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groovy music


Run List- Al compás del mundo - programa #156, 11-28-24, groovy music 

01 Cassandra Wilson - You Gotta Move (USA)

02 Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble – Neighborhoods (USA)

03 Archie Shepp - You're What This Day Is All About (USA)

04 Curtis Mayfield - Little Child Running Wild (USA)

05 Astrud Gilberto – Berimbau (Brazil)

06 Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes - Canto de Xango (Brazil)

07 Os Mutantes - Ave, Lúcifer (Brazil)

08 Chicago Art Ensemble - Variations Sur un Theme de Monteverdi II (USA)

09 Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos - No Me Llores Más (USA)

10 Ricardo Richie Ray - Baba Coroco (Nuyorican)

11 Eddie Palmieri - Chocolate Ice Cream (Puerto Rico)

12 Kadja Tangara - Konifale (Mali)

13 Mbongwana Star - Masobélé (Congo)

14 Rasha - Aguis Mahasnik Biman (Sudan)


Tried to come up with a name for this “conglomeration of varied soundscapes.” But that didn’t work, so it became simply “groovy music.” And it is all of that. Cassandra Wilson’s “You Gotta Move” attempted to slip into a blues program a short while back. That didn’t work either, but she’s found a home leading off the hit parade herein. Don Was was a revelation! From a known unknown (to me) who somehow produced a truly great jazz album, Backbeat, he’s appeared to be a total wise guy hipster in the best meaning of the word. If you’re looking for credentials, he’s currently president of Blue Note Records. And as a side project, has put together the Pan Detroit Ensemble, with top-notch horns and a wonder of vocal pulchritude out front. We find jabs and feints of jazz music throughout, enlisting Archie Shepp, the Chicago Art Ensemble, Marc Ribot (and his “prosthetic Cubans”) and Eddie Palmieri – all savory, all groovy. Complement those with the inimitable soul sound of Curtis Mayfield; Baden and Vinicius subdued to the breaking point; more Brazilians, Os Mutantes, striking a blow for psychedelia (from 1968); Ricardo Richie Ray’s immediately familiar (if you’re into Puerto Rican music) “Baba Coroco”; and a trio from the African “old world”: Kadja Tangara’s contribution to the reliably smooth Malian sound, Mbongwana Star showing just how far out a studio production can take them, and Rasha, accompanied by the oud in an exquisite acoustic duet…to gently wish you all a good night.

Top of page pic - Eddie Palmieri
Below - Don Was He Fuzzy & His Band of Renown 




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