Cal Tjader ethno ventures

Far East / jazz hybrids were featured here before (see the far east tag), from ShiDaiQu of 40s and 50s to the modern recreations of same by John Huie under the Shanghai Jazz moniker, to the more modern chinese jazz fusion of Coco Zhao. Yet, there were some interesting attempts at cino-jazz by American musicians, as well. One worth checking out is Cal Tjader's Several Shades of Jade. He was a leading exponent of cross-cultural music as the man behind a number of excellent and influential latin jazz albums in the 50s. Here he steps away from latin jazz to explore the eastern music traditions - not just chinese, but also Near East (hear, for example, the Turkish-sounding jangly detuned reeds on The Fakir and Sahib). This 1963 LP is a joint effort between Tjader and Lalo Shifrin, who wrote half the material and did all arrangements. The authenticity here is a bit suspect, although I don't know enough to judge. Nonetheless, the music is engaging and easy on the ears; while it occasionally approaches kitch/easy listening territory, it doesn't really cross the border - which can be said about much of Tjader's work.

AllMusic review

Cal Tjader - Several Shades of Jade (1963)
at Oufar Khan, yorubajazz
1. The Fakir (2:53)
2. Cherry Blossoms (4:59)
3. Borneo (3:45)
4. Tokyo Blues (3:52)
5. Song Of The Yellow River (3:18)
6. Sahib (2:29)
7. China Nights (3:24)
8. Almond Tree (2:58)
9. Hot Sake (3:35)

As a bonus, Tjader's stab at South American music; most of the above applies.
AllMusic review

Cal Tjader Plays The Contemporary Music Of Mexico And Brazil
With Laurindo Almeida, Paul Horn. arr. by
depositfiles and megaupload via
mediafire, rapidshare pt.1 and pt.2, also in lossless: FLAC
01. Vai Querer (Hianto de Almeida-Fernando Lobo)
02. Qu Tristeza (Mario Ruiz Armengol)
03. Meditao (Antonio Carlos Jobim-Ferreira De Mendonca)
04. So (Mario Ruiz Armengol)
05. Se Tarde, Me Perdoa (Carlos Eduardo Lyra-Ronaldo Boscoli)
06. No Diga Nada (Carlita-Noacy Marcenes)
07. Silenciosa (Mario Ruiz Armengol)
08. Elizete (Clare Fischer)
09. Imagen (Mario Ruiz Armengol)
10. Tentaao do Inconveniente (Augusto Mesquita- Manoel de Conceicao)
11. Preciosa (Mario Ruiz Armengol)
12. Chro e Batuque (Laurindo Almeida)

The Roots of Chicha - Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru

Reviews: one, two, three, interview with the compiler.
Just wanted to bring this to your attention:

here or here
1. Los Mirios - Sonido Amazonico (2:35)
2. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Linda Nena (3:45)
3. Los Hijos Del Sola - Carinito (4:05)
4. Los Destellos - A Patricia (3:14)
5. Los Diablos Rojos - El Guapo (3:04)
6. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Ya Se Ha Muerto Mi Abuelo (4:09)
7. Los Mirios - El Milagro Verde (2:43)
8. Los Destellos - Para Elisa (2:46)
9. Los Hijos Del Sol - Linda Muсequita (4:44)
10. Los Mirios - Muchachita Del Oriente (3:19)
11. Los Destellos - Elisa (3:38)
12. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Vacilando Con Ayahuesca (3:31)
13. Los Diablos Rojos - Sacalo Sacalo (3:23)
14. Esuebio Y Su Banjo - Mi Morena Rebelde (3:21)
15. Los Hijos Del Sol - Si Me Quieres (3:09)
16. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Mi Robaron Mi Runa Mula (3:07)
17. Los Mirios - La Danza De Los Mirios (2:49)


Los Destellos

Cult Cargo - Belize City Boil Up

UPDATE: Link removed upon the label's complaint. Go buy it!

Dusty Groove review: An amazing world of music -- rare funk, soul, reggae, and other grooves from Belize -- all beautifully compiled in the rich Numero Music style! We're really stunned by the set -- as we had no idea at all that Belize had anything going on at this level -- and the collection is an amazing surprise to our ears, filled with new delights at each turn, and clearly marking Belize as a new funky capitol on our ever-expanding map of musical understanding. Numero really outdid themselves with this package -- going far beyond their already-great collections of work from the Bandit and Capsoul labels -- to dig up a range of tracks that have never really made it out to the world at large, but which bubble over with influences from American funk and soul at the time.

