Saldanha Rolim "Forro for All" (Tumi CD 054, 50 mins, DAT code 1201) Roberto Pla and his Latin Ensemble "Right On Time" (Tumi CD 051, 62 mins, DAT code 1311) Malena Burke and NG La Banda "Tumi Cuba Classics, Vol 5 Son, the future" (Tumi CD 055, 46 mins, DAT code 1421)
Cool times, and I'm not talking about the weather, comrades. The British label, Tumi, is doing its best to spread the word about local musics, in particular those from the less exposed areas of the Caribbean. Of the collection above it is the Brazilian Saldanha Rolim's exuberant brand of Forro which easily steals the show. Former Talking Head and Latin music enthusiast David Byrne explains "This is party music. A mixture of ska with polka in overdrive It's party music from people who've been through hard times, who live in a parched, unforgiving area of Brazil, the north east." And Rolim's frantic accordion led music is a thrilling introduction.
Roberto Pla and his Latin Ensemble is a London based brassy percussive outfit with a snazzy salsa attack that leans heavily on jazz rhythms. Pla hails from Barranquilla, on Columbia's northern Atlantic coast, an area reportedly rich in music and folklore though probably better known for its ties to cocaine smuggling. I doubt if Pla and his band will change that perception, but they certainly know how to keep the party moving. Malena Burke and her band's brand of son music a key indigenous Cuban genre sounds a little dated to these ears, though it is apparently at the cutting edge in Cuba. Sounds like more proof that it's time for Uncle Sam to lift the pathetic siege.
Joe Fly "Letter to Laredo" (Transatlantic TRA CD222, 51 mins, DAT code 1531) Ricky Skaggs "Solid Ground" (Atlantic 7567 82834 2, 30 mins, DAT code 1641)
Ely is an outlaw in the Nashville scheme of things and certainly this album is inspired by people and events on the border or thereabouts, both metaphorically and literally. The proud and defiant sound of the flamenco guitar sets the tone this is music laced with rough tequila and a burning sense of regret and remorse. Yet Ely's harsh voice carries the day, relishing the gore and grief of everyday life. Little wonder, then, that among his guests is one Bruce Springsteen, whose recent remarkable The Ghost of Tom Joad is another nail in the coffin of the American Dream.
Ricky Skaggs, on the other hand, is the American Dream. A supremely gifted musician, he has been guilty in the past of almost making his music seem too effortless and as such, meaningless. Solid Ground veers towards the predictable as on the title track but perhaps inspired by his new label, he shows more variety and gusto on this collection than for some time. And for new found devotees of Alison Krauss whose show
Brooks Williams "Knife Edge" (Green Linnet GLCD 2121, 57 mins, DAT code1751) Rosalie Sorrels
"Borderline Heart" (Green Linnet GLCD 2119 59 mins, DAT code 1861)
Brooks Williams is a mean guitar picker with a pretty average voice yet Knife Edge grows on you, given the chance. His clearly developing style is a rag, bag of influences, from blues to ragtime, folk finger style to country picking with a rake of others in between. Williams's songs generally tend to be a little too studied, but his instrumentals, in particular the moody Goodbye Walter Percy, show a man at one with his instrument. Indeed, his playing throughout is superb.
Rosalie Sorrels is a small time legend with an obviously big heart and a romantic and revolutionary spirit. She still mourns the loss of Sixties idealism and says "A heart given in sweet loving friendship is a rare and precious gift..." Can't argue with that. And that is a great part of her beguiling charm. Here is this gently aging Sixties radical still pounding out the old lines. She should sound absurd but it is hard to deny the honesty and conviction of her work, even if it runs short on energy at times. Musically she crosses every divide jazz, blues, folk, country, all are visited in turn and some all at the same time.
