My Favorites of 2010: #2
2. AfroCubism: AfroCubism (2010)
There’s a lot written, especially in the jazz world, about Afro-Cuban music. It’s easy to find musicians who borrow from both Cuban and African influences, including Cubans who borrow from African styles and vice versa. This recording may raise the bar for future Afro-Cuban collaborations.
The AfroCubism project is one of the most publicized and long-awaited releases of Afro-Cuban music in recent memory, partly because it came out of what was supposed to have happened when the Buena Vista Social Club was recorded years ago. These musicians from Cuba, Mali, and Guinea came together to create music together and learn from each other in the process. The results are impressive and live up to the hype. The influences here blend as if these players had been working together for years. It’s great to hear, for example, son cubano sung in Spanish and backed by ngoni and kora. I got this record as soon as it came out last month and have been playing it often.
Samples are available from the Nonesuch Records website.
Unfortunately I didn’t listen to much other Cuban music this year, but I did listen to a number of musicians from Africa who released great music this year. Razia, Lobi Traoré, and Terrakota had albums on my list of favorites, and the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars weren’t far behind. I found the new release from King Sunny Adé late in the year; if I’d heard it earlier it might have challenged for a place on my list. Khaira Arby falls in that same category. And Bassekou Kouyate (who is one of the musicians on AfroCubism) and his band Ngoni Ba put out a record in either late 2009 or early 2010 that made a number of other people’s 2010 lists. Such is listmaking when we bind ourselves by the calendar year.
My Favorites of 2010: #3
3. Mulatu Astatke: Mulatu Steps Ahead (2010)
The Ethiopian vibraphonist and composer put out a great record with backing from members of the Boston-based Either/Orchestra and The Heliocentrics from London. The arrangements also include traditional Ethiopian instruments: washint, masenqo, krar, begena. The sounds are startlingly ethereal, especially considering the size of these ensembles. One track lists 18 individual musicians, and yet this is intimate music, music that feels like it could have been made in my living room. I was mightily impressed with the musicality of everyone involved in this record, and it was an easy one to place high on my list of favorites this year.
These sentiments are echoed in a longer review of Mulatu Steps Ahead that I wrote for RootsWorld which also contains audio and video clips.
My Favorites of 2010: #4
4. Razia: Zebu Nation (2010)
Razia Said, who now lives in New York City, was raised in Madagascar where currently there are some 50 mammal species that are threatened or endangered. This environmental stress is caused both by global climate change and by deforestation still being undertaken to create rice and coffee plantations. This record is full of songs urging us to remember that it is not too late to stop the environmental damage in Madagascar and around the world.
Before embarking on a career in music, Razia earned a doctorate in pharmacology, and she brings both her scientific mind and her African music roots to this record. Musically she draws from Madagascar, primarily from salegy and tsapiky, as well as wider influences from Fela to James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Electric guitar, accordion, and percussion are the featured instruments in this music with sitar making a welcome appearance.
Most of these songs are sung in Malagasy, the national language of Madagascar. The single work in English, “Slash and Burn,” is a gut-wrencher. The lyrics remind me of some of the Appalachian songs about the devastation brought to that region by the coal mines, reaffirming that these issues affect us all. Razia sings:
On the mountain side
Still the children play
Things feel the same way
But something is gone
It’s all gone up in smoke
The liner notes end with this call to action: “Let’s fight, let’s create some change because IT’S NOT TOO LATE.”
This is music I love with a message I support. I came to this record late in the year, but I’ll be spending a lot more time with it over these next few months and beyond.
My Favorites of 2010: #5
5. Lobi Traoré: Rainy Season Blues (2010)
This was one of the last recordings made by Lobi Traoré before he died this past June at the age of 49. From Mali and steeped in Bambara culture, Traoré plays his guitar here like some of his countrymen play ngoni, using it as a countermelody to his own singing voice rather than as a chording instrument. This record is just Lobi, singing and playing guitar. There is a lot of blues influence here, reminding listeners of how African music influenced American blues and vice versa. His use of space is exceptional, not worrying about filling every moment with a big sound. While sometimes the guitar is allowed to ring, the sound often comes to a stop as if anticipating the next notes. Despite the sparseness, there is a lot of energy and emotion in this record. I’ve been listening to these songs a lot lately, lamenting the loss of this great musician.
