From Black Jesus Experience (2020). Ethiopian jazz with quartal harmonies and a screechy guitar solo.
From the Soundway Records compilation 24 Hours in A Disco 1978 – 82 (2018). Body-shaker that sounds like the 70s.
Music from Africa Vol. 2 Shangaan Traditional / Sotho Chant (2015)
Compilation album filled with South African music from the 1980s, mostly disco, except for these first two tracks: Crestina and Alexandra’s triadic pentatonic harmonies and vocal percussion combines moves you from side to side.
Chiwoniso: Zvichapera (2015 single)
Kind of polyrhythmic mbira with powerful vocal doubling in the melody—the lead singer floats on top of the sound as if it were a solid cloud.
Aeolians of Oakwood University: Sabbath Hymn
When I heard Jacob Collier call this the “best choir on earth” last week, I went through some of their recordings. This one From Aeolianology Acappella, Vol. 2 (2015) is a good example of a sound that fills your insides with light, maybe raising your shoulders too. The church chorale and organ textures with jazz voice-leadings on an a cappella album is a testament to the power of the human voice. They also did a variation on Take 6’s classic arrangement of Get Away Jordan.
Michel Freidenson: Notas no Ar (2011)
Gave me a strong signal from the first few notes of the album. It features traditional Brazilian rhythms and instruments mixed with a fresher modern jazz sound. Roda mixes samba and speedy bossa nova with a rare combination of piano melody doubled by trombone; the forro inspired Cosmic For All I can describe as energetic and alive; Je Suis Desolé is a swingy and slightly disjunct blues featuring some stride piano in the intro.
Cartagena! Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound Of Colombia (1962–72)
Compilation from Soundway Records has cowbell, very Latin American brass and reed doubled melodies, shuk-shuk-a-shuk, cumbia, salsa, and maybe some other genres that I don’t know the name of. I should have noted the names of the songs, but instead just decided to let it wash all over me. When I visited in 2018, Colombians told me their country was the land of over a thousand musical styles.
Guinga: Canção da Impermanência (2017)
Part of a genre of Brazilian music that I would describe as ‘beyond genre’. Dripping guitar tones and mostly language-less, this sonic voyage uses traditional voice-leading to create unnameable harmonies. Why are most of my deepest connections with albums under 45 minutes?
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