ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Youssou N'Dour, Egpyt (Nonesuch) (Senegal/Egypt)

A single listen to Youssou N'Dour's latest release leaves little doubt that it is one of the most important African recordings in years. N'Dour turns his ear eastward and northward to seek common ground between his West African musical sensibility and the musical heartland of Arab Africa, Egypt. The masterful orchestration and arranging that graces this nearly flawless album comes from Egyptian maestro Fathy Salama, a self-described "renegade" on the Cairo scene. These elaborately conceived, culturally complex, and musically brilliant pieces argue powerfully that Islam is a religion of openness and beauty. The music speaks for itself. --BE

Full Review                        Hear Sample                      Purchase CD

Eva Ayllon, !Eva! Leyanda Peruana (Times Square) (Peru)

This Afro-Peruvian diva has a fabulous, versatile voice punctuated by growls and sighs. At its center is a hurricane of passion that can't be denied. In this U.S. debut, Ayllon concentrates on three forms, the creolized vals, the lively 6/8 festejo, and Peru's signature, slow, call-and-response form, the lando. In all, a flawless and deeply satisfying set from a singer every fan of Latin music should now. --BE

Full Review                        Hear Sample                      Purchase CD

Gangbé Brass Band, Whendo (Contre Jour) (Benin)

Africa's rootsiest brass band offers boisterous, spiritually-charged fare on their long-awaited second release. The group's rich arrangements cast horns as drums--a tuba cycling through a voudoun rhythm, trumpets and saxophones in polyrhythmic dialogue, solos as free flights of imagination, always inspired by the deepest of grooves. One of the most refreshing and original groups on the Afropop horizon just keeps getting better. --BE

Download

Jaojoby, Malagasy (Discorama/Harmonia Mundi) (Madagascar)

On the international scene, the musicians of Jaojoby are kings of the super-charged, mostly 12/8, salegy dance pop genre from the north of Madagascar. If the grooves here seem a little more fast and lashing than in the past, and the guitar breaks a little more raucous and flashy, it may reflect competition from younger groups back home. Still, when it comes to the mature, polished sound of this living genre, it's hard to beat the soulful, sunny voice of Eusebe Jaojoby and his band. And they aren't above a romantic ballad either. --BE

Hear Sample                      Download

Mory Kante, Sabou (Riverboat) (Guinea)

Kanté's eighth international release, follows the trend of ultra-modern Afropop musicians going acoustic, but as always, singer and kora player Kanté does it his way, and distinguishes himself from the crowd….distinctive ensemble sound that bears the strong stamp of Guinea throughout, from the dynamic flute of the Fula people, to the Mande balafon and kora, a little guitar, and lots of rich percussion. Kanté's attention to detail has always been a mark of his work, and this album is his masterstroke to date. --BE

Full Review                        Hear Sample                      Purchase CD

APWW NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:

Aurelio Martinez, Garifuna Soul (Stonetree Records) (Honduras)

"Soul" IS the word. The lead track, "Santo Negro," sets the mood with a passionate a capela opener that goes into a percussion heavy mix of Garifuna drums and turtleshells. The sung Garifuna language sounds like nothing you've heard before. And for good reason. Garifuna is a unique creole mix of indigenous and African tongues. Several songs are set in clave rhythm, reflecting the Caribbean coastal Garifunas' intersection with Latin Central America. Half the songs are credited as "traditional." Martinez's international debut delivers a deeply satisfying and consistently superb set of songs that range from melancholy and langor to joyful uplift.--SB

Full Review                        Hear Sample                       Download

Shiyani Ngocobo, Introducing Shiyani Ngcobo (World Music Network) (South Africa)

A rare, spare, acoustic recording of one of Africa's most enchanting guitar and vocal genres. Ngcobo has been a performer, teacher, indeed "guru" of the finger-style Zulu genre as maskanda, for thirty years. The cyclic spin of finger-picking acoustic guitar riffs create a sonic space rich with cultural memories, and the reedy vocals, often with choral backing. Maskanda songs provided a forum for complaints and commentary dangerous or forbidden in day-to-day speech during the apartheid years, but the music still resonates today. We need more like this! --DB

Full Review                        Hear Sample                      Purchase CD

Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Across 110 th Street (Libertad/Sony) (U.S.)

"Salsa dura" (tough salsa) is what they call it in New York. "Neo-classical" is what some critics call it. We just call it damn good. Their second album shows off why they are so popular as live act around the world--a superb horn section brilliantly arranged, hot rhythm section, a three man crew taking turns singing lead and doing backing vocals, and music director/pianist Oscar Hernandez. Leagues ahead of the Pretty Boy & Pretty Girl Latin pop music that saturates Latin radio in U.S--SB

Hear Sample                      Purchase CD

Tinariwen, Amassakoul (World Village/Harmonia Mundi) (Mali)

From the first crisp chanks and guttural, strong vocal lines of the lead track, it's clear that the kings (and queens) of Tuareg desert rock have sharpened their sound from the moody desert dreamscapes of their 2001 international debut, The Radio Tisdas Sessions. The cool vibe is intact, but there's a new energy and focus. This is a wonderfully evocative album from one of Mali's most promising new acts. --BE

Full Review                        Hear Sample                       Download

Thandiswa, Zabalaza (forthcoming in U.S./Gallo) (South Africa)

Thandiswa stretches beyond her roots as a star of the kwaito supergroup, Bongo Maffin, to make her first solo album--a stylistically varied set that taps into SA pop, gospel, her own Xosa roots (collaborating with a traditional sangoma healer who sings as part of her work), and more. Superb recording and mix. Thandiswa's lyrics are thought provoking and her voice strong. The usual 10 + year gap of what's really happening in South African music and what the world thinks of as SA pop may be bridged, in part, by Thandiswa. She shows the side  of SA youth that westerners rarely get exposed to--optimistic, confidant, proudly South African but still able to critisize the older generation and the ills of socity. Thandiswa's "Zabalaza" wins the silver medal for APWW's Newcomers of the Year --SB

Angelique Kidjo, Oyaya! (Columbia) (Benin)
The third and final installment of excellent series by Afropop powerhouse exploring African Diaspora. This one the Caribbean: especially Cuba & Haiti.
Hear Sample                 Purchase CD

Kilio Cha Haki, A Cry for Justice, (Nairobi Rednose District) ( Kenya)
Top-selling, edgy hip hop out group out of Nairobi, one of Africa's toughest cities.

X-Plastaz, Masai Hip Hop, (Out Here Records) ( Tanzania)
African hip hop with roots consciousness. Hard-edged realities of life in urban Tanzania merged with Masai village culture--vaulting vocals, red robes, initiation rituals old and new.