Sleeve notes


Cult Cargo - Belize City Boil Up
1. Lord Rhaburn - Disco Connection
2. Harmonettes - Can't Go Halfway
3. Jesus Acosta & The Professionals - Guajida
4. Web - The Same Old Me
5. The Professionals - A Part Of Being With You
6. Lord Rhaburn - More Love Reggae
7. The Professionals - The Back Stabbers
8. Web - Rated G
9. Harmonettes - Shame Shame Shame
10. Soul Creation - Funky Jive (Part II)
11. Lord Rhaburn - Don't Fight It
12. Nadia Cattouse - Long Time Boy
13. Lord Rhaburn - Boogaloo A La Chuck
14. The Professionals - The Godfather
15. Web - Things Are Going To Work Out Right
16. Soul Creation - Funky Jive

Colombia! The Golden Years Of Disco Fuentes, The Powerhouse of Colombian Music 1960-1976

Soundway continues chronicling tropical funk on its latest compilation, this time focusing on Columbia's greatest record label, Disco Fuentes. Founded in 1934 by Antonio José Fuentes, the imprint captured the long evolution of the music from the country's Caribbean coast, including the especially fertile period of cross-pollination reflected on this disc. Traditional cumbias, forrós, and fandangos were invaded by funk, blues, soul, salsa, West African highlife and rock in the 1960s, and the result was some seriously unpredictable and often wildly psychedelic music. Wganda Kenya's "Tifit Hayed" - a crazed Afro-Latin blow-up that sounds almost avant-garde for the way its rhythm is built and dominates the arrangement - is a good example of the rhytmic power of some these tracks. Every song features armloads of auxiliary percussion and hard-hitting horns, and Soundway has done a fantastic job of telling the story and restoring the music, as usual. This is a great companion to last year's excellent Panama! compilation. - Joe Tangari for Pitchfork

This upload is not mine.


Colombia! The Golden Years Of Disco Fuentes, The Powerhouse of Colombian Music 1960-1976
320kbps, 156mb on megaupload
01. Salsa Na Ma - Fruko Y Sus Tesos
02. Cumbia En Do Menor - Lito Barrientos
03. Hong Kong - Michi Sarmiento Y Sus Bravos
04. La Piojosa - Sonora Cieneguera
05. Improvisando - Fruko Y Sus Tesos
06. Patrona De Los Reclusos - The Latin Brothers
07. Tifit Hayed - Wganda Kenya
08. Fandango en percussion - Pedro Laza
09. La Samaria - Orquesta Nunez
10. El Mondongo - Los Corraleros De Majagual
11. A La Memoria Del Muerto - Fruko Y Sus Tesos
12. Primavera - Michi Sarmiento Y Sus Bravos
13. Elyoyo - Wganda Kenya
14. Gaita de las Flores - Lucho Bermudez
15. Cumbiamba - El Sexteto Miramar
16. Mirame San Miguel - Michi Sarmiento
17. La Picua - Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros
18. La Pata y El Pato - Climaco Sarmiento
19. Las Calenas Son Como Los Flores - The Latin Brothers
20. Pacifico - Afrosound

Los Zafiros - Bossa Cubana

World Circuit's newest release is a look back to the 1960s, into the world of Cuban pop doo-wop - the music of Los Zafiros ("the sapphires"), on Bossa Cubana. A vocal quartet formed in Havana in 1962 by two singers ("Kike" Morúa and "Miguelito" Cancio), Los Zafiros combined the sweet harmonies popularized by American doo-wop groups like The Platters and The Ink Spots, and the unique arrangements used by The Flamingos and others with the craze for rhythms of South American origins, including the bossa nova and the calypso. With two other singers - Eduardo Elio "El Chino" Hernandéz and Ignacio Elejalde, the latter's high, silky-smooth ultra-tenor voice dominating the ballads - and a guitarist, Manuel Galbán, Los Zafiros produced a string of pop hits in Cuba. These alternated between doo-wop infused with rhythmic and harmonic complexities and with slow love songs featuring Elejalde's vocal cord-defying range. Fusing a variety of musical ideas, Bossa Cubana surprises the listener: be ready for a unique experience. @
Read more

