I’m not sure that the title of this collection is entirely accurate, particularly because my favorite cut, “La Distancia” by Colombian singer and vallenato accordionist Alfredo Gutiérrez seems to me to be a joyful celebration. True, it’s in a minor key, so if that makes it “noir” or dark, so be it. But take a listen below and see if you don’t also find great joy in Gutiérrez’s soaring tenor vocals and his creatively unorthodox playing.
This is the fifth edition of the Noir Series by Berlin’s excellent world music label Piranha, subtitled “Everything Happens on the Beach.” I can overlook a little marketing gimmick if it brings us such excellent music. This compilation features 13 selections, what the label refers to as “happy sad musical treasures” from Cuba, Argentina, Colombia and New York, with influences from the New World as well as “both sides of the Mediterranean,” which I take as a reference to Iberia and Africa.
It opens with one of my favorite accordionists, Argentinian Chango Spasiuk and a tune called “Tierra Colorada,” in a style known as Chamamé, which sounds like tango but earthier, with a blend of African, Spanish and native Guaraní rhythms and percussion, and even some German schottisch dance influences.
Otherwise, the disc is heavy with Cuban groups and sounds, which is never a bad thing. The darkest and saddest is “Dejame Que Te Lleve,” a deeply melancholy duet by Ana Chistina Pozo & Omar Perez. It’s a trova-style love song by this popular duo, accompanied only by Spanish guitar; their voices are as superbly matched as any I’ve heard recently, his strong tenor with her incredible contralto. The old-style ballad “La Cola De Tu Caimán” is similarly dramatic as performed by the Cuban conjunto group Campesino Cuyaguateje. The student group Estudiantina Invasora sings with longing and nostalgia about the Cuban revolution in a live version of “Comandante Che Guevara,” and the Grupo El Organo Pinareño sings a guaracha song that most lovers of Cuban music should recognize. The song they bill as “La Negra Tomasa” was recorded by the Buena Vista Social Club as “Mandinga.” There’s much more, including a big band danzon number by the orquesta Piquete Tipico doing “Alturas De Simpson” and the Cuban percussion tour-de-force “Por Una Tigresa Que Mira Na Estrella” the group Sin Palabras.
The French-based group Watcha Clan closes it down with an electronica tinged “bonus” track “La Patera” about boat-borne refugees who flee North Africa for Southern Europe.
It all makes for an intriguing blend of old and new, traditional and ground-breaking. Yet another fine collection from Piranha.
(Piranha, 2013)
