. issue XXIV : iii .

. artist : vinicius cantuaria & bill frisell .
. album : lagrimas mexicanas .
. year : 2011 .
. label : eone music .
. grade : b minus .

Vinicius Cantuaria is a New York City-based Brazilian singer-songwriter-guitarist-percussionist whose unique music straddles the worlds of MPB (Brazilian popular music), jazz and the downtown New York scene. Here he’s in a collaborative duo with Bill Frisell, one of the great jazz musicians of the current era and a man with an equally wide range of interests – the two previously worked together in Frisell’s excellent band The Intercontinentals. Neither musician occupies new ground here – rather they meet at the midpoint of their interests on some tuneful material that emphasizes Cantuaria’s expressive singing and Frisell’s beautiful guitar melodies and loops. Not a breakthrough recording on the order of Frisell’s Have A Little Faith or Nashville, but a high-quality outing that’s pleasing on the surface and reveals additional depth on further listening, like the best Brazilian pop music.

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXIV : i .

. artist : k. frimpong & his cubano fiestas .
. album : blue album .
. year : 1976 .
. label : continental / secret stash .
. grade : a .

Alhaji K. Frimpong was a Ghanaian singer and bandleader who released six or so albums in the 1970’s and 80’s. His career bridged the time from when highlife was the dominant musical style in West Africa to when it was supplanted by afrobeat. Frimpong’s sound is roughly a halfway point between the two, a mixture of languid melodies and urgent rhythmic drive. He’s shown up on many of the most important West African compilations, and his original vinyl sells for premium prices. Now the folks at Continental and Secret Stash have reissued his self-titled 1976 album, one of the most awesome tapes ever featured on the “Awesome Tapes From Africa” blog and pretty difficult to find otherwise. Frimpong wasn’t the most popular artist in his own day, but his prominence has grown through time — it’s safe to say that this is some of the best music of an era full of great recordings. The band here (also known as Vis A Vis on their own sessions) is just superb; drummer Kung-Fu Kwaku is right up there with Tony Allen as a master of polyrhythms. Don’t miss this one.

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXIII : viii .

. artist : various artists .
. album : salsa explosion! the new york salsa revolution 1968-1985 .
. year : 2010 .
. label : fania / strut .
. grade : a .

Salsa is one of the USA’s great contributions to 20th century music culture. Yes, I said the USA – although many if not most of the genre’s key figures were born outside the 50 states, salsa is essentially the product of musicians working in New York City. Starting from the deep well of Cuban popular music (off-limits to most Americans after the 1962 Cuban embargo), seasoned with pan-Caribbean folkloric traditions (especially those of Puerto Rico) and with the players’ experience in American jazz and R&B bands, these musicians developed a style that has folks around the world dancing to this day. Fania Records released more NYC salsa records than any label; they’ve just started a licensing program with Strut Records in the UK who specialize in hip, danceable global reissues, and this CD is their first joint venture. It’s a delicious single-disc sample of quintessential tracks from the various subgenres found in American salsa. Every track’s a winner here, but some highlights include the Afro-Latin “Che Che Colé,” the Latin soul “Do You Feel It,” the son montuno “Bilongo,” the boogaloo “El Nuevo Barretto,” and the salsa dura “Ahora Es El Tiempo.”

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXIII : ii .

. artist : the apples .
. album : kings .
. year : 2010 .
. label : freestyle .
. grade : a minus .

The Apples are a nine-piece band from Tel Aviv, Israel playing a unique style of global funk, soul and instrumental hip hop that’s equally influenced by middle eastern music, James Brown, dub and J Dilla. Cool instrumentation: four horns, bass violin, drum kit, two turntablists and live effects at the soundboard (no digital samplers or digital anything) is a great configuration for their clever writing (for example, “In The Air” is a composition that grows out of a sample from the Meters-Toussaint-Lee Dorsey classic “Occapella”) and groove-based improvisations. On this release (their second for Freestyle), they collaborate with two disparate musical giants: trombonist Fred Wesley (tracks 1-4), famous for his work with both James Brown and George Clinton, and vocalist Shlomo Bar (tracks 5-8), whose band HaBrera HaTeevit was a pioneer of world music in Israel. This band is new to me and I’m totally impressed – big ideas plus funky grooves plus killer horn lines and solos equals a totally Global A Go-Go concept. Bravo!

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXIII : i .

. artist : freedom family .
. album : ayentsoo .
. year : 2013 .
. label : academy lps .
. grade : a .

