Chapman has long had a fascination, not just with American music, but the American South and West. So an album explicitly inspired by the country should come as no surprise. The joy is how much it highlights his fabulous guitar picking. “Sweet Little Friend from Georgia” and “Coming of the Roads” might seem relatively straightforward, but the more epic “Swamp” and “Gaddo’s Lake” delve into decidedly complex territory; in fact, the impressionistic “Swamp” is probably the record’s centerpiece. As an instrumental portrait of the southern states it’s loving, very finely honed, and played in a way that reminds you that Chapman is one of the best, and most undervalued, guitarists around. Even if “Jumping Geordie” has its origins on the other side of the Atlantic, it still fits in. For longtime fans, “Indian Annie’s Kitchen” brings back some memories of “Kodak Ghosts,” and throughout small touchstones of blues, country, and jazz slip by.
Ray Davies published a memoir chronicling his life-long affair with America in 2013. Naturally, it was called Americana, and that's also the title of this 2017 musical adaptation of the book. Davies plays a little fast and loose with his facts, which is perhaps a detriment in an autobiography but suits the condensed nature of songwriting. He doesn't tell a story with Americana – it's not a song cycle along the lines of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) – but rather offers a series of vignettes, some torn from the pages of his book, others expanding upon its themes. Images of highways, cowboys, and movies dance through the songs, as do sly allusions to the Kinks.
Arthur Fiedler was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the United States of America. Fiedler was sometimes criticized for over-popularizing music, particularly when adapting popular songs or edited portions of the classical repertoire, but he kept performances informal and sometimes self-mocking to attract a bigger audience.
Harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret and acclaimed pianist Romain Collin team up to paint an egalitarian vision of the American Dream, exploring the varied roots of American music alongside guitar visionary Bill Frisell.
The continuing story of The Kinks co-founder's journeys through America, as depicted in his 2013 memoir Americana and 2017's album of the same name, 'Our Country: Americana Act II' is a concept album borne from Davies' vision of America - how it shaped him and evolved through the years. Like its predecessor, the album was recorded at the legendary Konk Studios in London with guitarist Bill Shanley and The Jayhawks once again serving as Davies' backing band.
This CD compiles 15 tracks by artists mixing the traditions of country and folk with the mind-expanding sounds of ambient and kosmische music – from the blown-out songforms of Steve Gunn and Sarah Louise to the pedal-steel transcendence of Chuck Johnson, SUSS and Luke Schneider, via the droning majesty of William Tyler, North Americans, Mary Lattimore and others.
Americana II, otherwise billed as AmerIIcana, is a sequel to Roch Voisine's album from the previous year, Americana (2008), a full-length collection of American country standards that was recorded in Nashville. Sung mostly in English with a few French-language versions appended as bonus tracks, Americana was a big hit in France, where it reached number three on the albums chart. Despite its success, it wasn't a great album. It features standards like "Ring of Fire" and "Crazy" that have been covered a million times over, and worse, the album was produced in a very plain country-pop style without any edge whatsoever. Tellingly, the album wasn't as well received in Voisine's native Canada, where listeners are more accustomed to country music.
Pianist and composer Harold López-Nussa has been steadily building a global following in jazz and beyond over the past two decades since winning the prestigious Montreux Jazz Piano Competition in 2005. López-Nussa has released nine acclaimed albums and captivated audiences across the world with his thrilling performances at esteemed venues and jazz festivals. Born into a musical family in Havana, Cuba, his music reflects the full range and richness of the Cuban musical tradition with its distinctive combination of classical, folkloric, and popular elements, as well as its embrace of improvisation. With his Blue Note Records debut Timba a la Americana, López-Nussa reaches a career milestone with a vibrant album teeming with joy and pathos that was inspired by the pianist’s recent decision to leave his Cuban homeland and begin a new life in France.