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Reviews

Review of Tradisyon

Tradisyon

Wesli

Cumbancha

Rating: ★★★★

This is a collection of traditional Haitian songs modernised with skill and sensitivity by Montréal-based singer and multi-intrumentalist, Wesli. It’s...

Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Entre l’Érable et le Cocotier

Entre l’Érable et le Cocotier

Pascale LeBlanc

Pascale LeBlanc

Rating: ★★★

Although born in Montréal, singer and multi-instrumentalist Pascale LeBlanc grew up in Haiti, her mother’s homeland. Her songs reflect much...

Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Ecos de Magerit

Ecos de Magerit

Melón Jiménez

ScatCat Music

Rating: ★★★

This album offers ‘Echoes from Magerit,’ a phonetic representation of the Arabic name for the Spanish capital. It’s the second...

Reviewed by Jo Setters in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Dose a Nova

Dose a Nova

Shotnez

Batov Records

Rating: ★★★

Now that the Balkan Beats hyperbole appears to be out of fashion, erstwhile pioneers of the genre Ori Kaplan and...

Reviewed by Robert Rigney in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Helleristning

Helleristning

Julie Alapnes

Ta:lik

Rating: ★★★

Alapnes was five when she stood in her grandfather’s kitchen in North Norway learning how to hold the fiddle that...

Reviewed by Fiona Talkington in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Orkos

Orkos

Maha

Habibi Funk

Rating: ★★★★

As one of the few female singers operating within Egypt’s fertile 70s jazz scene, Maha was picked out as a...

Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Fandango at the Wall in New York

Fandango at the Wall in New York

Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Tiger Turn

Rating: ★★★

Mexican-American composer, pianist and activist Arturo O’Farrill says it’s his mission to ‘unite people through the power of profoundly moving...

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Maresia

Maresia

Fabrizio Piepoli

Zero Nove Nove

Rating: ★★★★

Maresia (meaning ‘Sea Air’ or ‘Sea Foam’ in Portuguese) is a visionary and poetical offering from Bari singer, composer and...

Reviewed by Ciro De Rosa in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Afro Funk

Afro Funk

TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo

Acid Jazz

Rating: ★★★★

When the former French colony of Dahomey gained its independence in 1960, it launched a surge of artistic creativity in...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: January/February/2023

Review of Hearth

Hearth

Stewart Garry

Stewart Garry

Rating: ★★★

Newcastle-born Stewart Garry may be a relatively new name to some, but with his latest release, Hearth, he makes his...

Reviewed by Billy Rough in issue: January/February/2023

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