World Music

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L'ensemble Aromates / Michèle Claude Jardin de Myrtes: Mélodies andalouses du Moyen-Orient Arab-Andalousian poems performed by an ensemble of Middle Eastern string instruments fuses modern harmony with twelve traditional Arabic classical muwashsha songs. An eclectic group of singers and instrumentalists trained in a variety of schools, perform on traditional instruments. Michèle Claude, a

The Portuguese guitar is a 12-string instrument with double courses (string pairs) and a small body, similar in tone to the mandolin or Greek bouzouki. Its penetrating sound is championed by Carlos Paredes, a sensitive, even shy performer who balances tradition and spontaneous invention. His original approach was likened to the freshness of Ornette Coleman by bassist Charlie Haden, who is

Badi Assad (São João da Boa Vista, December 23, 1966) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and guitarist in the jazz and worldbeat genres. She was born in the state of São Paulo, but grew up in Rio de Janeiro until she was twelve. Her father, Jorge Assad, of Lebanese descent, plays bandolim (mandolin), and her two older brothers are guitarists Sérgio Assad and Odair Assad of Duo Assad. Assad

Billed as Azzddine on the 2004 album Massafat (which is actually credited to Azzddine with Bill Laswell), Azzddine is Azzddine Ouhnine, a Moroccan oud player and composer based in Rabat. The Switzerland-based Label, which specializes in cross-cultural collaborations between African and European/American musicians, decided to produce a CD with him on the basis of a lo-fi recording of one of his

"Vande Mataram" became a Sanskit rallying cry for freedom in the early 1900s, as Indians protested against the partitioning of Bengal and its use as the title for the first international release by Ar Rahman, one of India's most popular contemporary recordings artists, is appropriate. Vande Mataram was released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of India's independence from colonial

This 19-song compilation features a wide variety of artists from this small but influential island off the Senegalese coast. Opening with Cesaria Evora and an early tune, "Papa Joachim Paris," the album visits luminaries like Simentera, Paulino Vieira, and Tito Paris and introduces you to many less famous but deserving names. Real roots come from the Mindel Band with a raw violin and a perpetual

Track Listings -------------- 01. Jamila – Birds Of Earth 02. Razoof – Dub On The Beach (East Instrumental Mix By ZEB) 03. Blue Bedouin – Blue Night 04. REG Project, The* – Beijing Dreamin' (Yongmei) 05. Rabaz (2) – Eastern Breeze 06. Feeraz – Le Grands Sud 07. Murat Tugsuz* – Desert Dream AKA Uskander 08. Hosam Hayek – Give Me The Flute (Aa'tene Annai) 09. Naguila – Hammam 10.

Track Listings -------------- 01. Omar Faruk – I Love You 02. Mardo El-Noor – Mesopotamia 03. Amir Sofi – Amir (with Magic Finders) 04. REG Project* – Tatouage Oriental 05. Petrol Bomb Samosa – The Baghdad Groove 06. Naked Rhythm – Sudinaya 07. Mercan Dede – Souffle 08. Beirut Biloma – Revived 09. Blue Bedouin – Khan Of Asia 10. Ozgur Sakar – Abi-L Beka 11. Spirit Of Dubai –

Perennial blues road warrior Taj Mahal and Malian kora (harp-lute) ambassador Toumani Diabate join forces, blend textures, and intermingle idioms on this cleanly produced 12-song set, recorded in 1998 in Athens. Their common ground is best tilled on "Atlanta Kaira" and the title track, where the plucky filigrees and glittering tone of the kora sound right at home with Taj's darker, barking