tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-236910422012-03-29T10:34:32.771-05:00cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-41205327597753205532011-09-28T14:10:00.000-05:002011-09-28T14:10:10.979-05:00

"Never before have I heard this lyrically powerful a fusion of Jewish and jazz souls on fire.” So says Nat Hentoff and I can’t agree more. For most of the past decade the Afro-Semitic Experience has played the midnight Selichot service with Cantor Jack Mendelson at his synagogue in White Plains, NY. Theey have, in the process, created a new way to accompany cantorial music and they document it

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-16653492170549367132011-05-27T10:09:00.000-05:002011-05-27T10:09:29.747-05:00

We are working on a new on-going series of hour long programs called The Global Radio Workshop, produced by Cliff Furnald and RootsWorld in cooperation with WPKN Radio in Bridgeport, CT. You can hear some of the programs in archive at the new GRW web site. This week, we heard from Canadian improvisation trio Three Metre Day

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-86034014276332045322010-12-10T12:33:00.002-05:002010-12-10T12:34:29.767-05:00

Yes, we all need more intermedia interaction, don't we? We'll be using Facebook as a (nearly) daily link farm to great music, news and reviews, so join us if you can! RootsWorld on Facebook!  

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-31406669846147363632010-12-10T12:32:00.000-05:002010-12-10T12:32:31.034-05:00

"There is a old tradition in Norway to sing and play at the same time, like talking together." - Annbjørg Lien Norwegian musician Annbjørg Lien is more than just a great Hardangar fiddler. RootsWorld's Greg Harness chats with the artist and reviews some of her recent recordings. Read more and listen.

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-48006303388177175802010-08-01T10:03:00.001-05:002010-08-01T10:05:21.616-05:00

  The "bridal room" at Savannah's historic Trinity Methodist Church offers a glimpse into the clichéd world of the Southern belle. Overstuffed sofas, heavy drapery, straight-backed chairs, and an ornate full-length mirror with golden trim dominate the main room, while shelves loaded with hairspray, lotions, gels, pins, nets, and formulas used to tame the wild manes of brides and debutantes

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-82991939405278435602010-06-14T14:43:00.000-05:002010-06-14T14:43:10.916-05:00

Three Score & Ten - A Voice to the People recounts the story of 70 Years of the Oldest Independent Record Label in Great Britain, and the origins of Topic Records are particularly fascinating. Initially, the organization from which Topic would take root was the Workers' Music Association (WMA), founded in 1936 as "an educational offshoot of the British Marxist Party." The Workers' Music

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-69278252505937487982010-05-26T10:46:00.000-05:002010-05-26T10:46:09.790-05:00

Cliff Furnald: Thursday mornings, 6 AM to 9 AMLive playlists and audio archives (well, as live as I can handle in the morning) will be online during the show Thursday, May 27th, at 8:00 AM, WPKN Radio will feature a special English-language edition of "Folk Danmark, 2010," a program of music from the little Nordic country with the big musical heart. The program is produced and hosted by Danish

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-28436307933549026212010-05-25T10:35:00.000-05:002010-05-25T10:35:11.177-05:00

A little over a year ago after storm surges from Ike and Gustav almost washed away Terrebonne Parish, Delta bluesman Tab Benoit took the mic in defiance as wisps of wind snaked through the scrim draping the backside of the stage. Friday's early evening crowd stayed put as Benoit offered reassurance that this, the sixth annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival, would continue come hell or high

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-39683944181683655322010-05-24T15:42:00.000-05:002010-05-24T15:42:10.665-05:00

Dirty Linen Magazine was where I first started writing about music in a serious way. In fact, my column, Radio Planet 3, was in the first edition of the magazine to appear under that name (it was called "Fairport Fanatics" before then). So it is a shame to see that, after so many years of working so hard to maintain a magazine of great musical and writing standards, Paul and Sue Hartman have

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-42037006044957550732010-05-12T16:46:00.002-05:002010-05-12T16:46:50.913-05:00

Etoile de Dakar featuring Youssou N'Dour Once Upon A Time In Senegal: The Birth Of Mbalax 1979-1981 (Stern's Music) 2 CDs There are not many African artists whose names are as well-known as Youssou N’Dour’s. And it’s not just his ‘7 Seconds’ duet with Neneh Cherry, or his frequent collaborations with Peter Gabriel and others. No, you don’t reach his status just by who you hang out with, you

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-77194764689355393212010-05-04T18:06:00.001-05:002010-05-04T18:07:07.584-05:00

I know, this is not the usual RootsWorld fare, but bear with me and maybe just humor me a bit. Norah Jones has released new video for the song "Young Blood" from hew CD 'The Fall' this week! Jones is experimenting with different sounds and some new collaborators, including Jacquire King, a noted producer and engineer who has worked with Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, and others, and a new group of

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-22848584425657270632010-04-30T08:34:00.000-05:002010-04-30T08:34:04.756-05:00

“Valravn is testing the extremes of Nordic roots music and its application here and now; in that process we are open to outside influences. The point of departure is on the cusp of something very ancient and something brand new." – Juan Pino, Valravn The Danish folktronica band Valravn grew out of the acoustic medieval music ensemble Virelai, which had specialized in performing traditional

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-91694285866327029712010-04-23T08:18:00.000-05:002010-04-23T08:18:02.044-05:00

The public face of Italy today is una brutta faccia. Silvio Berlusconi's regime is a riotous carnival of corruption, abuse of power, and sexual sleaze; organized crime wields enormous economic power throughout the peninsula and in Sicily; the Vatican intrudes with an ever more heavy hand into Italian politics; and racism, xenophobia, and homophobia are surging. The civil society organization

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-32214733820672094802010-04-23T08:11:00.000-05:002010-04-23T08:11:20.279-05:00

Here's the official word: "It is with great sadness that we announce the cancellation of the entire April/May 2010 North American tour for King Sunny Ade and his African Beats. On March 26th 2010 a tragic car accident took the lives of two members of the African Beats, talking drummer Gabriel Ayanniyi and percussionist Omo Olope, who were en-route to a video shoot for a forthcoming recording.

