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Arabia
When I was in an area north of Dallas a couple of months ago, I picked up a couple of CDs in the local Arabic café, one of which was Now That's What I Call Arabia (Vol. 9):

So, here's a smattering of tracks from North Africa (the Maghreb), the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. I only grabbed a couple from that compilation.
There are some glaring omissions: Om Kalthoum for instance, the queen of Egyptian vocalists, whose 1975 funeral drew more than 4 million people to the streets of Cairo to mourn her passing, one of the largest funerals in Middle East history. Each of her "songs" would take up the whole side of an LP back in the day. That alone suggests that this style of music should be listened to in more than 3-minute doses. It's music for romantic, poetic, ecstatic, immersive, and transportive experiences. Originally, this musical tradition was associated with the spiritual and was sometimes derived from the classical music of the courts. But now it's wildly funky and secularized thanks to the worldwide influence of the music from the African Diaspora over the last 100 years (meaning mainly south and west of the Sahara).
Unlike the European classical tradition, music from the Middle East is not based on the movement of chords and harmonies. Instead, it's rhythmic and intensely melodic, though the melodies are often stretched and embellished by the performers — improvisation and personal expression are highly valued. The accompaniment traditionally echoes the melodies, without the contrapuntal and harmonic movements familiar to western ears. (Those would make the ornamentation and improvisations more difficult, if not impossible.) In more recent years, some Western influence has seeped in, yielding a sound featured on the Arabia compilation above.
Some thirty years ago, Brian Eno turned me on to the amazing song, Ya Tayr, by Fairuz — it's a classic. At that time, we were also both listening to Farid El Atrache, the late Lebanese singer. At one time, it was said that the best singers were always Lebanese — Fairuz and El Atrache being the prime examples — even though many people thought they were Egyptian. That might not be true these days as the Arabic Diaspora extends around the globe.
The dub trumpet tracks of Messaoudi Kamil were in some ways the instrumental precursor to Raï, the rebellious sound of the Maghreb that became popular in France and elsewhere. Some of Rachid Taha's tracks were produced by Steve Hillage, ex-member of the über-hippy band, Gong. This may seem like a pretty unexpected combination — Taha is more Clash than cozmic — but it works beautifully. His song Habina is a cover of a Farid El Atrache tune — he's paying respect to the Godfathers, but in his own way, as does Youssou N'Dour on his recent CD entitled Egypt.
I have other recordings from Egypt and elsewhere that I love, but sadly some of them were distributed more or less exclusively on cassette, and the transfer process here in NY has been slow.
So wave your handkerchief and wiggle your hips — This is what I call Arabia.
—DB |
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Ida |
Rachid Taha |
Amazon |
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Track 06 |
Stars of Kuwait Vol 2 |
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Sma'ani |
Carole Samaha |
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7obak mor |
Various Artists |
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Pagh Te Sitaraye Lakaye |
Safri Boys |
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DietRO Il tUo cHAdoR |
Raiz |
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Hebbina Hebbina |
Farid El Atrache |
Amazon |
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Allah |
Youssou N'Dour |
Amazon |
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Chaba Ya Chaba |
Lahakat Marrakesh |
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Wa'di La Oyounak |
Nawal Al Zoghbi |
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Track 03 |
Stars of Kuwait Vol 2 |
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Khalas Mssafer |
Sarah Al Hani |
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Peen De Sakhi |
Safri Boys |
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Ya Dal3 Ya Dal3 |
Various Artists |
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Ya Rayah |
Rachid Taha |
Amazon |
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Mozart l'Egyptien: Double Quatuor en fa K.496 pour clarinette, violon, alto, violoncelle, arghul, rababa, Kawala, tabla, Doff et sagat |
Orchestre Symphonique De Bulgarie |
Amazon |
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Assebri Ya Lebnia |
Messaoudi Kamel |
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Bamba The Poet |
Youssou N'Dour |
Amazon |
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Ya Rayah |
Dahmane El Harrachi |
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Alyama |
Nawal Al Zoghbi |
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Walou Walou |
Khaled |
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Besma |
Hanan |
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Emshi We Sebni |
The Jennys |
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Lala Habibi Ouah |
Bellemou Messaoud |
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Ha'le'a Rahtak |
Myriam Faris |
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Bladi |
Nawal Al Zoghbi |
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Ya Bint Yilli |
Mohamed Mounir |
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Barra Barra |
Rachid Taha |
Amazon |
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Mas WI Loli |
Cheb Khaled+Diana Haddad |
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El Mammou'a Marghoub |
Nawal Al Zoghbi |
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Ya Tayr |
Fairuz |
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El Layali |
Nawal Al Zoghbi |
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Hatha Ana |
Adam |
Amazon |
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Habina |
Rachid Taha |
Amazon |
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Touba - Daru Salaam |
Youssou N'Dour |
Amazon |
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Total running time: 2:59 |
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Turkish Pop
Turkey straddles Asia and Europe, and the music — at least to my ears — contains elements from both continents: Greek and Balkan melodies from the West, and Iraqi and Kurdish influences from the south and east. (There are popular Kurdish singers in Turkey despite political problems between the Kurds and the Turks.) But of course, in a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul, all of these elements fuse to evoke a funky yet haunting mood that that is entirely unique.
