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From Mantombana to Mou Vasana - Potpourri A-go-go

 


Al compás del mundo programa #186, 6-26-25 – potpourri Run list


01 Johnny Clegg & Juluka - Mantombana (South Africa)

02 Ejigayehu 'Gigi' Shibabaw - Moniw natana (Ethiopia)

02 Medjo Nsom Jacob et son Ensemble - Elie o yange ma (Cameroons)

04 Boubacar Traoré - Sa Golo (Mali)

05 Janvier Denagan - Guigo (Benin)

06 Gilberto Gil, Jorge Ben Jor, e Sérgio Mendes – Emoriô (Brazil)

07 Crazy Ken Band - Singapura (Japan)

08 Minyo Coderanny - Donpan-bushi (Japan)

09 La Misa Negra - Dueña de Mi (USA)

10 Banda 2 de Febrero de Cerete - El estanquillo (Colombia)

11 Bugle, Buju Banton and Damian Jr. 'Gong' Marley - Thank You, Lord (Jamaica)

12 Camarón de la Isla - La Leyenda Del Tiempo (Spain)

13 Legiana Collective - Lu Rusciu de lu Mare (Italy)

14 Kadinelia - Ta palea mou vasana (Greece)


Ahhh! Summer is here and it’s time for the sweet smell of potpourri. Shades of Africa burst forth like fragrant blossoms, immediately bringing an energy to the subject at hand. The uncharacteristically biracial South African band from back in the day, Juluka, kicks thing off and is followed by a recent release and a new discovery for me. Ejigayehu 'Gigi' Shibabaw reprises a purely traditional Ethiopian sound, though slicked up a bit in the studio recording – nothing in excess, all beautiful. What’s next? An older barebones acoustic statement out of Cameroons - “pickin’ and grinnin’, just me and the boys.” Finishing out our African opening with songs from Mali and Benin, two countries batting as close to 1000 as one could hope for in the export of their always mellifluous musical declarations. So, it’s not too much of a leap to turn up next in Brazil. The city of Salvador, roughly 80% Afro-Brazilian, was the home of Tropicalía, a radical revolutionary style of songwriting from the 1970s that took the public by surprise (not unlike Dylan at Newport). They were shadowed by the military dictatorship of the time that took a leery view of anything culturally revolutionary. A sudden segue then, to two sides of the Japanese cultural coin – the Crazy Ken Band following the Western path while Minyo stays the course in the old folks’ way of approaching musical doings. Whiplash next to a crowd favorite of Latin dance rhythms, the cumbia. I had to look up the origin of Misa Negra and – surprise! – the ensemble isn’t Colombian (perhaps by birth?) but out of Oakland, California, my neighbors across the bay!...followed by the unmistakable sound of the motherland, Colombian brass-band-public-plaza music. And since were nearly Caribbean, why not skip to Jamaica – did I say “unmistakable sound”? This is followed by giant steps in location to European destinations: Andalusian (Spanish) flamenco by super star Camaron de la Isla (“Island Shrimp”), curiously though successfully paired with Indian string accompaniment; a women’s chorus out of Italy with another piece of the folk revival puzzle; and a final overture to that same movement, this time from Greece. Not everyone loves the piercing sound of a bagpipe (I do). Perhaps this is a good place to finish today’s program. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s all she wrote and time to wail off into the sunset.




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