We’ve been here before, but let me reiterate: People captured and held as slaves were brought from Africa to the Americas. Their music evolved to become popular amongst the larger population. Recordings spread the sounds worldwide and in parts of Africa from where the slaves had originated, musicians embraced these Latin rhythms and incorporated the styles, even the language in some cases, into a hybrid that was both African and Latin American. The music had travelled full circle. This week’s program features some of the most famous bands of the genre: Bembeya Jazz, Étoile de Dakar, Orchestra Baobab, Rochereau and Grand Kallé were all some of the biggest names in the business during the 1970’s through the 90’s. As any artistic statement should, current musical trends have tapped in to the changing world around them and adopted new techniques and characteristics. I find no fault in that though the merging of Congolese music, for example, with European and American pop styles inspi...

  That's amore, buddy! All covered with cheese I saw my first meatball Till somebody sneezed…   Pizza. That and inane caricatures were pretty much what I knew about Italy and Italians, growing up in a Germanic household in old Wisconsin. Though really, the only overture to any Teutonic origins at our house were the Saturday night meals of pork hocks or sausages cooked in beer with sauerkraut. But I’m wandering… So now, decades hence, I’m still well-fed and fully aware of the multitude of cultures scattered about the planet. In fact, I’ve thrown together a streaming Mexican radio program called “Al compás del mundo” (“World Beats”) to celebrate just how brilliant and comforting their varied musical sounds can be. It’s a curious thing to stop and pay real attention to the music from another batch of human beings on the other side of the globe. Some creations (most, actually) beg an explanation as to their origin. I mean, where did music first come from and how did it diverge so ...

  I found a thrill at a Mexican Hat Diner  - A lot of familiar themes will emerge in this program, that is, familiar to those raised “back in the day” in the US as well as the homeboys and girls south of the border. I originally thought of including nothing but cover versions of well-known US top 40 hits but found original songs that needed to be shared. The vernacular coming out of our radios caught on quick in Mexico and inspired a whole generation of rockandroleros. Admittedly it smacks of a ripoff scam when you pluck a popular tune from the hit parade and imitate it almost verbatim, the only real change the language used to sing it. But that’s capitalism, folks. Home-grown sounds begin at the beginning: Sergio Bustamante (and His Lunatics!) recounting the history of Elvis Pérez, who disdains everything traditional about Mexican culture – in fact, he prefers soda and hotdogs to birria stew and tequila. Some say this was the first true Mexican rock and roll hit, even though ...

  Kamasi Washington - The Epic Curmudgeons like myself need to admit that jazz exists beyond the all-time greats like Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Max Roach, etc., etc., etc. Several of those old lions are included in this week’s playlist: Yusuf Lateef, Bobby Hutcherson, and Sonny Stitt. But a sizable portion of programa #75 brings more recent talent to the airwaves. Artists known to folks in contemporary jazz circles but, admittedly, not so much by yours truly. The Art Ensemble is one exception and then there’s the ringer I’ve always wanted to play, Harvey Mandel’s Cristo Redemtor. The latter such an anomaly when it came out in 1968, the hippies didn’t know what to make of it. I’ve looked up the lead vocalist (shades of Minnie Ripperton, she of the five-octave singing range) and it’s a name new to me, but my goodness – what a voice! I think Mandel fits perfectly in a seque with Kamasi Washington, a big man, with a big horn, and a big sound. His debut solo recording ...