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Sharhabeel launched a new genre of Sudanese song, melding jazz vocals with a big band sound, and Sharhabeel and his band became Khartoum's most sought after ensemble. It was a popularity that mushroomed. His synthesiser-driven renditions of traditional songs brought further success and recognition. "It is ironic," he muses, "that in the 21st century, there is not a single recording studio in Sudan," in contrast to the exuberance & optimisim of the 1950s, after Sudan's 1956 independence from Britain. The pentatonic scale of Sudanese music contrasts sharply with the septatonic scale of Arabic music.

Serbia's Boban Markovic, king of Roma brass and reigning trumpet royalty, shot thru w/jazz, Latin-Caribbean + other unmapped sound streams...

Blues guitarist-singer B.B. King and "Hootenanny" folk singer Mary Travers (Peter, Paul, and Mary) sing "House of the Rising Sun" as a conversation. I don't think Mary "gets it." Her voice drags, seems dead, unconvincing, overly romantic. Strange. B,B.'s okay ~ at least when his fingers are walkin' and Lucille's doin' the talking, Odd. Corny. Worth a listen.

Latin Percussion (LP) mini-bio and photo of the widely-renowned, highly-sought conga drummer, Giovanni Hidalgo.