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

All Reviews >>

This one-of-a-kind set samples instrumental works by arranger Mulatu Astatqé, a key creator of Addis’s golden age pop. Educated in music in London and New York , Astatqé returned to Addis with an awareness of American jazz, and equally importantly, Latin music. Jazz harmony and arranging applied to the dark modalities of Ethiopian traditional melodies result in the rebirth of the cool as grand melancholy, and tunes sinister enough to animate the darkest of film noir nightmares. From “Yèkèrmo Sèw,” with its echoes of Horace Silver, to the swinging 6/8 flute feature “Asmarina,” and “Mètché Dershé” with its heavy, Latinesque piano vamp, and lugubrious tenor sax, this volume is a treasure—14 tracks filled with organ drones, wah-wah and fuzz-tone guitars, and some of the most inventive and memorable horn arranging you’ll ever hear.