Goran Bregović has done it all. A rock star in the former Yugoslavia, he went on write film scores and ride the fashion for brassy Balkan Gypsy music, selling over 6m albums and collaborating with everyone from Iggy Pop to the Gipsy Kings. Now he celebrates the history of his birthplace Sarajevo, a meeting place for Christians, Muslims and Jews before the Balkan war, with a wildly varied set. There are instrumental pieces honouring the three religions, each dominated by a different violinist, and including powerful atmospheric work from Tunisia’s Zied Zouari. They would work well as a documentary soundtrack. And then there are songs, many of which develop into a brassy knees-up. The cast includes the cool and dramatic Spanish singer Bebe, the Israeli folk-rocker Asaf Avidan, and – best of all – the exuberant Algerian rai-punk rocker Rachid Taha. Patchy, maybe, but often enormous fun.
Def Leppard rock Detroit! In the summer of 2016, Def Leppard s World Tour rolled into the DTE Energy Music Theatre on the outskirts of Detroit. As the sun began to set over a packed crowd the huge video wall behind the stage came to life with the exploding image of the band's latest album cover and Def Leppard began to power their way through a stunning setlist of classic hits and new tracks…
Nate Smith‘s visceral, instinctive, and deep-rooted style of drumming has already established him as a key piece in reinvigorating the international jazz scene, and now his rising career reaches a new benchmark with the release of his bandleader debut, KINFOLK: Postcards from Everywhere (February 3, 2017 via Ropeadope Records). Much like his diverse and ample résumé (which includes esteemed leading lights such as Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Ravi Coltrane, José James, Somi, and Patricia Barber, among others), this album sees Smith fusing his original modern jazz compositions with R&B, pop, and hip-hop.