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@ Belonoga Through The Eyes Of The Sun (Elen Music EM02). Literally heavy – a ceramic tile is, for no apparent reason, stuck to the fancy but uninformative pack. Bulgari- an Gergana Dimitrova sings well, but in rather directionless floaty-wind-blown, often wordless multi-influenced original material.
www.elen-music-label.com
1 Tom Kocko & Orchestr Cestou Na Jih (Indies Happy Trails MAM677-2). A humorous, unsubtle and mystical evocation of tradition- al Czech bread, hags, weather, weddings and deaths. The larger than life Kocko employs fiddles, cimbalom, banks of Balkan and American brass, woodwind, jazz, folk and even touches of heavy metal. It’s irresistible, in small doses.
www.kocko.cz
The albums – good (2), adequate (1) and bad (@) – which didn’t get the full-length treatment, contributed individually by a selection of our various reviewers cowering under the cloak of collective anonymity.
2 Layla McCalla Vari-Colored Songs (Dixie Frog DFG CD8752). What a great fusion of cultures. Haitian heritage, New York edu- cated resident of New Orleans, singer, cellist offering musical arrangements to the poems of Langston Hughes alongside, traditional songs. Plus a real gem of her own, the out- standing in every way When I Can See The Valley. Sings and plays like a dream.
www.bluesweb.com
1 Mick McAuley, Winifred Horan, Colm Ó Caoimh Sailing Back to You (Own label, no cat no). Eclectic collection of tunes and songs from the Solas pairing of McAuley (accordeon) and Horan (fiddle), accompanied by guitarist Ó Caoimh, which, though enjoy- able, tends to lack cohesion.
www.mcauleyhoranocaoimh.com/
1 Yvonne Bolton & Alan Jordan Silver Threads (Own label, no cat no). Delicate con- certina work from Co Laois’s Bolton meshes admirably with Mayo’s Jordan on guitar, but often sinks into the twee realms of tradition- al muzak. Jordan’s two songs (including an excruciating rendition of Blackwaterside) indicate that he has the vocal range of a three-inch ruler.
www.yvonneandalan.com
1 Anne Janelle So Long At The Fair (AJ CD 002). Ambitious CD from Canadian singer, writer, musician that has roots influences but for the most part leaves them behind. Musi- cally strong but roots are not always showing.
www.annejanelle.com
Layla McCalla
1 Joanne McIver & Christophe Sauniere Train 221 – The Jazz Album (Buda Musique 860242). Prolific duo’s seventh album con- tains tunes composed by piper McIver, arranged by harpist Sauniere, and performed on bagpipes, whistles, harp, double-bass, per- cussion, viola and accordeon. Fans of Rachel Hair or Salsa Celtica will enjoy this folk-jazz, especially the reggae-jig Sauchiehall Street.
www.mciversauniere.com
2 Katie McNally Flourish (Own label, 884501855044). Elegant and mature debut from young Bostonian fiddler showcases tunes from Scottish tradition and some fine compositions of her own. Beautifully-crafted arrangements and graceful performances by a line-up that contains fiddle, hardingfele, guitar, piano, double bass, cello, harmony- fiddle and accordeon.
www.katiemcnally.com
1 Mick Fitzgerald & Ralf Weihrauch Trio The Piper And The Púca (Hidden Tracks HTCD0025). Irish fairy tales by Crofton Croker and Douglas Hyde are read aloud by Irish actor Mick Fitzgerald. Between the stories are three traditional Irish songs (and one by Mick) performed by Mick and the Ralf Weihrauch trio (fiddle, accordeon, vocal).
www.claddaghrecords.com
1 Donso Denfila (Comet COMETCD056). A hypnotic, dubby collaboration between Malian acoustic and French electronic musi- cians, this sounds good if a bit aimless.
