New African October 2009

Franco - Francophonic, Vol 2, 1980-1988 (2009) {2CD Set, Stern's Music STCD 3046-47}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.03 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 356 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 30 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1980-88, 2009 Sterns Music / Sterns Africa | STCD3046~47
Jazz / World Music / African Traditions / Afro Pop

The Congolese guitarist, singer, bandleader and composer Francois Luambo Makiadi—most commonly known as Franco but with a raft of other nicknames including The Grand Master and The Sorcerer of The Guitar—had by the time of his death in 1989 dominated the elegant but gutsy genre of Congolese rumba for over two decades. Born in 1938, he had been the biggest African music phenomenon of his age.

Opening with a few bars of Stravinsky to set the adoring crowd on its feet, this once-three-LP set is Yes at their finest. This was, after all, probably the most mainstream act that had even provisional "prog rock" status, and their tunes show it. While "Heart of the Sunrise" may be one of the more modestly titled Yes songs (compare it with "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" or "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" or even "Total Mass Retain"), it also bears marks of the band playing at its most frenetic pace around Jon Anderson's soaring near-falsetto. Rick Wakeman's grand synthesizer flashes are more than textural, finding visual meshes aplenty with Roger Dean's cryptic cover art–most of which is shrunken or absent on this two-CD reissue…

Magic Moments 1 (2000). With the 1996 release of "A Little Magic In A Noisy World", the first of its anthology series, ACT began to document its repertory concept of a permanent exchange between jazz and other forms of music. The release of "Magic Moments" in January 2000 is the forth installment of this "music without borders". This time the CD combines over 40 ACTs on 18 titles.
Some of the musicians on this anthology speak the American - born language of jazz with the accent of their own mother tongue. Others add new words to the language, or expand the grammatical rules. Yet others speak in their native language, but owing to their long time away from their homeland, scatter scraps of American "slang" over their musical landscape…

Rashied Ali Quartet - New Directions In Modern Music (1971) {Knit Classics KCR-3022 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 256 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb
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© 1971, 1999 Knit Classics | KCR-3022
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Percussion

Recorded live at the East: A Cultural and Educational Center for People of African Descent, New Directions in Modern Music is yet another rewarding recording from the Survival archives. "As-Salaam-Alikum" begins with the quick statement of a memorable theme, which fades into a fiery Carlos Ward improvisation ranking amongst the finest moments in spiritual avant-garde playing. In fact, the album calls to mind Alice Coltrane's P'tah the El'Daoud and Franklin Kiermyer's Solomon's Daughter, with Fred Simmons' punchy, sparse chords and Tyner-inspired runs complementing the group well.

Bliss with founding members Steffen Aaskoven, Marc-George Andersen, with Alexandra Hamnede (vocals) and Tchando (vocals) is an international chillout music collective from Denmark, Sweden and Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Since 2001, they have become one of the true Chillout underground acts. Releasing material on the Danish label, Music for Dreams, appearing on more than 60 compilations worldwide and in such tv shows as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Vocalists Tchando and Alexandra Hamnede provide Bliss with soulful performances that reflect their alternately African-tinged and jazz-based foundations, resulting in an ethereal stew of pan-global atmosphere.