Edery Sings Yupanqui

Gerard Edery was born in Casablanca but raised in New York and Paris. Of Sephardic Jewish heritage (note the name of the label which he owns), he is best known as an exponent of the music of that tradition, though he's a multilingual, multiculturally minded artist with diverse musical passions. In the liner notes to this sensitively recorded album, he notes that Argentinian folk legend Atahualpa Yupanqui has been his musical hero and greatest inspiration since his teenage years and the admiration comes through in the reverential treatment he gives to these 13 songs, most of them Yupanqui classics and one of them, ‘Duerme Negrito’, more familiar as a Mercedes Sosa standard. The production is smoother and more layered than the originals, and Edery's bass-baritone goes some way to honouring the Argentinian's mesmerising vocals.

But it's not obvious what this interpretation really adds to the work and with Yupanqui still largely unknown among European audiences, anyone curious to explore the beguiling world of chacareras, zambas and all the other Buenos Aires folk rhythms is advised to go to the source. Infuriatingly, the sleeve gives no background to the production of the album and no copyright details.