Y Sabes Bien on Youtube


Los Zafiros - Bossa Cubana
REUP 2/8/2014: 224kbps, 76 mb on 4shared
1. Bossa Cubana
2. La Luna en Tu Mirada
3. Mirame Fijo
4. Dichoso Mar
5. Por No Comprenderte
6. Y Sabes Bien
7. Cancion de Orfeo
8. Mi Amor, Perdoname
9. Cuando Yo la Conoci
10. La Caminadora
11. He Venido
12. Puchunguita Ven
13. Herido de Sombras
14. Si Corazón
15. Mi Corazon
16. Un Nombre de Mujer
17. Canta la Sentimental

Klazz Brothers and Cuba Percussion - Classic Meets Cuba

Here's an album I am digging lately: classical/jazz musicians are collaborating with a latin percussion section in butchering a few famous classical pieces.
This might sound kitchy, and it is - but there is a lot of substance to this record behind the style. The musicianship is virtuosic, the arrangements are inventive, and everybody sounds like they are having fun. The bass player is on fire!


Klazz Brothers and Cuba Percussion - Classic Meets Cuba
REUP: mediafire.
1. Mambozart
2. Cuban Dance
3. Danzon De La Trucha
4. Preludio
5. Afrolise
6. Air
7. Pathetique I
8. Pathetique II
9. Pathetique III
10. Salsa No V
11. Czardas
12. Etude
13. Carmen Cubana
14. Flight Of The Bumble Bee
15. Guten Abend
16. Anthem

They made more records - one I will be checking out in the near future is Classic Meets Cuba: Symphonic Salsa (available here): same concept, some tracks overlap with the one above. They also recorded Jazz Meets Cuba - I am kinda sceptical about that one. After all, jazz met Cuba some 50 years ago. If I'd want to hear latin jazz, I'll go get my Gillespie and Machito records. Still, if it's half as good as Classic..., it might be worth hearing.

PS Once we're on the subject of the kitchy classics covers, I'd like to remind everybody of the excellent album Let's Go Classics by the japanese guitarist and surf music titan Takeshi Terauchi AKA Terry and the Bunnies - I shared his music here before. Let's Go Classics is available over at WFMU blog, and the LP cover art is here. The songs are downloadable individually. If you can't decide whether you want it or not, I recommend you try Fur Elise.

PPS I finally listened to the Symphonic Salsa album - don't bother with it.

Links

Earlier, I shared OHM: Early Gurus of Electronic Music; now it's shared at themoreyouthinkaboutit.blogspot.com - on mediafire, and it's mp3 instead of m4a.

Also, here's more recent stuff I am listening to:


Earthless - Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky
Reviews: AMG, 1, 2, 3, 4.
megaupload or rapidshare pt. 1 and pt. 2
Psychedelic/stoner metal, 40 minutes of non-stop riffage.


I've been looking for Baden Powell's Os Afro-Sambas for a long time, and now it's available at somdoroque.blogspot.com. The description is in portugese, so here is an article about this disc. In brief, this cycle of songs was insprired by the Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition Candomblé and the music of samba; it was written during a three-month long drinking binge with the famous poet Vinícius de Moraes (who wrote the lyrics). The album was rerecorded in 1995, but the link is to the original one.


A great afro-caribbean funk band, Cymande, at the consistently excellent Lost In Tyme.


And the best find of them all, Hazmat Modine - Bahamut. The band is driven by a pair harmonicas, backed by tuba, drums, guitars, and trumpet, with the addition of special guests playing exotic instruments such as the claviola, the cimbalom or the Chinese mouth-organ, the bass sax and the Sarusaphone. @ This is some really crazy far-out genre-crossing stuff.

Willie Bobo - Spanish Grease & Uno Dos Tres 1-2-3

I am an obsessive music freak (why else would I want to have a music blog?). As such, I like to be in control of what I am listening to. Before a record even gets into my player, I have to know what is the style, why I should be checking it out, who recommends it and what he says etc.etc. Today's disc is special as one that I bought simply on hearing it. It was playing in a music store, and I liked it enough to go to the counter and ask for the name; and some time later I bought it, still not knowing who the hell is Willie Bobo and what's his shtick. So, what can I say? - this is not a "must-hear-if-you-cool", it's not an "influental historical recording", it's just good music, pure and simple.
However, I will still give some background for those of you who might be obsessive music freaks like me. Willie Bobo is a salsa percussionist and bandleader, who played with Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Santana and many others; this disc is a Verve reissue combining two of his own mid-60s albums. The music is a latin/jazz/pop fusion, mellow and groovy. There are some covers of the contemporary pop tunes (It's Not Unusual, Michelle, Goin' Out Of My Head), some jazz tunes (Horace Silver's Blind Man, Blind Man), and some originals (most notably, Fried Neck Bones, later covered by Santana), but all of it sounds like seamless whole.
I should add that his music, although not as popular as it should have been in its day, is now being enthusiastically molested by the remix crowd on all sorts of Verve Remixed albums and the like.