These tunes range from the 70s, with Baris Manco's psychedelic Anatolian funk, to more contemporary recordings by the likes of Sezen Aksu, who has remained one of the most adventurous Turkish artists over many decades. Her albums move from disco-inspired to collaborations with Goran Bregovi?, the Balkan composer. I have selected her more traditional tunes, though even these are pretty avant-sounding.
— DB

Click to launch "Engewal" video (50 MB total)
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Homini, Pufidi, Tumba |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Sen Yanma Diye |
Ahmet Kaya |
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Dere Boyu Kavaklar |
Baris Manço |
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Dua |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Boğazici |
Burhan Öçal |
Amazon |
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Gönül Dagi |
Baris Manço |
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Sevdam Agliyor |
Sertab Erener |
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Gozleri Fettan Guzel |
Müslüm Gürses |
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Ennio |
Ilhan Ersahin |
Amazon |
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Sude |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Hay Yam Yam |
Erkin Koray |
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Yalnızlığın Acıklı Güldürüsü |
Mogollar |
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Farkindayim |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Umrumda Degil |
Candan Erçetin |
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Gamsiz |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Gül Döktüm Yollarına |
Tarkan |
Amazon |
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Estarabim |
Erkin Koray |
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Işte Hendek Işte Deve |
Bar?? Manço |
Amazon |
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Mutlu Ol Yeter |
Ibrahim Tatlises |
Amazon |
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Lambaya Püf De |
Baris Manço |
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Hepsi Senin mi? |
Tarkan |
Amazon |
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Sabuha |
Ibrahim Tatlises |
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Tenna |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Nazar Eyle |
Baris Manço |
Amazon |
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İllaki |
Erkin Koray |
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Haliç'te Güneşin Batışı (1970 Single Version) |
Mogollar |
Amazon |
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Dem |
Azam Ali & Mercan Dede |
Amazon |
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Ahdim Olsun |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Karşıkı Yayla |
Mogollar |
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Zülüf Dökülmüs |
Müslüm Gürses |
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Dom Dom Kursunu |
Ibrahim Tatlises |
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Dert Faslı |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Telgrafçi Akif |
Ahmet Kaya |
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Çanakkale İçinde (Aynalı Çarşı) |
Mogollar |
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Muslum Extra |
Müslüm Gürses |
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Deliveren |
Sezen Aksu |
Amazon |
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Kalk Gidelim Küheylan |
Baris Manço |
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Deli Kadın |
Erkin Koray |
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Kanun Solo |
Taksim Trio |
Amazon |
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Ben Bilirim |
Bar?? Manço |
Amazon |
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Cecom |
Baba Zula |
Amazon |
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Bicare |
Taksim Trio |
Amazon |
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Abbas Aga Park |
Baba Zula |
Amazon |
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Total running time: 2:55 |
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Jazz
There's almost no overarching reason why I picked the jazz tracks I did here. I left out tons of great stuff. I didn't include some of my favorite Miles Davis pieces from the 70s, for example, because each tune is half an hour long. Another time, perhaps. I kept one on the playlist — the long track from the album Get Up With It , called "He Loved Him Madly" — which I guess is a reference to Duke Ellington, though it sure doesn't sound anything like him.