My Favorites of 2010: #6
6. Terrakota: World Massala (2010)
This is the fourth outing from this Portuguese band whose members have immersed themselves in the music of West Africa for the past decade. Their version of Afrobeat has reggae and flamenco influences mixed in. On this record they add guests musicians from Angola, Cuba, and India who add gypsy, Indian classical, and Bollywood elements to the sound. As the title suggests, massala is blend of spices, and that’s exactly what we get here. This is a satisfying set of songs, drawing on many musical styles from Portugal and far beyond.
My Favorites of 2010: #7
7. Yvette Landry: Should Have Known (2010)
Yvette Landry comes from Eunice, Louisiana and for the last few years has played with the Cajun band Boinsoir Catin. This is her first solo album, and she’s kept her Cajun sensibilities on this record which veers more toward honky-tonk. The results are great. With backing from The Redstick Ramblers and other local musicians, she’s put together a very enjoyable set of original songs. There is a good mix of upbeat tunes made for dancing, emotional ballads, and bluesy breakup tunes. The lyrics reference Waylon Jennings and Levon Helm, and that’s rarely a bad thing. If you’re looking for real country music with a bit of Cajun influence, this is the perfect starting place.
This was my favorite of many good Americana albums to come out this year. Los Lobos made my list of favorites, and I also enjoyed Jim Lauderdale, Eilen Jewell, and Darrell Scott.
My Favorites of 2010: #8
8. Kathy Kallick Band: Between the Hollow and the High-Rise (2010)
I heard “The Girl Next Door” on a podcast and I was hooked. The rest of this album stands up to my first impression and I’ve been coming back to this record a lot over these last few months. Kathy Kallick was an original member of Good Ol’ Persons and has been on the west coast bluegrass scene since the 1970s. This recording has a nice mix of originals by Kallick and members of her band along with very good covers including “Get Along Home Cindy”, The Louvin Brothers’s gospel song “There’s a Higher Power,” and a welcome re-working of “White House Blues” with new lyrics by Kallick to reflect a more recent Presidency.
This was my favorite bluegrass record in a year filled with quite a bit of good bluegrass and old-time music. I mentioned Tim O’Brien a couple days ago, and I also enjoyed the releases from Red Molly and The Infamous Stringdusters.
My Favorites of 2010: #9
9. Los Lobos: Tin Can Trust (2010)
Los Lobos keeps putting out one enjoyable record after another, and this one is no exception. This album has a solid mix of Mexican cumbia and norteño, blues, guitar-heavy rock, latin percussion, big horn riffs, and a Grateful Dead cover to boot. This band has put out 20-some albums since the 1970s, and their musical skills and good taste are as strong as ever; that in and of itself is mightily impressive. This is a very nice outing from a very good band with a pleasing mix of interesting textures, great singing, and energetic instrumentals.
My Favorites of 2010: #10
10. Frøy Aagre: Cycle of Silence (2010)
Norwegian saxophonist Frøy Aagre put out her third release early in 2010, and this was my introduction to her music. I like the way she plays the soprano saxophone, and I really enjoy her compositional skills. She writes interesting melodies that are angular but still fluid and they move around in interesting directions. The arrangements don’t rely just on old-school jazz comping behind a soloist; she uses piano, bass, and drums to add color and counterpoint to the lines played by the saxophone. Her main quartet works well together, and it’s a treat when she adds brass guest stars – Øyvind Brække on trombone and Trude Eick on horn – to the mix.
There was a lot of good jazz out of Norway this year. The Espen Eriksen Trio just barely missed making my list, and Elephant9, Jaga Jazzist, and Bushman’s Revenge each put out enjoyable records. I have yet to hear the records that came out last month from Trygve Seim (a duo with Andreas Utnem) and Christian Wallumrød (with the ensemble Dans Les Arbres), so I am looking forward to listening to more great Norwegian jazz over the next few months.
My Favorites of 2010: Preamble
My Favorites of 2010: Preamble
Over the next ten days I’ll be counting down my favorite recordings from 2010. I chose the countdown format this year because I haven’t had a chance to post a formal review of each one yet. They all deserve at least a short review and a little time in the spotlight.
Ten is obviously an arbitrary number, and there isn’t much that separates what I’ve dubbed my ten favorites from the next few. For example, Tim O’Brien’s “Chicken & Egg” pictured above is one of those five or six that just barely missed my list.
The countdown begins tomorrow with #10.
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