Reviews

Maqâm Roads

Zied Zouari

Zied Zouari is a violin virtuoso who was surely destined to specialise in fusion styles. Born into a family of...

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: Jan/Feb/2018

Blues Menessen

Roland Tchakounté

Born and raised in Cameroon half a century ago, but resident in France for the last couple of decades, Tchakounté's...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: October/2011

Plays Vasco Martins

Bau

Bau has been a behind-the-scenes stalwart of Cape Verdean music ever since Cesaria Evora first put the islands on the...

Reviewed by Alex Robinson in issue: March/2013

A Celtic Celebration

The Bookends with The Stratford Symphony Orchestra

Like The Siskin Quartet, The Bookends are a quartet formed by the bringing together of two couples. Hailing from Stratford,...

Reviewed by Tony Gillam in issue: May/2023

Saar

Estbel

This quartet could be said to be a kind of quintet, their phantom fifth member being the Baltic island of...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: March/2018

1000 Watts

Quantic Presents Flowering Inferno

On his latest release Quantic returns to the Flowering Inferno moniker he used for his 2010 album Dog With a...

Reviewed by Russ Slater in issue: Aug/Sep/2016

In Mumbai

Fraser Fifield

Equally at home in both the trad and jazz worlds, saxophonist, piper and whistler Fraser Fifield is one of those...

Reviewed by Tom Newell in issue: November/2020

Already Home

The Rheingans Sisters

Anna and Rowan Rheingans were born in Sheffield and grew up in the Peak District, daughters of a violin-maker whose...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: Jan/Feb/2016

Alakazam

Boom Pam

It's a good rule of thumb to dismiss albums that have the phrase ‘shake that ass’ on more than one...

Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: June/2012

Narrante

Golfam Khayam & Mona Matbou Riahi

This album was simultaneously released in Iran on Hermes Records and internationally on ECM. Both of these are ‘connoisseur’ labels...

Reviewed by Neil van der Linden in issue: October/2016