• 
  KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
  
  A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter.
• 
  Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
  
  
• 
  Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
  
  Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage.
• 
  Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
  
  Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
• 
  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
  Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
• 
  M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
  
  
• 
  Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
  
  West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion.
• 
  Sia Tolno: My Life
  
  Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph.
• 
  Zieti: Zemelewa
  
  Eclectic blend of Afro-infused pop out of Cote d'Ivoire.
• 
  Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
  
  Re-released and remastered live CD from this 80's experimental Senegambian outfit.
• 
  Tinariwen: Tassili
  
  Touareg desert legends return with an offering that is meandering, sorrowful and proud.
• 
  Los Rakas: Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada
  
  Oakland/Panamanian rappers -call it "Panabay"-- return with good results.
• 
  Cheikh Lo: Jamm
  
  The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record.
• 
  David Rudder: Random Notes
  
  Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.

All Reviews >>

If Brazilian singer/guitarist Vinicius Cantuária's only song on Horse and Fish was the opening rendition of Gilberto Gil's "Procissão," purchase would still be worthwhile. The nine-minute tour de force through minimalist Bossa Nova flanked by eerily quiet electronic treatment and swinging, soulful trumpet is a gorgeous testament to a man four-decades-deep in post-Tropicalia grooves. The album continues for nine more songs, however, every moment golden.

Cantuária knows catchy, and plays that card well: he penned Caetano Veloso's million-selling "Lua e Estrella" while spending a decade backing the man on percussion. More attention grabbing is his simply beautiful voice wrapped in a soft collage of sound spanning a host of influences - most notably, two personal heroes, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Miles Davis. His introduction of mellow electronica in this vividly produced, tasteful record keeps a foot tapping while harmonies drift. Cast and crew add pronounced punch: trumpeter Michael Leonhart, drummer Paulo Braga, bassist Paul Socolow and percussionists Mauro Refosco and Nanny Assis deserve equal accolades for their swirling soundscapade around Cantuária's dreamlike mind.

While known for supporting roles, his fourth stateside release is prime to propel him into starlight. He relates to silence the way humans understand gravity: unconsciously, confidently and surrendering. To jump from the sumptuously slow "Perritos" to the upbeat "Cubanos Postizos" takes a man skilled in many voices of the same language, and Cantuária's obvious role as translator is globally comprehensible. Brazil has been scanning the American periphery for years, in cinema (City of God) and music (Bebel Gilberto, Moreno Veloso), and elders - Caetano, Gilberto, Antonio - have been cited as innovating half-a-hemisphere away. Time to add a fourth to the pantheon, as the gods will certainly be pleased with this old dog's new tricks.
Contributed by Derek Beres for www.afropop.org