Written by Michael Polychronis
Lucas Santtana: O Paraíso (No Format, 2023)
The 54-year-old Brazilian Lucas Santtana, in his ninth album, chooses once again to flirt with the classic sound of Gilberto Gil, the bossa nova of the 60s, and the sounds of chanson, also nodding to his French audience!
Itzhak Ventura: Aligned (Riverboat Records, 2022)
There is a sense of a primal nucleus in the music of Israeli Itzhak Ventura. The ney as the leading instrument embraces the entire southeastern Mediterranean with its simple play, which nevertheless doesn’t hide his love for jazz-rock arrangements. So, without boundaries, as long as you respect the source! And here, Ventura proves it vividly!
Togo All Stars: Fa (Excelsior Recordings, 2022)
“I don’t like to sing ‘Mama Africa’. I hate ‘We are the world’,” says Dodji Oshe, the vocalist of Togo All Stars. Since 2018, when they started recording, they honor the roots and not the superficial gloss. Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, ethiopiques are some of their references, and here! With the sound of West Africa in their second of three albums, they dedicate their music “to those young Africans who die every day in the Mediterranean with faint hopes for a better world somewhere else.”
Vusi Mahlasela, Norman Zulu and Jive Connection: Face To Face (Strut records, 2023)
A reissue of a great collaboration from 2002 between South African singer Vusi Mahlasela, songwriter Norman Zulu, and the Swedish jazz-rock band Jive Connection. Let’s not forget that Sweden took the lead in abolishing apartheid, so Nelson Mandela visited the country immediately after his release! Vusi’s lyrics deal with this need for freedom. Afrobeat, jazz, soul, reggae, and post-punk in a fresh yet classic album recorded in 1994 and recently found in the archives of producer Torsten Larsson!
Kimi Djabaté: Dindin {Cumbancha, 2023}
At almost 50 years old, Kimi Djabate shares a musical surname that has contributed a lot to African culture in recent decades. Based in Lisbon, but his artistic soul springs from Guinea and more specifically from the Mandingo tradition. Active in recording since 2005, in only his fourth album, he shares his kindly baritone tone with jazz-rock guitars, kora, balafon, and gentle gumbe rhythms.
Listen to more choices from the albums here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2d1chdSYYVLKIKqO4FdXAB
