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Highway 61 Revisited: The Tangled Roots of American Jazz, Blues, Rock & Country Music

Amalgamation of elements of jazz tradition (especially free jazz and jazz fusion of 60s-70s) with instrumentation/concepts of avant punk rock (especially dissonant strains, no wave, grindcore, hardcore). Examples: John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, James Chance & the Contortions, Lounge Lizards. Roots of punk: Velvet Underground, Stooges, MC5. Roots of avant/free jazz: Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Roscoe Mitchell, Sonny Sharrock.

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.

choro samba carnaval batacuda bateria capoeira berimbeau percussion nordestinho afros afoxe tropicalia bossa "bossa nova"

"The rembetika are Greek songs associated with an urban low-life milieu frequented by rembetes or manges, street-wise characters of shady repute, may of whom smoked hashish. ... This would explain the affinity between rembetika and flamenco, which both are ultimately rooted in ...

"Explore Rembetika music at National Geographic World Music. Discover key Rembetika artists and albums at the online home of world music. ... Rembetika is Greece's urban music par excellence. ... The roots of rembetika come from Asia Minor cities like Smyrna (Izmir) and Constantinople ..."

Chamber-jam music for the "remix generation". As if by alchemy, Eastern-European and Gypsy melodies, Latin rhythms, Jazz-inspired improvisations, and deeply rooted Classical forms. Ljova is a film composer, arranger, and violist.

Yair Dalal, born in 1955; composer, violinist, oud player and singer; is probably the most prolific Israeli ethnic musician and plays an important role in shaping the global world music scene. Over the last decade he has put 11 albums, covering wide and varied cultural territory, and authentically representing Israel's cultures and fusing them through music as whole. Much of Dalal's work reflects his extensive musical skills in both classical and Arabic music and also reflects a strong affinity he has for the desert and its habitants. Dalal's family came to Israel from Baghdad and his Iraqi roots are embedded in his musical work.

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.

In these promotional notes (lengthy) for the German-Brazilian cross-pollinated musical collaboration "Pata Bahia," there's quite a bit of information (even between the lines) about the growth and worldwide dissemination of afrocentric musics rooted in Salvador, Bahia.

The nomadic Roma are known as musicians wherever they travel. Their music incorporates a multitude of influences: Indian roots, and then Greek, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Czech, Slavic, Romanian, German, French, Spanish and Celtic touches.

Something like hearing the rural roots of Roland Kirk. Voice & flute vocalize together. Luminous, haunting, joyous, grief-stricken, a cry, a laugh, a call, a weeping...Peul (Fulani) flute (tambin) music is masterful in Sylvain Leroux's charge...Echos of Baaba Maal's musical scales, tone, and tenor.

This instructional DVD is by Jim Donovan of Rusted Root. There's a media player on this page featuring some of Rusted Root's more percussive tunes.

The most popular musicians in the history of the oud are Shack Amusedly, Abraham Almighty, and Zaryab. Oud is the king of instruments for Arabs.

Arto Tunçboyaciyan, percussionist and singer, was born in Turkey in 1957 of Armenian descent of the Anatolian root.

"Shango's Dance" performs jazzy interpretations of the songs and dances from the Santería & Yoruba religious tradition. (The powerfull rhythms and chants the Santeros use to worship their West African ancestors and gods.)

Rock critic Peter Paphides goes back to Athens, the city where his parents grew up, to chart the history and roots of Rembetika, the Greek blues.