Africa music reviews

Cecile Kayirebwa interprets traditional Rwandan music and poetry in a haunting and beautiful voice. She shows a different side of African music and of Rwanda. I have played her cut "Tarahinda" at many a party and have had endless requests to play it again and to record it for friends.

I don't much about the musical traditions of this artist, but the music is simply great. Even to an ignorati like this me after this CD I have fallen in love with this man and his traditions.

this is very classic soukous, it would definately get everyone on the dance floor at any party.

Someone played this cd for me once and I was in tears because I had never heard bingi or been to one yet. The sprit that comes from the music is so beautiful. The recording sound isnt the ultimate but its done well enough. I play this when Im chantin psalms or sometimes in meditation.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra never ceased to amaze me with their vibrant and versatility in intrepreting the instrumental versions of the classics..I like the classic Clint Eastwood western "fistful of dollars"...melodic sounds of "never on sunday" and don't forget the really western classics of them all.."high noon" (do not forsake me)...very very nice.buy one today.

...and a zest for the music they're creating help make this collection of early Ladysmith Black Mambazo worth hearing, even by a new introductee to their sound. The story of Joseph Shabalala's faith is interesting to know and lends weight to the music we're hearing, but even if you haven't heard any of this music in the past, it remains vibrant and beautiful, a worthwhile new addition to any xenophile's CD collection.

African funk lives on in this terrific collection of songs from across Africa. Manu Dibango and Hugh Masakela are the stars, but the funkiest stuff comes from the guys I never heard of. Every song on this collection is a gem and they are all different. It's fascinating how James Brown's style was picked up back in the place where the rhythm ultimately originated. The guitars, the horns, the wailing organ could all be behind JB in a 1969 show. I have long been a fan of James Brown, George Clinton, Tower of Power and Sly Stone. But the rest of the field was way behind those guys and then American funk declined into disco in the 1970s. Now I discover where it went! This CD is all I could hope for!

K�k�l� is a star studded Congolese band with vocalists Wuta-Mayi, Nyboma, Bumba Massa, and Loko Massengo with Syran Mbenza playing the acoustic guitar. The sound here is stunning, and the orchestration perfect, including beautifully layered acoustic guitars by Syran and Rigo Star, some tasty accordion spicing from Regis Gizavo of Madagascar, and on some tunes, an all-clarinet horn section (played by Ca�au de Queiroz), harking back to the early days of Congolese rumba.
The violins on Loko Massengo's "Bebe Yaourt" is a revelation that this instrument marries well with the smooth vocals of K�k�l�. "Souvenirs-OK-Jazz," a Medley of Franco hits is the final drop that spills the bucket of sweetness, it just becomes too much.
Kekele is to music what Real Madrid is to football.

"DAKAR HEART" is the debut solo album of one of Africa's most intriguing and important pop composers, confirming Jimi Mbaye's status as a figure held in extraordinarily high esteem in the world of Senegalese mbalax. Mbaye is already somewhat well-known outside of Africa - among African music fans, at least - as the lead guitarist and musical alter ego of superstar Youssou N'Dour, with whom he has developed this vocally sweet, rhythmically pugnacious brand of Senegalese pop during twenty years of innovation and globetrotting concertizing. With this record, Mbaye steps out into a personal space of poetry, passion and moral subtlety boosted by an unflagging current of traditional Senegalese musical energy and refined by a graceful and unusual palette of sounds. "DAKAR HEART" will likely extend Mbaye's reputation beyond Africa's borders, and rightfully so, as no Senegalese artist to date, save the gravel-voiced Wasis Diop with whom Mbaye shares so many traits, is anywhere near him in musical intelligence and in ardor for the beautiful.