@rudyscuriocabinet / rudyscuriocabinet.tumblr.com
Once upon a time, I had a decent working knowledge (at least for an American expat) of Soviet Jazz. It keeps popping back into my life, and I still find it a joy to listen to even 30 years down the road. Thanks to Shasha Svistunov for compiling some real treasures here, including quite a few whose names are new to me! Brief run-down in English Tracklist: 1. Oleg Kutsenko Leningrad Instrumental…
Mariana Ingold – Cara A Cara
Uruguayan vocalist and musician Mariana Ingold has a storied reputation for her albums of children’s songs, environmental work and collaborations with the indigenous communities of her native country, but in 1986, she started recording some rather fine pop music as well. She mixed candombe music with synthesizers to make a fusion which caught on in the country’s capital, Montevideo. She is…
Gui Duvignau – Baden
Franco-Brazilian bassist and composer Gui Duvignau was born in France, but raised in Brazil. In his latest album, he interprets some classic work by the legendary Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, whose work left an indelible mark on the samba and bossa nova scene worldwide.
Bester Quartet – Piazzolla Angels
Poland’s For-Tune Records have been consistently releasing high-quality jazz and improv music for some time now, but their latest has a special place for me. This collection, with the exception of Por Una Cabeza (composed by Carlos Gardel) was composed by the inimitable Ástor Piazzólla and arranged Bester Quartet leader and accordionist Jarosław Bester. It’s remarkable to hear how fluidly tangos…
Various Artists – NYP Records: Mukambo presents Global Afrobeat Movement 2
The first time I had the pleasure of hearing Afrobeat was in Skopje, Macedonia, of all places. There isn’t a lot of variance to the music on this comp, though there are a few gems on this comp, but I have to be honest – how do you better Fela Kuti and Tony Allen? It’s a tough sell. This is the future of Afrobeat you’re listening to on this compilation, and the best part is that the genre is…
Enji – Ursgal
Enji Erkhem is a jazz singer who is originally from Mongolia, but who currently calls Munich, Germany, home. She has quite an interesting personal story, growing up in a yurt to a working-class family, traveling to Germany to study music pedagogy, and getting utterly inspired by jazz singers like Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson, while adding folk elements into this…
[Music] Kiriakos Sfetsas – Greek Fusion Orchestra – Χωρίς Σύνορα [Vinyl Rip] Kiriakos Sfetsas and the Greek Fusion Orchestra provide a cool combination of jazz fusion and a light touch of ethnic Greek music.
Tanzania, as a whole, has amazing musical diversity. Siti & The Band hail from Zanzibar, and you can hear the deep Arabic influence in their music. From their Bandcamp website:
Zanzibar, the mystic island and home to world renowned musicians Siti Binti Saad and Bi Kidude as well as the Festival Sauti za Busara and Zanzibar International Film Festival, is proud to have born new voices to carry…
[Music] Steppe-Scape (Stars of Eurasia) – The Great Steppe Live Stick Men guitarist/Chapman Stick player Markus Reuter participates in a stunningly good collaboration wedding progressive rock and improvisation with music from Central Asia.
[Music] Salah Ragab and The Cairo Jazz Band – Believe it or not, Salah Ragab worked with Sun Ra. He is considered the master of Egyptian music, and could easily sit with the greatest in the world. Enjoy this funky number.
Jade Warrior – Eclipse (1973) Tonight's long-play listen is a full album of England's ethno-jazz-prog ensemble Jade Warrior.
Sewa Kaffo – Alinga Sewa As usual, the best tracks tend to come from out of nowhere. Take Sewa Kaffo for example. This Polish band combines jazz and world music easily, and blends traditional Western instruments with kora and tabla. A truly engaging listen.
[Music] Boomerang – Mirage (Kazakhstan/USSR, 1986) Another Soviet ethno-jazz project of high quality. Boomerang hailed from Kazakhstan, and this particular album is considered their rarest.
Through scouring the net over the past 20 years, I’ve come to find that Uzbekistan hides a treasure trove of music. First, prog-rock seems to be relatively popular there (bands like Fromuz and magazines like ProgressoR come to mind).
However, this release was a true gem. Ethno-jazz performed by the band Sato, who have almost…
[Music] Enver İzmaylov – Aranjuez Uzbek-Ukrainian guitarist Enver İzmaylov, known for his amazing tapping technique on the guitar, does justice to a piece penned by Spanish maestro Joaquín Rodrigo.
