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Review of Naath

Naath

Emmanuel Jal & Nyaruach

Gatwich Records

Rating: ★★★

To say that Emmanuel Jal has had a chequered career would be an understatement. A child solider in Sudan, he...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: April/2020

Review of The Drip

The Drip

Rubim de Toledo

Bottom Dweller Music

Rating: ★★★★

Recorded with seven other prominent West-Canadian Jazz musicians and featuring vocalist Karimah, this latest release by Canadian-Brazilian bassist Rubim de...

Reviewed by George Newton in issue: November/2023

Review of Salsa Salsa

Salsa Salsa

Tito Puente and His Orchestra

In The Woods

Rating: ★★★★★

In January 1983 Tito Puente took his orchestra to a club in New York, for a rousing and historic session....

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: September/2024

Review of Hawalat

Hawalat

Charif Megarbane

Top of the World

Habibi Funk

Rating: ★★★★

It’s been hard keeping track of the work of Charif Megarbane. The Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist has released dozens of...

Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: July/2025

Review of Homegrown

Homegrown

Cole Quest & the City Pickers

Jalopy Records

Rating: ★★★

As legacies go, they don’t get much weightier than that of folk icon Woody Guthrie. Homegrown, the latest album by...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: August/2025

Review of Chak Chak Chak Chak

Chak Chak Chak Chak

Julián Mayorga

Glitterbeat Records

Rating: ★★★★

What Captain Beefheart was to the blues, Julián Mayorga is to cumbia. His latest album, Chak Chak Chak Chak, is...

Reviewed by Andy Cumming in issue: February/March/2025

Review of Pasé Bél Tan – Francophonies & Creolities in Louisiana

Pasé Bél Tan – Francophonies & Creolities in Louisiana

VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists

FLEE

Rating: ★★★★★

In their study of the Cajun French of Louisiana, sociolinguists Sylvie Dubois and Megan Melançon describe the weakening of local...

Reviewed by Fred Waine in issue: September/2025

Review of Shiraz

Shiraz

Dhafer Youssef

ACT Music

Rating: ★★★★

Dedicated to his wife, filmmaker Shiraz Fradi, the latest album by Tunisian oud virtuoso and bandleader Dhafer Youssef is the...

Reviewed by Charlie Cawood in issue: January/2026

Review of Di Klezmer Flute Nisht Fargesn

Di Klezmer Flute Nisht Fargesn

Adrianne Greenbaum

Borscht Beat

Rating: ★★★★★★★★

The dramatically fraught, poignantly expository nature of klezmer music courses through Di Klezmer Flute Nisht Fargesn, the latest full-length recording...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: May/2026

Review of Karma

Karma

Black String

Top of the World

ACT Music

Rating: ★★★★

After Jambinai, Black String are the best known of the intriguing new batch of experimental folk bands from South Korea....

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: December/2019

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