Raul da Gama
Canadian writer. Based in Milton, Ontario, Canada, Raul is a musician and an accomplished writer whose profound analysis is reinforced by his deep understanding of music, technically as well as historically.
Orquesta Akokán – Canta José “Pepito” Gómez
It takes more than academic proficiency in music to arrive at the source of its splendour and few American musicians know that better than...
Bobby Valentin & The LJs: Mind of a Master
One of the most iconic images of the Tropical/Salsa genre has been the fiery fingers of Bobby Valentin attacking the fret board of his...
Spanglish Fly: Ay Que Boogaloo
Jonathan Goldman is a proverbial renaissance man who has a doppelgänger -like kinship with James Joyce, but his specialisation is even more unique. He...
Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days: El Maquech
Perhaps the best raison d’être – albeit in a wonderfully twisted sort of way – is that it is “tethered to nothing”. This is...
Chano Domínguez: Prism of Duende
Some twenty-eight minutes into our conversation Chano Domínguez lets me go gently. “Raul, I have to let you go,” he tells me, “But you...
Dafnis Prieto: To the Sunset… and Beyond
Of the many – and often chameleonic – ways to describe the music of Dafnis Prieto the word “questing” comes to mind most often...
Berta Moreno: Little Steps
Berta Moreno’s dream of coming to America, which she mentions in her impassioned notes that accompany the disc entitled Little Steps, have come true...
Valeria Matzner: Anima
Looking at the package for this album by the Uruguayan-born Canadian musician Valeria Matzner one might be tempted to think that the eight songs...
Pedro Giraudo: Córdoba to Köln via New York
Depending on where you come from Martha Argerich may be the greatest Argentinean icon. Some say Juan and Evita Perón are, but culturally speaking,...
Andrea Brachfeld: If Not Now, When?
The flutist Andrea Brachfeld has made a glittering career for herself on the Latin Jazz circuit, including performances with Dave Valentin and significant recordings...
Yoel Diaz Cubarteto: Occasion
To Yoel Diaz, like most Cuban musicians, who were born and grew up after 1964, Jazz was probably forbidden fruit because not much of...
Victor Assis Brasil: Esperanto / Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim
The first point worth making is that Roberto Quartin’s 1970 recordings of Victor Assis Brasil Esperanto and Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim (now combined by...
Bill O’Connell: Jazz Latin
This album Jazz Latin by Bill O’Connell is – as always - like an elegant railway system linking the myriad elements of Jazz, with...
Linda Ronstadt: Frenesí
It is one of those ironic twists of fate that Linda Ronstadt was forced into retirement in 2011, the year her seminal Afro-Caribbean album,...
Lauren Henderson: Ármame
By the end of 2018 Lauren Henderson will have not one, but two, releases. The first of these is Ármame and it is...
Calle Mambo Project: See The Light
The drummer Chris Smith’s dream of making music a way of life has something of a fairytale quality to it and so does the...
Papo Vazquez: JS Bach – Goldberg Variations
There are no sacred cows in music – certainly not for Papo Vazquez. His 2018 offering in a quartet format is selections from Johann...
Edward Simon: Sorrows & Triumphs
Despite drawing from a deep well-spring of complex abstraction and profound spirituality, the music of Edward Simon is eminently accessible. Moreover, even with the...
Duduka Da Fonseca Trio Plays Dom Salvador
The percussion colourist, Duduka Da Fonseca once graced the drum chair of Dom Salvador’s album, simply entitled Transition… or was it so simple? Although...
Carlos Cano & Hernán Milla: Por la Rivera de Paquito
A little over a year ago the prodigiously gifted Spanish pianist Hernán Milla played and recorded in a (largely) duet setting with the equally...
