A true reggae legend, Jamaican-born singer Mykal Rose came to fame as the leader of the seminal band Black Uhuru, whose album Anthem won the first-ever Grammy Award for reggae music and helped to catalyze the roots movement worldwide. His distinctive vocals inspired the “Waterhouse” style, and his solo work—filled with bravely topical lyrics and influences from far beyond reggae’s borders—continues to define the genre.
The son and torchbearer of West African musical icon Ali Farka Touré, Malian guitarist and singer Vieux Farka Touré has more than filled his father’s shoes, concocting his own hybrid style that radiates with “joyful audacity” (The New York Times). With an exuberant guitar sound perched perfectly between the blistering, desert-bred twang of the West African kora and the electric distortion of Chicago blues, Touré’s music is a study in seamless musical crossbreeding, born of both urban grit and blue Sahara skies.
No longer the best-kept secret of the formidable Soulquarians collective—which includes such luminaries as Mos Def, Erykah Badu, and D’Angelo—singer/songwriter Bilal has become a neo-soul titan. His debut album, 1st Born Second, features production by Dr. Dre, and he’s collaborated with everyone from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to Sun Ra and Talib Kweli. Poised, suave, and prodigiously skilled, Bilal specializes in compelling, jazz-tinged ballads, which never sacrifice nuance to achieve showstopper status.
Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens stem from equal parts Alabama soul and inspired gospel fervor, with a singer who has been invigorating the New York R&B scene since the 60s. Fresh from releasing their first full-length album, What Have You Done, My Brother?, Shelton and band put soul in the service of fiery spiritual injunctions, which are as catchy as they are cathartic.
Mighty Sparrow, aka Slinger Francisco, is the official calypso king of Trinidad, having won the island’s standard-setting Calypso Monarch competition 11 times. An eight-time winner of the island’s Carnival Road March competition as well, Sparrow is best known for the song “Carnival Boycott” and for the outspoken 1956 hit “Jean and Dinah,” both of which perfectly personify the laid-back island spirit while never forgetting calypso’s courageous political roots. More
Masters of Haiti’s addictive national dance music, compas—a mix of brass-fortified Dominican merengue, quadrilles from colonial France, and lyrics in Creole, Spanish, English, and French—Tabou Combo is a national treasure, revered for their infectious, carefree musical cocktails. Together since 1968, the 12-piece band commands dancing with a bright, brisk sound, pairing compas with Carnival music, voodoo drumming, and a healthy dose of island pride.
Victor Wooten made his name as the propulsive bassist of newgrass combo Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, helping that singular group to earn four Grammy Awards. He was nominated for another for his wildly omnivorous, jazz- and funk-inflected double album Yin Yang and has since collaborated with such luminaries as Prince, Bootsy Collins, and Chick Corea. A bravura player with virtuosity to spare, Wooten carries on the tradition of fellow bass great Jaco Pastorius by pairing impeccable technique with an ability to assimilate to any style under the sun. More
As a member of Fela Kuti’s indispensable group Africa 70 (founded in the early 70s), legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen created the pulse of Afrobeat and, with it, an entire genre. Reared on both the buoyant sounds of Ghanaian highlife and American jazz, Allen played with Fela for 15 years before setting off on a successful career as a solo artist, which solidified his reputation as the master of the understated polyrhythmic groove. More
Thursday, August 5, 2010 12:00 PM