Nowadays it's hard to imagine that some of these tunes, like the ones by Ellington, were hugely popular. Instrumental music was popular music, and you could dance to most of it. If we think about how marginal most instrumental and jazz music is today, it's hard to conceive that some of these composers were not just respected, but could attract big audiences. At yard sales and flea markets, I've occasionally run across 16mm soundies — the prototype of music videos — that often featured jazz or even Latin artists in the 40s and 50s. (They were played on movie jukeboxes in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other hang-out spots.) This implies that it was worth someone's time and effort to market these little films across the country, that there was in fact a demand.
Anyways, there's a lot of Thelonious Monk here, whose melodies and playing style are unlike anyone else's — they are borderline herky jerky, hardly smooth and loungey. The late Teo Macero, the producer who recorded some of these Monk tunes, famously created some of the later Davis records by splicing together moments from long improvisations. It was a way of bringing the tape splicing composition methods of Varèse and other classical contemporaries to the world of jazz. And it worked.
I agree with Macero that the recent trend of reissuing the full, unedited jams on box set releases doesn't do the artist any favors. I can't say that they shouldn't be heard — in an academic sense, it is interesting to see what Macero selected — but as a listening experience they mostly suck. Miles made plenty of records in that era — enough to listen to — and his US record company didn't even put some of them out. So it's a bit of too much too late.
— DB |
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Concerto For Cootie |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Hackensack |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Goodbye Pork Pie Hat |
Charles Mingus |
Amazon |
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Cascades |
Oliver Nelson |
Amazon |
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Brilliant Corners |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Ko-Ko |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Thelonious |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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'Round Midnight |
Miles Davis |
Amazon |
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'Round Midnight |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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So What |
Miles Davis |
Amazon |
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Take The "A" Train |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Butch And Butch |
Oliver Nelson |
Amazon |
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Fiesta Mojo |
Dizzy Gillespie |
Amazon |
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In Walked Bud |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Rockin' In Rhythm |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Blue Monk |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Solitude |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Reflections |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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He Loved Him Madly |
Miles Davis |
Amazon |
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Let's Cool One |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Rumpus In Richmond |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Epistrophy |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Freddie Freeloader |
Miles Davis |
Amazon |
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Boo Boo's Birthday |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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East St. Louis Toodle-Oo |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Evidence |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Salt Peanuts |
Charlie Parker |
Amazon |
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Misterioso |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Jump For Joy |
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra |
Amazon |
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Monk's Mood |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Black And Tan Fantasy |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Criss-Cross |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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A Night In Tunisia |
Dizzy Gillespie |
Amazon |
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Ruby, My Dear |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Manteca |
Dizzy Gillespie |
Amazon |
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Creole Love Call |
Duke Ellington |
Amazon |
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Ugly Beauty |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Take Five |
Dave Brubeck Quartet |
Amazon |
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Monk's Dream |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Naima |
John Coltrane |
Amazon |
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Crepuscule With Nellie |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Honky Tonk |
Miles Davis |
Amazon |
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Consecutive Seconds |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Stolen Moments |
Oliver Nelson |
Amazon |
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Rhythm-A-Ning |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Anthropology |
Dizzy Gillespie |
Amazon |
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Well, You Needn't |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Blue Rondo A La Turk |
Dave Brubeck Quartet |
Amazon |
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Bye-Ya |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Fables Of Faubus |
Charles Mingus |
Amazon |
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Reflections |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Yearnin' |
Oliver Nelson |
Amazon |
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Straight, No Chaser |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Bemsha Swing |
Thelonious Monk |
Amazon |
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Total running time: 4:22 |
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African Popular Music Part 1: South of Sahara
This is an impossible task — to fit half a continent's music onto one radio playlist. Some countries are probably under represented. This is far from a complete or fair selection.
