Reviews

Alamar

Ana Carla Maza

This album reached me on the day of a UK government travel warning for Cuba, a mighty yet beleaguered island...

Reviewed in issue May/2026

Bodies of Water

Toby Summerfield

New Hampshire-based Toby Summerfield’s new collection is a set of intricate instrumentals on guitar, bass and pedal steel, with a...

Reviewed in issue May/2026

Nuevos Ríos

Nuevos Ríos

Nuevos Ríos (‘New Rivers’) blends the Afro-Pacific sounds of Colombian group Canalón de Timbiquí, led by vocalist Nidia Góngora, with...

Reviewed in issue May/2026

Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard

Andy Cohen, Eleanor Ellis & William Lee Ellis

More than three decades after their last album as a trio, Andy Cohen, Eleanor Ellis and William Lee Ellis have...

Reviewed in issue May/2026

Brasiliano

Lucas Santtana

This joyful album celebrates language as a window into Brazil’s history and its people. Featuring eight languages, its title, Brasiliano,...

Reviewed in issue May/2026

Here Come The Sons

The Sons of Buena Vista

Five years after Wim Wenders’ 1999 Buena Vista Social Club, he executive produced a follow-up film titled Música Cubana: The...

Reviewed in issue April/2026

Makaya

Wesli

Does this ring any bells: “The fourth track, also in twoubadou style but merging into a faster kompa, [showcases] Wesli’s...

Reviewed in issue April/2026

Genuine Negro Jig (15th Anniversary Edition)

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Soon after the release of Genuine Negro Jig by Carolina Chocolate Drops in 2010, the album rocketed into the top...

Reviewed in issue April/2026

Everybody Wants to Know How I Die

Uncle Sinner

The fifth album of demon-haunted country blues from Canada’s scariest songwriter. Sinner takes traditional songs as his jumping-off point, expanding...

Reviewed in issue April/2026

Filin

Melissa Aldana

Celebrated Chilean-born saxophonist and Blue Note Records torchbearer Melissa Aldana delves into her love of the Cuban filin musical style...

Reviewed in issue April/2026