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-82210046972260434802010-04-15T10:49:00.000-05:002010-04-15T10:49:48.647-05:00

Chicago based Afropop ensemble Occidental Brothers Dance Band International has scored a major coup with the signing of legendary Kenyan/Congolese singer Samba Mapangala as their new lead singer. A chance meeting last year, followed by a few gigs - and a recording session with Orchestra Virunga of Mapangala's tribute to Barak Obama - has led to the union of the two, the Chicago reader reports

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-79004065543135626462010-03-26T11:15:00.000-05:002010-03-26T11:15:44.967-05:00

For those who have kept up with the Buda Musique series, the otherworldly novelty of the earliest volumes released in the late 1990's has perhaps worn off. But they have also been rewarded with everything from solo pianists, King David's Harpists, historic recordings of orchestras as well as classic, 1970's-era Ethiopian soul as interpreted by Cambridge, Massachusetts' Either/Orchestra live in

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-14984725217168423972010-03-25T10:54:00.001-05:002010-04-15T13:12:57.375-05:00

Like those 70s-era Electra/Nonesuch LPs, Africa: Shona Mbira Music and Music of the Shona People, The Kankobela of the Batonga Vol. 1 features music played on the kankobela (commonly referred to as the thumb piano), and like those records, the music contained here is a thing of lullabye-like guilelessness. In fact, this disc can be seen as the long-awaited companion to the recordings South

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-88528396298102069332010-03-12T15:01:00.000-05:002010-03-12T15:01:21.749-05:00

Saharaui singer Mariem Hassan releases her new CD this month, in collaboration with with the poet Lamin Allal and the guitarist, Lamgaifri Brahim. A highlight of the CD is the innovative title track “Shouka,” a cantata developed by using all scales and rhythms of the traditional vocal style, the haul. A full review will be coming in RootsWorld soon. Listen! More audio and Biography of the

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-75219669135007248372010-03-04T11:50:00.002-05:002010-03-04T11:56:48.732-05:00

Think what you may of the Grammys, but the Academy got one thing (partially) right this past year: Omar Sosa's 2009 recording Across the Divide: A Tale of Rhythm & Ancestry was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album. While Béla Fleck took home the statue, the nomination introduced many people to the music of Omar Sosa. For these new listeners, this is good timing. The most recent

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-91469060679915253532010-02-19T15:07:00.003-05:002010-02-19T15:11:56.241-05:00

Marta TopferovaTrovaWorld Village (www.worldvillagemusic.com)I had to pull out her previous discs for some comparing and contrasting in order to be sure, and now I am: Marta Topferova has got her groove back. After her impressive 2005 debut La Marea, this young Czech woman who makes Latin music went a trifle soft, though still charming, with the next year's follow-up Flor Noctura. Now on Trova,

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-50758097401451994952010-02-10T13:08:00.001-05:002010-02-10T13:11:37.431-05:00

Various ArtistsPanama! 3: Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz & Cumbia Típica on the Isthmus 1960-75Soundway RecordsThe narrow waist of the Americas (as Pablo Neruda once put it) was a major transshipment point between the Atlantic and Pacific long before the Panama Canal's construction claimed the lives of thousands of black English-speaking Caribbean immigrant laborers in the early twentieth century

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-16133017152488713062010-01-07T12:39:00.000-05:002010-01-07T12:41:11.920-05:00

New website helps unsigned African artists “crowdfund” music recordingsPRESS RELEASE www.AfricaUnsigned.com launches an alternative way of producing African music. Unsigned artists record their music, funded by fans. A selection of up and coming artists from Kenya, Senegal, Mali, Zimbabwe and South Africa were hand picked by a music panel consisting of music experts like Baaba Maal, Tony Allen,

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-35186996112437646392010-01-04T08:12:00.002-05:002010-01-04T08:15:54.019-05:00

From an e-mail from Lhasa de Sela's manager, David-Etienne SavoieIn Montreal, Canada: Sunday January 3rd, 2010The singer Lhasa de Sela passed away in her Montreal home on the night of January 1st 2010, just before midnight.She succumbed to breast cancer after a twenty-one month long struggle, which she faced with courage and determination. Throughout this difficult period, she continued to touch

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-70025970229928819682009-12-10T13:28:00.002-05:002009-12-10T13:35:10.796-05:00

The pithy, witty and acerbic John Storm Roberts has passed on. He died on November 29, but I just read about it in the NY Times today.His 1972 book, Black Music of Two Worlds, was essential reading for anyone into the connections between Africa and the Americas, in jazz, blues, folk and what is now the ubiquitous 'world music'. His retail company and record label, Original Music (which folded

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23691042.post-51610476909279188212009-12-09T14:02:00.001-05:002009-12-09T14:05:19.069-05:00

"These are the songs folk use for fun, to have a laugh at their own problems. There are horrifying stories like "That's Capitalism For You" or the song about Bombardine who has a child out of wedlock. We know they are real tales of misery but they are told in a humourous way, so we can laugh at ourselves. That's OK, but you have to show solidarity with the people you are singing with, you mustn't

cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779184166920967986noreply@blogger.com0