I listened to some of this music incessantly in the 80s when it started becoming more widely available. The first record I heard was a South African LP called 17 Mabone. The cover featured an illustration of an American muscle car with 17 (I counted them) headlights across the front. The tunes, mostly instrumentals, often began with an MC invoking the Indy 500 or something similar, and then the music would come in — accordions, saxes, electric guitars drums and basses. The cooking ingredients were familiar, but the recipe was new and different. I loved hearing familiar sounds and instruments approached in completely unfamiliar (to me) ways. It was incredibly tuneful too.
I loved the wacky cultural borrowings and mish mash, the electric guitars and the references to US car races. The cultural porridge was thick and mind bending. I soon heard a similar process happening in other areas. West Africans had heard classic Afro Cuban bands, so bands like Orchestra Baobab, who resurfaced a few years ago, transposed the keyboard and tres lines of the Cuban tunes to electric guitars. These montunos were given a new lilt and sparkle. The legendary Fela Kuti heard James Brown, Coltrane and the speeches of Angela Davis, and created a whole new groove — highlife — combined with unsparing criticism of local and global politics. Soukous, the style identified with the Congo that spread everywhere at one point, is claimed to be an adaptation of Cuban rumba lines, though I don't hear it — it's come too far for me to easily hear the connection.
Sunny Ade, the incredible bandleader, claimed middle of the road country crooner George Reeves as an influence! The use of Hawaiian lap steel guitar on his extended songs and those of Dr. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (his track is 28 mins long!!!) was another unexpected pleasant surprise. On some Fuji tracks it is the sole harmonic instrument — the talking drums carry the rest!

Anyway, it was obvious that if Africa gave the world the roots of much of its popular music, the creolized and misegenated Diaspora was equally giving back. The flow of influence went and continues to go both ways.
One of the early South African collections I loved was called Rhythm of Resistance, as much of the music addressed the apartheid government then in existence. (There's a great DVD doc by the same name.) It's still a bit puzzling to me how people so oppressed could respond with such joy — some of the lyrics are pointed, but musically it bounces and explodes with pleasure.
I was crazy about Fela's jams, as were many others, and soon I was able to discern the various styles — and there are a lot of them. Many of the best musicians from the former Francophone colonies ended up in Paris, which by the mid-80s was a hotbed of Afro pop music with high production values. According to some folks, a few artists may have strived a little too hard for mass pop success at that time, but the idea was valid.
— DB |
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LaDJi |
Salif Keita |
Amazon |
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A Va Safy Va Lomo |
Orchestra Marrabenta Star De Moçambique |
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Inkunzi Ayi Hlabi Ngokusima |
Jonny & Sipho |
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Ohwahilahle |
Moses Mchunu |
Amazon |
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Umthombowase Golgota |
Ladysmith Black Mambazo |
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Tezeta |
Menelik Wèsnatchèw |
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Ikhaya Lami |
Inkunzi Emdaka |
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Sofrimento |
Waldemar Bastos |
Amazon |
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Zé Kitumba |
Bonga |
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Avijota |
Bonga |
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Karan-Gbegne |
Horoya Band National |
Amazon |
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Perefere |
Malombo |
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Ohude Manikiniki |
Umahlathini Nabo |
Amazon |
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Sane-Mamadou |
Tchico & Les Officiers |
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Sé |
Rokia Traoré |
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Tcha Tcho Du Sorcier |
Koffi Olomide |
Amazon |
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Mannequin |
Koffi Olomide |
Amazon |
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J.T. |
Kanda Bongo Man |
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Wé-wé |
Angélique Kidjo |
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Coumba |
Orchestra Baobab |
Amazon |
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Qhude Manikiniki - Umahlathini Nabo |
Various Artists |
Amazon |
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Batonga |
Angélique Kidjo |
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Malinga |
Kanda Bongo Man |
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Kurikute |
Sara Chaves (Composer: Tonito) |
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Amaqhawe Omgqashiyo |
Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens |
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Veye Yo |
Matebis |
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Mhunza Musha |
Bhundu Boys |
Amazon |
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Truth Don Die |
Femi Kuti |
Amazon |
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Refined Fuji Garbage |
Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister |
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Bul Ma Miin |
Orchestra Baobab |
Amazon |
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Ko Salapata |
King Sunny Ade |
Amazon |
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Mariquinha |
Bonga |
Amazon |
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Kurikutela |
Duo Ouro Negro |
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Nzage |
Ngola Ritmos |
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Water No Get Enemy |
Fela Kuti |
Amazon |
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Iniyi |
Manou Gallo |
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Ekipe |
Kanda Bongo Man |
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Jiin Ma Jiin Ma |
Orchestra Baobab |
Amazon |