Willie Bobo - Spanish Grease & Uno Dos Tres 1-2-3
192 kbps, 95 mb
REUP: 4shared
1. Spanish Grease
2. Hurt So Bad
3. It's Not Unusual
4. Our Day Will Come
5. Haitian Lady
6. Blues In The Closet
7. Nessa
8. Elation
9. It's Not Unusual (Instrumental)
10. Shot Gun / Blind Man, Blind Man
11. Boogaloo In Room 802
12. Come A Little Bit Closer
13. Goin' Out Of My Head
14. I Remember Clifford
15. Rescue Me
16. Michelle
17. No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)
18. Fried Neck Bones And Some Homefries
19. Ol' Man River
20. One, Two, Three (Uno, Dos, Tres)
21. Night Song
22. The Breeze And I

Another fine album featuring Willie Bobo is here.

Congo: Rumba on the River

Leeching from Jazzymusic again - what a great resource!
Yesterday's Rumba Congolaise is a modern re-recording of the classic Afro-Rumba hits by the contemporary Congo bands. This one is the original stuff from the 60's. I think these are the CDs that come with the book Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos.
Here's a review of the CDs.


Congo - Rumba on the River
353mb, 320kbps

CD1
4shared
01. Musica tellema - Ok Jazz
02. Ambiance kalle catho - African Jazz
03. Maria valente - Rock a mambo
04. Parafifi - African Jazz
05. Kumbele kumbele - Bantous de la capitale
06. Alliance mode succes - Ok Jazz
07. Miwela miwela - African Jazz
08. Aya la mode - Ok Jazz
09. Pesa le tout - African Jazz
10. Tokumisa Congo - Bantous de la capitale
11. Si tu bois beaucoup - Ok Jazz
12. Indépendance cha cha - African Jazz
13. Kelya - African Jazz
14. Biantondi kasanda - African Fiesta
15. Table ronde - African Jazz
16. Rochereau Pascal - African Fiesta
17. Le temps passe - Ok Jazz
18. Bomonaki yo - African Jazz
19. K J - African Jazz
20. Mama ngai habanera - African Jazz
21. Permission - African Fiesta

CD2
4shared
01. La Vida Africa - Grand kalle 1963
02. Groupo Ok Jazz - Franco 1959
03. Paquita - Tabu Ley 1965
04. Bantous Pachangga - Essou 1964
05. Festival Bilombe - Sam Mangwan 1968
06. Cuento Nama - Mujos 1965
07. Matanga Ya Modibo - Grand Kalle 1963
08. Tabalissimo - Tabu Ley 1965
09. Que Numera El Son - Mujos 1967
10. Bina Ringa - Tabu Ley 1965
11. Maria Lola - Tabu Ley 1965
12. El Que Siembra Su Maiz - Grand Kalle 1961
13. Kayi Kayi - Nico 1962
14. Miguel Canta - Mujos 1961
15. Camaro - Kalle 1968
16. Sey Sey - Tabu Ley 1967
17. Alphonso - Franco 1964
18. Jamais Kolonga - Tino Baroza 1959
19. Tour d'Afrique - Nico 1969
20. Bolingo Ya Bouge - Kwamy 1964
21. Calabosso - Tabu Ley 1965
22. Basi Ya African Jazz - Nico 1962
23. Guantanamera - Tabu Ley 1967

