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Review of Rise

Rise

Amy Goddard

Amy Goddard

Rating: ★★★

A music teacher and luthier, as well as a songwriter based in Portsmouth and with roots in Merthyr, South Wales,...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: November/2022

Review of Hickory

Hickory

Mariel Vandersteel

Mariel Vandersteel

Rating: ★★★

There’s no denying that this album gets off to a flying start. The first two rollicking tunes fly along, sounding...

Reviewed by Matthew Milton in issue: Aug/Sep/2012

Review of Egypt: Vocal & Instrumental Art of the 19th Century

Egypt: Vocal & Instrumental Art of the 19th Century

Aïcha Redouane & Al-Adwar Ensemble

Ocora C561020

Rating: ★★

This recording is probably aimed more at aficionados of Middle Eastern classical music than the casual listener, for the real...

Reviewed by Bill Badley in issue: Jan/Feb/2010

Review of Ol'Jansa

Ol'Jansa

Göran Månsson & Friends

Caprice Records

Rating: ★★★★

Olof Jönsson also known fondly as Ol'Jansa, was a Swedish flute player from Härjedalen in the centre of Sweden, born...

Reviewed by Merlyn Driver in issue: March/2018

Review of Ghanashyam: A Broken Branch

Ghanashyam: A Broken Branch

Ravi Shankar

East Meets West Music

Rating: ★★★

This fascinating and eclectic work is the full version of Ravi Shankar's piece commissioned and first performed by Birmingham Touring...

Reviewed by Maria Lord in issue: October/2017

Review of Dedication to Sylvia Rexach

Dedication to Sylvia Rexach

Miramar

Barbès Records

Rating: ★★★

Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Sylvia Rexach was the face of her island's first all-female combo, Las Damiselas, back in the 1950s....

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: Jan/Feb/2017

Review of East Pakistan Sky

East Pakistan Sky

Ustad Saami

Top of the World

Glitterbeat Records

Rating: ★★★★★

Following releases on Glitterbeat Records in 2019 and 2020, here is another outstanding recording from the Pakistani master surti singer...

Reviewed by Maria Lord in issue: January/February/2022

Review of Rio Samba

Rio Samba

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Le Chant du Monde

Rating: ★★★★

Uh-oh. Rio… samba, sun and Olympic Games spring to mind. Something tawdry, perhaps, to cash in on the hullabaloo. Not...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: November/2016

Review of Kalamburage

Kalamburage

SkaZka Orchestra

Eastblok Music

Rating: ★★★

SkaZka were formed by two youths, Artur Gortatschov and Valentin Butt, who shared a homeland in the former Soviet Union...

Reviewed by Garth Cartwright in issue: Apr/May/2013

Review of Philantropiques

Philantropiques

Guts

Top of the World

Heavenly Sweetness

Rating: ★★★★

First up, a confession: having seen French jazz/soul/funk/rap producer Guts on stage and been less than impressed, I had low...

Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: July/2019

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