2010 three CD set. From the dusty plains of Mali to the Tanzanian Serengeti, the African voice can be heard loud and proud throughout this vast and vibrant continent. Featured are African superstars Salif Keita, Orchestra Baobab, Rokia Traor‚, and Youssou N'Dour as well as less well-known names who will equally delight and excite such as Malian bluesman Boubacar Traor‚ and Zanzibar Taarab singer and WOMEX Award winner Bi Kidude.
In 2010, Ludovico Einaudi was invited to direct the orchestra of the La Notte Della Taranta festival in Salento, Italy. Embarking on a mission to reinvent traditional Salentine music, Einaudi invited a few fellow musicians to share in the adventure, including Ballake Sissoko, Justin Adams, Juldeh Camara, Mercan Dede, Redi Hasa and Mauro Durante. The resulting collaboration of these great musicians was a huge hit. After taking the show on tour, the decision to document the powerful emotions of this extraordinary journey was made. The Taranta Project is a tremendously exciting and innovative album, and Einaudi's superb arrangements breathe new life into an ancient tradition.
'Lift' is an album in which Young Japanese pianist/composer Koki Nakano constructs his own musical world. Piano and cello combine in a selection of beautiful pieces, where Nakano draws on his classical background whilst weaving in other influences, using repetitive and rhythmic elements of jazz and creating layers of sound inspired by pop and electronic music.