In the Tradition of the Classic Guinean Bands

Some of the most glorious music of the twentieth century was recorded in Guinea-Conakry, under the auspices of Sékou Touré's harsh dictatorship (1958 - 84). Guinea was doubtless not a great place to be during this time, due to the repressive political climate. Musically, some great players were frustrated by the nationally mandated musical policy of modernising local folklore (to the exclusion of exploring Jazz or other international developments) - nevertheless the results, recorded and distributed by Syliphone, the state record company, were marvellous. Sterns does a great job of making this superb music available, both as publisher and retailer.

But enough about the past... the band Kaloum Star look set to bring this great music into the twenty-first century. Survivors from the classic period (founded 1969), their album Felenko (1997) is truly worthy of the great Guinean band tradition, and one of the most treasured of my recent musical discoveries.


Cuban charanga flutes, soul/funk arrangements, bluesy ambience, gorgeous saxophone and vocals, typically inventive Mande guitar playing - all add up to a joyous stew just begging to be discovered by lovers of African music everywhere. For dancing or listening, this is a gem.

mp3 Downloads available (with sound samples) from emusic.

A Blind Anatolian Bard

Aşık Veysel (d. 1973) was a blind Turkish poet and minstrel, who accompanied himself on the bağlama (a.k.a. saz, a lute common to many Muslim cultures). I picked up a CD of his music during a trip to Turkey a couple of years ago. I don't understand the poetic Turkish lyrics, but I do understand the beautiful sound of a man deeply absorbed in music-making. If you like melismatic Asian vocal music, or are an adventurous music-lover, you should check it out.

Here is an effectively translated sample of Veysel's poetry. Clearly I can't vouch for the accuracy of the translation.



Here is the CD for sale online, with sound samples. I can recommend the vendor.

French Suspender

Juste Avant La Nuit (Just Before Nightfall) is a superb, adult drama from the French master of suspense, Claude Chabrol (the so-called "French Hitchcock"). Dealing very maturely with the consequences of an extra-marital affair that ends in murder, the film is subtle but grips from start to finish due to its growing emotional and moral complexity. The acting is very impressive throughout.


I picked up the film on DVD as part of an 8-disc set of Chabrol's films, currently available at an absurd bargain price (~£13) from Amazon UK. Arrow Films, who produce the box, is a quality outfit. Highly recommended!

Jazz Rock Maloya

Sabouk is an electric band from Reunion Island. Their self-titled album from Discorama Production is groovy, full of jazzy improvisation and creative arrangements, and highly enjoyable. Discorama's catalogue classifies this music as Jazz Rock Maloya (Maloya being the dominant local voice-and-percussion traditional style), and who am I to argue?



The mp3 album is available (with sound samples) from Fnac. The CD is available from Discorama.

Obscure West Coast Cool

Earl Anderza is not a household name, even in Jazz fanatic circles. But he is (was) a fine player and improviser on the alto sax with a varied style - a bag of tricks that captures my interest throughout his sole album as a leader: Outa Sight (Pacific Jazz). It's a beautiful record, and a minor classic of West Coast Jazz.


The other musician featured on the album is Jack Wilson, another fine West Coast musician (with a couple of Blue Note recordings to his name). Wilson switches from piano to harpsichord for a couple of tracks, an unusual choice which works well for me (the rattling clunkiness of the harpsichord actually makes for a pretty good blues instrument).

The tracklist is a mix of group originals and standards (there's a great version of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to"). The mood is plaintive, longing, downbeat, with Earl's sax responsible for much of the tension.

Too bad Earl Anderza never made it bigger - he had the talent.

Sounds samples from HMV Japan, CD available from Amazon.