www.facebook.com/officialDonso
1 Alabama Red Windy City Blues (Wolf WBJ 023CD) Little known outside Chicago, Curtis ‘Alabama Red’ Ray, who died in 2006, recorded for a handful of local labels and gave these thirteen tracks (recorded in the ’70s and ’80s) to Wolf Records in 1996. Now issued on CD, they prove a solid legacy show- casing Ray’s direct vocals and West Side style blues featuring some nice horns or nifty organ work.
www.wolfrec.com
2 Bob Eike Happy Little Songs About Futility And Despair (Soul Stew Records 884501968539). Originally from Texas, this self-taught acoustic blues artist was induced out of hibernation in Chicago to record this delightfully idiosyncratic album. With Eike’s throaty voice (echoes of Dave Van Ronk), oddball lyrics, and nifty raggy/bluesy guitar work, it’s an original little gem.
www.soul-
stewrecords.com
2 Jackson C Frank Jackson C Frank (Earth Recordings EARTH001). LP re-release of the tragic genius’s sole, Paul Simon-produced, Jansch & Drake-endorsed 1965 album. No bonus tracks this time, but guitar-poet classics Blues Run The Game, Milk And Honey and You Never Wanted Me remain utterly indis- pensible. Available from Amazon.
1 David Egan David Egan (Rhonda Sue Records RSR003). With songs recorded by the likes of Solomon Burke, Etta James, and Irma Thomas, David Egan has impeccable writing credentials. For his own album this Louisiana- based pianist/vocalist draws on the influence of such heroes as Charles Brown and Nat King Cole while mixing in a healthy dose of Louisiana style funky soulful R&B.
www.davidegan.net
1 Klezmofobia Kartushnik (Tiger LC 12490). Another carefully imagined journey from the forward-thinking Danes, built around the inventive clarinet playing of Bjarke Kolerus and the miraculous versatility and emotive power of vocalist, Channe Nussbaum. The band’s adeptness, adaptability and panache is showcased through genres from traditional to near-rock to experimental and even unashamed torch song.
www.klezmofobia.dk
1 Alan Senauke Everything Is Broken (Sonic Zen Records). Wikipedia gives the biography of this New York Jewish Soto Zen Priest, activist, poet, and folk musician who resides in Berkeley, California and occasional- ly makes nice folksy albums like this one, backed by good musicians like Jon Sholle, Kate Brislin, and Eric and Suzy Thompson.
www.clearviewproject.com
2 Butch Thompson & Pat Donohue Vicksburg Blues (Red House RHR CD 257). The exquisite blend of Butch Thompson’s piano (and occasional clarinet) and Pat Dono- hue’s acoustic guitar and vocals, plus their musical expertise, gives real credence to their renditions of classic blues. A couple of old show tunes and a handful of worthy originals help complete this satisfying outing.
www.redhouserecords.com
1 Various Artists Black Horse Tracks – Folk Blues & More (Blind Lemon BLR- CD1302). Fourteen-track compendium show- casing six artists: Thomas Schleiken, Michael Gerdes, Steve Westway, David Evans, Alwin Schonberger, and Titus Wladenfels perform- ing original numbers (apart from two David Evans blues tracks), at different sessions recorded live in the intimacy of a small North German venue. Honest acoustic music cleanly recorded.
www.blindlemonrecords.de
2 Midrid Meeste Kutse (Own label, no cat no). The awakening effect of the folk music college at Viljandi in Estonia is really showing now, as exemplified by the smart, inventive and lively expansion of Estonian trad songs and tunes and by this trio of female fiddler- singers, taking their own path with signs of dig-deep inspiration from the likes of Maarja Nuut and others in Estonia and Sweden.
www.facebook.com/triomidrid
1 Arto & Antti Järvelä Os Fera Liluli (OArt CD8). JPP’s Arto joined on guitar and fiddle by cousin Antti (of Frigg, JPP and much more) in polkas, polskas, schottisches, waltzes, a wedding march, a polonaise and a song, largely from the repertoires of depart- ed 20th Century fiddlers of Kaustinen’s neigh- bouring Ostrobothnian villages plus some Arto originals.
www.artojarvela.net
Photo: Tim Duffy
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