I don’t. I never have. My aversion to bass clarinet actually prevented me from listening to it for a long time. When I finally did get around to listening to it, [...]

Okay, so this is an old album, but it only came into my possession recently so it’s new to me.
Originally released in 2001, The Things I See contains Gary Husband’s interpretations of Allan Holdsworth tunes. It’s a solo piano album and it’s so good that it was re-released in 2004.
I’ve been listening to this album [...]

LaRue Nickelson’s first solo CD, Dark Water, has nothing to do with the horror movie. I’ve seen the movie and listened to the CD. Trust me, they have no similarities.
Dark Water features LaRue Nickelson on guitar, Steve Davis on drums, Joe Porter on bass, Jermey Powell on sax, and Patrick Bettison on piano. Track 5, [...]

Sira is a cross-cultural collaboration between German-born jazz trumpeter Volker Goetze and Senegalese Griot singer and kora player Ablaye Cissoko. A Griot is a traditional West African storyteller. A kora is a West African string instrument that is similar to a lute and sounds a bit like a harp. The album’s title, Sira, means mermaid [...]

Baboon Strength is the latest release from Charlie Hunter. He recorded it with drummer Tony Mason, and keyboardist Erik Deutsch. This album, released on Hunter’s label, is a departure from what we’re used to hearing from him.
When I heard the first track, Athens, I started laughing. I just couldn’t contain myself. Baboon Strength isn’t what [...]

Gilfema + 2 is the follow up to Gilfema’s self-titled debut that was released in 2005. The diversity of the trio is reflected in the music. Guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke is from Benin. Bassist Massimo Biolcati is Italian, but grew up in Sweden. Drummer Ferenc Nemeth is Hungarian. Gilfema + 2 includes two guest clarinetists, Anat [...]

I bought this CD at the mall after seeing a movie. The movie and the CD are in no way related. I don’t even remember what the movie was, but I still listen to the CD all the time. On the way home a pelican pooped on the car. It was terrifying. We were grooving [...]

I usually listen to music when I clean. Saturday is my big house cleaning day. I stick in a good CD–something I can sing along too–and clean every inch of our apartment. We have a small apartment so it doesn’t take long. This past Saturday I listened to Jasmine Jamillah’s When Heaven Falls while I [...]

My old college roommate got in touch with me through MySpace recently. I love hearing from old friends. I especially love hearing from old friends who are making good music. I just wanted to do this fast post so that you can hear some of her stuff.
The band is called Gamma, Like Very [...]