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Kaful Mayay |
Tabu Ley Rochereau |
Amazon |
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Ndongoy Daara |
Orchestra Baobab |
Amazon |
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Nyamutamba Ne Mombe |
Thomas Mapfumo & Blacks Unlimited |
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Emthonjeni Womculo |
Mahlathini, Nezintombi, Zomgqashiyo & The Makgona Tsohle Band |
Amazon |
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Esclave |
Papa Wemba |
Amazon |
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Synchro System (Complete Original Version) |
King Sunny Ade |
Amazon |
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Mme Ngwana Walla |
Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens |
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Amour Fou |
Kanda Bongo Man |
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El Son Te Llama |
Orchestra Baobab |
Amazon |
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Ressureição |
Elias Dias Kimuezu |
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Heywèté |
Tesfa-Maryam Kidane |
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Fuji Shuffle |
Adewale Ayuba |
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Gnawoe |
Orchestra Baobab |
Amazon |
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Beaux Dimanches |
Amadou & Mariam |
Amazon |
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Total running time: 2:58 |
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A New Hope
By the end of '08 Bush and his pirate crew will be almost gone — impotent and ineffective at least. Something to look forward to. We will be lucky if we survive the damage this gang has inflicted on the U.S. (the economy, R&D, etc. etc.) but let's be optimistic. It's a new year, and here is a pretty wide range of wonderful stuff I've stumbled across in the last few months. Some tunes might be carried over from the last Eclectic mix, but much of it is new, so new that some are not even available commercially yet! If this material is any indication, '08 is going to be a great year for music.
— DB |
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Rome Was Built For A Day |
Ned Sublette and Lawrence Weiner |
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Sprig |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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The Beaches All Closed |
No Kids |
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Dancehall King |
Frokost |
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For You |
David Byrne |
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You Look Good To Me |
No Kids |
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La última prosa |
Lisandro Aristimuño |
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Arruda E Sossego |
Alessandra Leão |
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Show And Tell |
Ned Sublette and Lawrence Weiner |
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The Bank |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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Dear Darkness |
PJ Harvey |
Amazon |
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Joys |
Final Fantasy |
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Telethon |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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Great Escape |
No Kids |
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Dreams In The Hollow |
Jesca Hoop |
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Rise Above |
The Dirty Projectors |
Amazon |
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Desperta! |
Alessandra Leão |
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Tom The Model |
Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man |
Amazon |
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One |
Christopher Francis |
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Bottom Of The World |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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Blake's Got A New Face |
Vampire Weekend |
Amazon |
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Neighbour's Party |
No Kids |
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I'm A Bee |
Niobe |
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Overpowered |
Róisín Murphy |
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Love And Love Again |
Jesca Hoop |
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Rowboat |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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People Living |
Susanna Wallumrød |
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Ex Guru |
David Byrne |
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House Of Cards |
Radiohead |
Amazon |
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Sad Song |
Psapp |
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Anochecer |
Lisandro Aristimuño |
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Doctor Blind |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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Weird Fishes/Arpeggi |
Radiohead |
Amazon |
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Our Hell |
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton |
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Despertando A Dodo |
Lisandro Aristimuño |
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Stronger |
Kanye West |
Amazon |
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Whatcha Doin' |
Phil Elverum & Nick Krgovich |
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Intruder |
Susanna Wallumrød |
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World Without End |
Laurie Anderson |
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Seed Of Wonder |
Jesca Hoop |
Amazon |
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I Wonder |
Kanye West |
Amazon |
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Listen For It |
No Kids |
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Poison |
Laurie Anderson |
Amazon |
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No |
Hot Chip |
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Come Forward |
The Dirty Projectors |
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Total running time: 2:58 |
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