Monday, February 24, 2014

Album Review: Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978


The crazed shouting of a man on Les Loups Noirs' "Pile Ou Face" matches my reaction to Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978.  The vocalist's manic wailing is consistent with the combination of elation and shock I felt as I realized that such amazing music had eluded me until now.  Given the massive scope of the collection, there's not much continuity.  The quality, however, remains high.  Almost every track features a novel twist on merengue, salsa, mambo, boogaloo, cumbia, R&B, mento, Afrobeat and/or psychedelic rock.  (Initial tip via Big Steve.)

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I contributed to a review of the final day of the Folk Alliance Festival.

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Your Friend's Jeckyl/Hyde was picked up by Domino Recording Company.  Here's the video for "Tame One".  RIYL: Hospital Ships, epic sadness, Angel Olsen.

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Tech N9ne and I share a long-standing infatuation with the same album.

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I prefer a little bit of nastiness in my throwback psych rock.  Temples' Sun Structures is just too nice for me.

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Akuma, the new album by Sly 5th Ave, makes most new jazz recordings seem boring.  Here's a trailer.  RIYL: Randy Weston, real roots music, Don Cherry.

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Rufus Reid's Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project is an unconventional big band album.  RIYL: Charles Mingus, left field, Duke Ellington.

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The future of popular music probably sounds much like a mashup of the sounds produced by the lineup of the Snowball Music Festival.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

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