sanctified swing

Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Marie Knight - Didn't it Rain

gospel : blues

Sweet Honey in the Rock - Precious Memories (for Sister Rosetta Tharpe)



* Photo by Rudy Grahn, Jr.

bandung

SambaSunda reinvents the gamelan - and more. This track (also called SambaSunda) really grabbed me. (And yes, they do like Brazilian music...)



* Photo by egypety

salsa pysanky

Chris Washburne & The SYOTOS Band put a Nuyorican spin on a Ukrainian folk song. The title: Oi Ne Khody Hrytsin Tai na Vechornytsi




* Pysanky by Sofia Zielyk

ladino

Yasmin Levy - Noches, Noches



(More music here)

clay

The Karnataka College of Percussion - Ghatam Quartet



* More on South Indian percussion here

dabke

Syrian vocalist Omar Souleyman's hyperkinetic dance tracks are underground hits in the US. Arabic Dabke shows why.

oaxaca

Lila Downs - La Cumbia del Mole

afrique noir

Francis Bebey - Guitar Makossa



*Photo by Didier Geslain

brukdown

From Belize, Mr. Peters Boom and Chime - Run Mr. Peters, Run



* More on Mr Peters here

blue nile

Sudanese crooner Abdel Aziz el Mubarak, performing an Ethiopian song, Na-Nu Na-Nu, "in solidarity with the African people."



* Photo by Themba Lewis

rabeca

Brazilian music holds constant surprises for me - Mestre Salustiano's robust rabeca playing is one of them. Here's his hell-for-leather interpretation of a Toada da Cavalo Marinho



* More info. here

bambas

Samba greats Paulinho da Viola and Elton Medeiros in an impromptu performance. (The percussion instrument - a wooden matchbox.)

lament

Solo piano by Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, whose compositions are deeply rooted in Ethiopian folk and church music. The title: The Homeless Wanderer

utru horas

Orchestra Baobab - Utro Horas



* Photo by Matthew Brennan

sur

Alfredo Abalos - Zamba del Angel



(More info. here)

breath

I love to discover new music - and this past weekend, I hit the jackpot. My find? The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. (You can watch them here.)

Today's track: Balicky Bon



* Photo by Hiroko Masuike

hope

For Easter, one of the best (and most overlooked) gospel singers ever - Dorothy Love Coates.

Song: Get Away, Jordan

geste [jest]

Gianluigi Trovesi Otteto - Clumsy dancing of the fat bird



* Photo by Wild Images

mi vida

Maria Rita - Dos Gardenias

street music

Two cuts from a wonderful anthology of popular music from Java. The first is in the lyrical kroncong style, while the second is a rough-and-ready medley of dangdut hits. (Artists unknown.)

Aku Rela Kau Behagia



Dangdut Medley

vignette

Duke Ellington - Dancers in Love



* Photo by Gjon Mili

muscle shoals soul

The Staple Singers' blend of gospel, funk and soul has long been a favorite of mine. Today's songs were Top 40 hits in their day - understandably so.



I'll Take You There



Respect Yourself

mulher do norte

Music from northern Brazil, performed by Nazaré Pereira. The song: Caixa de Sol