Rumba Congolaise AKA El Congo Brazza Kin

The buttery music on El Congo Brazza Kin (Marabi/Harmonia Mundi) evokes rather than duplicates the classic Cuban-influenced music of the Congo, which in its heyday carried more than a hint of brashness. The quasi-acoustic approach partners low-key amplified guitars with up-front percussion and vocal harmonies so soothing they make sleep seem laborious in contrast. Most of the core repertoire of songs made famous by African Jazz and African Fiesta is carried here by the Rumbanella Band. This third-generation rumba outfit was formed in 1986 by singers Madou Lebon Mulowayi and Lola Bivuatu, bassist Bolita Mzela Zimbika and guitarist Kankonde "Serpent" Joseph to keep alive the old-time Kinshasa sound. Tabu Ley Rochereau's "Kellya" gets a Hawaiian vocal lilt plus guitar arpeggios with a few slack-key-style pull-offs, while the gliding "Ngalula" probably isn't an ode to hairy female legs despite a typo to that effect in the liner notes. Rumba pioneer Wendo Kolosoy fronts his band Victoria Bakolo Miziki, bringing yodeling vocals and a dash of golden-age Ngoma label-style grit to "Botiakitembé." His reprise of his 1948 hit "Marie Louise" strains his pipes a bit, but Rumbanella fills the vocal cracks with effortless instrumentation. Veteran likembe thumb-piano virtuoso Antoine Moundanda contributes improvised song "Bounsana" about the recent civil war in the Congo that for all its loveliness feels out of place on a rumba disc, as does his "Wendo Likembé" with Kolosoy adding vocals. Think of them as added texture on a nearly flawless release.
http://www.technobeat.com/COLUMNS/can.html

Real Congolese rhumba had a lilting rhythm that's almost irresistible, especially when paired with harmonizing voices on top. And this, although it's new, is definitely real rhumba, not the speeded-up soukous that ruled in the '70s and '80s. The sensuous mix of Cuba and West Africa is safe in the sure hands of Rumbanella Band, a young group of musicians who are not only skillful, but imbued with the spirit of history. But this is more than a re-creation — some of the genre's early giants also perform, like Wendo Kolosoy, whose "Marie Louise" (done anew here) was one of the first Congolese rhumba records in 1948. He's wonderful with the veteran band Victoria Bakolo Miziki, but one of the joys is to hear him perform with his old friend Antoine Moundanda (who plays thumb piano) on "Wendo Likembé." This is an easy joy of a disc, quietly effervescent, going through some classics of the genre with taste and real elegance, but never forgetting that at its heart this is music for dancing. Perhaps, in the long wake of Buena Vista Social Club, this music is due for a real revival — and this mix of old and young musicians might well be rhumba's Buena Vista. It's certainly every bit as glorious and luscious.
AMG

A very thorough article: A golden age reborn: classic Kinshasa rumba.


Various - El Congo Brazza Kin
320kbps, 155mb
REUP2: two separate archives
Pt. 1 on rapidshare or sharebee
Pt. 2 on sharebee

Mas boleros

Los Panchos - Los mejores boleros
http://lazarslounge.blogspot.com/2007/01/los-panchos-los-mejores-boleros.html
Another best-of, this one does have Besame Mucho.

Eydie Gorme & Trio Los Panchos
http://community.livejournal.com/gurman_music/22510.html
Eydie Gorme, a beautiful woman and a wonderful singer. I had this album before. The last tune, La Ultima Noche, is really something.

VA - Boleromania 4 CD
A compilation. Get it here, while the links are still alive.

Four Los Panchos albums here:
http://jazzymusic.org/f51/trio-los-panchos-4521/
I did not check the links.

Trio Los Panchos - Mis 30 Mejores Canciones

I first heard them on a tape a hipster friend of mine forced on me. I didn't like them at the time because I thought they were too mellow, but as I grew up, they grew on me. There are scores of compilations out there; the Panchos' membership changed over the years, and presumably some periods are better than others. I can't tell you when or who's on this one, but the way it sounds to me, this must be their exitos del oro or whatever.
I think they got famous by covering Besame Mucho (not on this disc, but gives you an idea). These discs are chockful of songs just as good and not as worn-out. Beautiful melodies, trio singing in harmony, love lyrics in spanish - in short, all the corazon your heart desires...
As the world entered the new century, I had to keep up with the Joneses and replace all my tapes with CDs (now obsolete, as well), so this is a rip from my own CD, 200VBR, 2 CDs 65 mb each.

REUP: depositfiles

DISC 1:
1. Sin Un Amor
2. Rayito De Luna
3. Contigo
4. Sin Ti
5. Perdida
6. Ladrona De Besos
7. Sin Remedio
8. Dilema
9. Nuestro Amor
10. Ya Es Muy Tarde
11. No, No Y No
12. Caminemos
13. Amor De La Calle
14. Mi Magdalena
15. Mi Ultimo Fracaso

DISC 2:
1. No Me Quieras Tanto
2. Me Castiga Dios
3. Me Voy Pa'l Pueblo
4. Un Siglo De Ausencia
5. Los Dos
6. No Trates De Mentir
7. Una Copa Mas
8. Flor De Azalea
9. Miseria
10. Nada
11. Solo
12. Te Fuiste
13. Basura
14. Una Voz
15. Recuerdos De Ti