Frank Gossner (Voodoo Funk) and Academy LPs have another winner in this choice slab of Ghanaian Afro-funk. The Freedom Family was one of West Africa’s tightest combos, although this is the only LP they ever waxed under that name. As the Plastic Jims (named after the Sly & The Family Stone song) and the Heartbeats ’72, they spent several years backing up Geraldo Pino, West Africa’s first soul star and the man who gave Fela the impetus to invent Afrobeat. They made this record for EMI in Lagos in 1974, and it is first rate from beginning to end. Led by music director Chief Kwame Frimpong’s keyboards, the band featured a tasty two-man horn section, a killer rhythm section and charismatic lead singer Albert Jones. Every track here is excellent, but take particular note of “Holy Worshipping” (an instrumental) and “Yensuro (No Fears)” (a vocal) – they’re loaded with tuneful hooks like the best of Booker T & the MGs. And for a change of pace try “Love Affair,” which sounds like James Carr in Nigeria. Jones also contributes the lengthy liner notes chronicling the band’s ups and downs on stage, in business and in their colorful personal lives – it’s the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, West African version. Seminal if you dig Afro-funk.

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXII : vii .

. artist : joseph kabasele .
. album : le grand kalle: his life, his music .
. year : 2013 .
. label : sterns .
. grade : a .

On the heels of Ken Braun’s comprehensive Franco and Rochereau compilations, here’s Braun and Sterns Africa’s look at the third member of Congolese music’s big three: Joseph Kabasele, aka Le Grand Kalle. Kabasele was at the forefront of the development of rumba Congolaise, the Cuban-influenced style that became the soundtrack to African independence and African music’s lingua franca, beloved across the continent. His band, Orchestre African Jazz, was Congo’s most popular throughout the 50’s and early 60’s and spawned some of the country’s biggest stars, like the aforementioned Rochereau and the amazing guitarist Dr. Nico. Songs like “Mokonzi Ya Mboka,” “Table Ronde” and “African Jazz Mokili Mobimbo” are integral to the history, both musical and political, of the young Congolese nation. African Jazz was eclipsed by the mid-60’s by a younger generation of players (many of them alumni of the orchestra), yet it’s amazing how well those later Kalle numbers stand up: “Moselebende To Bolingo,” from 1968, is decades ahead of its time. With the holiday season coming up, this lavish (104 page booklet + 2 CDs) set is the perfect item for the African music lover on your gift list.

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXII : i .

. artist : the liberators .
. album : power struggle .
. year : 2013 .
. label : record kicks .
. grade : a .

Afrobeat is popular all over the world these days, and Australia is no exception; in the last few years, we’ve heard a bunch of fine Aussie Afrobeat combos: the Shaolin Afronauts, Public Opinion Afro Orchestra and the Afrobiotics. Add The Liberators to that list. This is the second album for the Sydney-based 10-piece band, and it’s smoking. The Liberators share a number of members with world-class funk band Dojo Cuts, and Dojo lead singer Roxie Ray provides the only vocal here on “Water Somewhere.” Other than that, it’s an all-instrumental session with short songs by Afrobeat standards (none longer than 6:05), many featuring sour, pentatonic, almost Ethiopian melodies. In these three aspects, The Liberators sound quite a bit like the Budos Band. Another major influence is Antibalas: you can hear them in Colin Ho’s Ticklah-like trippy organ swirls and stabs (check out the beginnings of “Cairo Uprising” and “Dos Caras”) and see them in the explicitly political song titles. Antibalas’ Martin Perna and Amayo are big fans, and with good reason: this is top-shelf 21st century Afrobeat, definitely worth your time.

by Bill Lupoletti

. issue XXI : iii .

. artist : the lijadu sisters .
. album : mother africa .
. year : 2012 .
. label : knitting factory .
. grade : b .

Here’s the second of four promised reissues by Knitting Factory of the Lijadu Sisters, twins who were among the few women fronting bands in Nigeria in the 1970’s. The first volume, Danger, had an American-influenced sound heavy on the funk, soul and rock. Mother Africa, originally released by Afrodesia in 1977, complements its predecessor with a focus on popular Nigerian, and especially Yoruban, styles. You get mellow acoustic guitar-lead palm-wine (“Iya Mi Jowo”), deeply soulful and grooving fuji (“Bayi L’ense”), and juju (“Orin Aro”) with its characteristic lilting melodies, relaxed but insistent rhythm, and twangy guitar solos. (As an aside, the Lijadus were part of juju superstar King Sunny Ade’s 1982 USA tour, which included a gig at Richmond’s Mosque Theater.) Instrumentation is fairly minimal, generally nothing but guitar, talking drums and shekere, leaving plenty of sonic room for the Lijadus’ voices, which are generally heard in close harmony or in unison. Two volumes in, this reissue series is proving to be most worthwhile — I can’t wait to hear what surprises volumes 3 and 4 have in store.

by Bill Lupoletti