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When discussing Boston’s illustrious history with hardcore, it’s difficult to leave out Dicky Barrett, best known as the gruff-sounding frontman for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. That the man’s work with a third-wave ska band is subservient to contributions made to D.Y.S. or Gang Green isn’t too surprising—the music’s been more impactful for a longer period of time than third wave bands. Read the rest of this entry »
According to this new Putumayo compilation, there is no looking back at the classic bossa nova years in Brazilian music right now, even with the presence of Marcos Valle, a younger alum from that era. In fact, with the exception of Valle, most performers are quite new to the scene. For instance, Florida-raised Monica da Silva contributes “Aí Então” (which translates as “So Then”), a bilingual electronic-inspired ballad on the uncertainties of a relationship. Valle appears with an updated cover of Chico Buarque’s “Partido Alto” that takes it from its original samba beat to a more dancefloor-friendly format. “Feriado Pessoal” (‘Personal Holiday’) is a refreshing contemporary samba by newcomer Bruna Caram that first appeared as the title track of her second album of the same name.
Photo: Caroline Tompkins
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There are places with a deeper connection to Jamaican music than Cincinnati, Ohio. The city, with its downtown area spilling over into Kentucky, feels like the gateway to the South. Doormen at shows can sport significant accents and there’re bound to be more than a handful of folks who eat nothing other than fried foods. Of course, Cincy counts Bootsy Collins as one of its best exports and Mood issued some of the most engaging hip-hop of the Rawkus era, pulling in Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek as accomplices. The Pinstripes, though, sit outside of that history. Read the rest of this entry »
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Glancing at the two-day line-up for Martyrs’ Sousaphenia Festival, it doesn’t appear that more than a band or two is actually going to include a sousaphone amid its ranks. Chicago’s The Drastics haven’t made it a practice in the past, but that hasn’t affected their ability to consistently issue instrumental tracks marked by the influence of Jamaican studio geniuses as well as American soul music. First releasing a long-player in 2005 on Jump Up Records, “Premonition,” the ensemble showed up toward the end of the label’s busiest period and sounded like little in the imprint’s catalog. Read the rest of this entry »
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For this celebration of Latin jazz, pianist Bill O’Connell partners with legendary reed man Paquito d’ Rivera (who burst to fame during his years with Latin fusion band Irakere), Richie Flores (congas), Dave Samuels (vibes) and Dave Valentin (flute). Together, they take listeners on a very intense musical journey.
Among the highlights is an interesting take on “’Round Midnight,” the classic Thelonious Monk tune that has been recreated by various artists through the years. D’Rivera takes the lead on the main melody, while O’Connell and Flores provide a solid backup that includes a few smart Afro-Cuban piano riffs. Read the rest of this entry »
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The hallmark of a good band is its ability to perform in any setting at any time. Gigging at a local Occupy, the Chicago Afrobeat Project played to a sympathetic crowd, one almost expected to take in the confluence of funk, jazz and afro-stylings as the norm. If no one said anything about a post-racial America, they were thinking about it. Several months earlier, though, CAbP did a spot at the Beachland Park, a private beach club in Cleveland. Private might be too strong a word. There’s no gate, but there are fees for residents who use the park on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »
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During Moon Ska Records’ final few years, Chris Murray remained one of the few acts issuing music through the New York-based imprint who retained a unique musical identity. Amid the ska-cum-rock-oriented fare, Murray’s work was anachronistic—predating all the lo-fi nonsense the music press caught onto a few years back. But by the early aughties, the L.A.-based singer and songwriter had so well defined his sound that not having a label signed up to issue his work on a regular basis wasn’t really a problem. Read the rest of this entry »
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Landing a deal with Virgin Records for its first long-playing album, the 1976 “Right Time,” was obviously a boon to the Mighty Diamonds and their career. But just as fortuitous as that initial record deal was, so was landing Ernest and Joseph Hoo Kim behind the boards for the vocal trio’s sessions. Along for the endeavor was ex-Skatalite Tommy McCook and a cast of players heard on work from the Marley oeuvre as well as “The Harder They Come.” But the Diamonds were then, as now, an entity unto themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
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There’s no way to extricate Mickey Hart from the Grateful Dead’s legacy. He was one of a pair of drummers—the other half was Bill Kreutzmann—making instrumental excess so easy for the ensemble. With Jerry Garcia’s penchant for Americana made evident through countless recordings on albums with folks like mandolin player David Grisman, Hart’s interests outside the Dead focused on roots music of another kind. Exploring a history of percussion reaching back much further than recorded sound, Hart set about not just incorporating those styles into his own work as portions of the 1972 “Rolling Thunder” express, but by performing compositions worked up in association with performers like Zakir Hussain. Read the rest of this entry »
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Without Fishbone, Sublime and No Doubt would have wound up being drug-addled SoCal footnotes. Whatever eventually became the American conception of ska music didn’t begin with Angelo Moore and Norwood, but their group’s all-inclusive approach to songwriting influenced a generation of weird bands. It’d actually be reasonably easy to round up Fishbone’s Jamaican-related efforts onto a single disc–the six-minute “Party at Ground Zero” being an epic accomplishment made even more stunning by the fact that the song was issued as a part of the band’s first EP back in 1985. Read the rest of this entry »
