Reviews
Bamako Chicago Sound System
Nicole Mitchell & Ballaké Sissoko
In the summer of 2017, kora maestro Ballaké Sissoko and American jazz flautist Nicole Mitchell were commissioned by Chicago’s Hyde...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: November/2024
Mangekyou
The album’s title translates as ‘Kaleidoscope’, appropriately describing the mix of funk and soul and hints towards a Japanese soundworld...
Reviewed by Keith Howard in issue: January/2025
Tempestuoso
Tempestuoso is the infectious second album from Tio Chorinho, Canada’s first ensemble dedicated to choro music. While this Brazilian style...
Reviewed by Dan Hobson in issue: April/2025
Morir Cantando
At 25 minutes, this album may be somewhat sparse, but the Afro-Colombian music within is riveting, intense and sure to...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: April/2025
Music from the East
Ammar El Sherei (AKA Omar El Shariyi), born in Upper Egypt in 1948, was considered a pioneer in the 1970s...
Reviewed by Charlie Cawood in issue: April/2025
Atlanti Kaw
Now based in Belgium, the Burkinabé guitarist Sina Kienou and European vocalist Soledad Kalza met at a festival in 2019...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: April/2025
Old Time Fantasias
Tennessee-based guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Allred is probably best known for his work as a solo musician, his earlier offerings...
Reviewed by Glenn Kimpton in issue: August/2025
Bayou Moonlight
Jeffery Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate
From the second that Bayou Moonlight’s opening track, ‘Whatever’, hits you, it’s readily apparent that you’re in for a wild,...
Reviewed by Andrew Daly in issue: July/2025
So Kono
Salif Keita was supposed to have stopped recording. The singer-songwriter, nicknamed the ‘African Caruso’ and the ‘Golden Voice of Mali’,...
Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: May/2025
