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On the first few collections of Omar Souleyman’s work issued by Seattle’s Sublime Frequencies, the singer and group leader sounds different, not from track to track, but on a pretty regular basis. These early collections, which began a steady stream of work released in the States by Souleyman, were corralled from a career that was already in its second decade. Maybe his voice just changed. Dabke, which could be described as a Middle Eastern approximation of “Riverdance” and break-dancing to an electric pop music, helped Souleyman become a star in the Arab world throughout the nineties. Read the rest of this entry »

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“Tremé” really isn’t all that engaging a show. It does, however, serve as television’s way of reminding viewers that NOLA’s still a place that has a bit of work to do before completely recovering from Katrina. Just ask Jay Electronica, but give him a minute to finish up that soda commercial. Either way, the Rebirth Brass Band figures musically into the previously mentioned show—they’re included in its soundtrack. And like the David Simon show, Rebirth’s latest disc, “The Rebirth of New Orleans,” attempts to liven up an otherwise problematic situation. Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s alright to tour on your career highlights if your career highlights include Wu-Tang Clan’s first album as well as “Tical.” Method Man has a name even tangential rap fans have heard. That might have to do with the MC spelling his name on “Enter the Wu-Tang” back in 1993. But those seven syllables resonate just as much as Meth’s carefully crafted public persona. Read the rest of this entry »

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You know how people describe the Beach Boys as a barber-shop quartet on acid? Yeah, not too apt an explanation of the band’s sound. But it’s meant in a positive light. Unfortunately, the same sort of reductive comparison can be used to wrap up songs like Ganglians’ “Things to Know,” off the band’s Lefse Records disc “Still Living.” The track, one of only a few lesser efforts issued here, possesses the same sort of sunny, wind-swept feel of Ganglians’ compositions from earlier discs. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Sex Pistols will always remain the standard bearer for UK-based punk dating back to the genre’s inception. They were a good band—yeah, good. Steve Jones kinda rules. Still, with the Pistols’ one album and the slew of bad press they got, there’re a number of reasonably compelling arguments for The Damned to become the more historically revered group. If one dismisses the fact that the more dour and frequently black-clad ensemble issued the first independent single of the punk era on that side of the Atlantic, drummer Rat Scabies’ presence alone almost makes the case for The Damned’s superiority. Read the rest of this entry »

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Pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette began playing as a group something like three decades back, but only after each performer had established himself as the preeminent musician on his instrument. The rhythm section individually gigged with everyone from Albert Ayler to Miles Davis, played every jazz subgenre from cool to fusion and did so internationally. Jarrett, who came to prominence as a result of his solo piano recordings, “The Köln Concert” deserving particular distinction, actually played with DeJohnette on a few recordings prior to hooking up in this ensemble. Read the rest of this entry »

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Listening to “Bring It With You When You Come” off the Siegel-Schwall Band’s 1967 “Say Siegel-Schwall,” contemporary blues fans can pick out some chintzy percussion seemingly coming from a kit made of scrap metal. Add in Jim Schwall’s frantically played guitar solos and the track doesn’t really sound like a mid-sixties confection so much as an uncovered bit of blues-cum-country revelry from another place and time. Chicago, though, has always served as a hub of musical activity and touring. So this ensemble found itself at the beck and call of touring figureheads as each passed through town a few decades back. Read the rest of this entry »

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Though labels have repeatedly attempted to bring this Italian pop singer and songwriter to mainstream audiences, Zucchero is still pretty much unknown stateside. However, he is considered a major superstar in Europe through his recorded canon and also because of his charitable efforts—for instance, he was the driving force behind the many Pavarotti & Friends shows that over the years brought together talents as diverse as B.B. King, Mariah Carey, Caetano Veloso, Liza Minnelli and Sting, to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »

The Lemonheads' Evan Dando

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While it’s clear that we don’t all have the same sort of disposable income as a few years back, strangely, though, there hasn’t been a dramatic drop-off of iWhatever sales of late. People are also buying cars, even prompting GM to hire back handfuls of day-laborers. The fact that the middle class is no more or less screwed than it was a decade or so back probably didn’t play into Evan Dando’s decision to pick up some backing players and hit the road with a live rendition of his band’s 1992 album “It’s a Shame About Ray.” Read the rest of this entry »

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On the new record by Nation Beat, a Brazilian-inspired band led by Brooklyn-based percussionist Scott Kettner, the group goes beyond its Maracatu roots to explore more sounds from Northeastern Brazil—principally forro (pronounced Fo-HO), a syncopated beat that is highly popular in the region, especially in the state of Ceara, where vocalist Liliana Araujo hails from. Read the rest of this entry »