It is difficult to describe, what Giora Feidman, bass clarinetist, does on stage with his clarinet, how it laughs, cries, and narrates...Master of innovative interpretations of tango, jazz, classical music, and klezmer, her merges all 4 genres into phenomenally expressive, virtuosic, and emotional songs.
Zeca Pagodinho (b. February 4, 1959, birth name Jessé Gomes da Silva Filho) is a Brazilian singer/songwriter working in the genres of samba and pagode.
RANCHERA, basically a waltz, polka, or bolero, concerns itself with love, patriotism, and nature. SON is a fusion of indigenous, Spanish, and African musics, much like Cuban son ~ but it varies from region to region. MARIACHI is both a genre and a band (composed of 2 violins, 2 trumpets, a Spanish guitar, 2 other guitars called vilhuela and guitarron, and today, trumpets.
A few fans may find Latin roots-pop pioneer Lila Downs' return to old-fashioned, romantic ranchera music to be a retrograde move, but her commanding presence and the astonishing skill and economy with which she embellishes these old-school Mexican ballads with modern rock, electronica and even a tasteful dash of hip-hop will blow your mind, if you give it a close listen. Similarly, she weaves in the rich rhythms of Cuban son and Central American cumbia, reconciling and uniting several strands of Latin American popular music. The repertoire blends striking originals with classics from Jose Alfredo Jimenez, while Downs' dark, husky vocals give more than a mild nod towards the great Mexican diva, Lola Beltran, while Tex-Mex accordionist Flaco Jimenez anchors the album in a solid border vibe. You have to be willing to get into the style (and not everyone is, including plenty of folks who listen to other kinds of Latin American music...) But if you give it a chance, this is a pretty cool album, particularly how it points the way to a canny revitalization and modernization of one of the hemisphere's liveliest and most musically conservative genres. Oh, and Downs' old fans will not be disappointed: she's as authoritative, innovative and charismatic here as on anything she's done.
Nearly a year in the making and brimming with a newfound focus on original material, Already Free is The Derek Trucks Band's natural evolution as they move forward integrating influences that span a variety of musical genres. Known for their blues roots, the group takes this album well beyond blues to incorporate the larger sounds of rock & soul. Already Free features a stirring cover of Bob Dylan's Down In The Flood as well as the new songs, Down Don't Bother Me and Get What You Deserve.