Category Archives: Music

Emily Remler’s Cookin’ at the Queens, and Bill Evans’s Bill Evans In Norway: The Kongsberg Concert

Talk about forgotten greats … I’ve been listening to jazz all my life, and really digging into it for at least a dozen years now, and had never come across Emily Remler, the great guitarist who died at the age … Continue reading

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Wishamalii’s Al-Bahr, and Aylin’s Soulgarden’s Bu Bir Demdir

The Finland based multi-cultural trio Wishamalii makes powerful and beguiling music that seamlessly blends genres. World renowned Finnish piannist Kari Ikonen joins with Palestinian-Jordanian singer, composer and oud virtuoso Nemat Battah, and Ethopian percussionist Abdissa “Mamba” Assefa on this soulful … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Folk and World Music Galore Vol. 3

The German label Folk Galore, part of the CPL-Music group, has put together this year’s compilation of top tracks from the group’s 2024 folk music releases. Folk and World Music Galore Vol. 3 is, as usual, a good way to … Continue reading

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Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Sandeep Das’s Indian Delta

Born in Rajasthan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt studied traditional Indian music with the greatest teachers. He even spent time with Pt. Ravi Shankar. He even invented his own instrument. Combining the traditional Indian veena with a Hawaiian guitar, he created … Continue reading

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Various artists’ The Music of Nubenegra

Brendan Foreman wrote this review. In 1994 Manuel Dominguez, a longtime devotee to traditional Spanish music, began the Nubenegra label out of Madrid, Spain. Originally dedicating his label solely to Spanish and Cuban music, he soon expanded its coverage to … Continue reading

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Odetta’s Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues

Odetta is one of the key figures in the American and worldwide folk music revival of the 1950s, and along with Pete Seeger and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott one of the few still around and performing today. This glorious re-release of … Continue reading

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John Prine’s Fair & Square

“That’s golden!” John Prine exclaims, after the last strains of a guitar chord fade away on the last (bonus) track on his latest album, Fair & Square. Those two words sum up the whole album. Prine is an absolute treasure … Continue reading

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Lama Gyurme and Jean-Philippe Rykiel’s Rain of Blessings: Vajra Chants

Patrick O’Donnell wrote this review. If it’s meditation or inner peace you seek, Rain of Blessings may be the perfect musical accompaniment. But if you’re after anything else — some quiet background music or an interesting listen, for instance — … Continue reading

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Halali’s Halali

Pat Simmonds wrote this review. Halali consists of three fiddlers, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cotese and Lissa Schneckenburger, with Flynn Cohen providing guitar accompaniment. The thriving and bustling session scene in Boston has been bubbling under the surface for a number … Continue reading

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Habib Koite and Bamada’s Muso Ko

Patrick O’Donnell wrote this review. Habib Koite’s rich guitar playing and complex, poetic lyrics make Muso Ko an album of literary proportions. Throughout the 16 tracks, the immensely talented Koite tackles prostitution, work ethics and morals, politics, the dangers of … Continue reading

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