seeline

good points.

Just found this site - it looks like it's got some terrific info. (and more). A Great Day in Lima - Black and Criollo Music Chronicle

Both albums are a great starting point... I really like the 1st one. (Luaka Bop, issued 1995.)

Peru Negro - African Music of the Andes (from NPR).

what he said!

if these guys were doing things by the book *and* acknowledging others' contributions, i'd have no objections.

anyone who does a little googling will find this thread with no difficulty.

i doubt this will ever be posted on Amazon, or I might...

Has anyone seen Jim Alfredson or other members of Organissimo asking for positive reviews on Amazon.com and other sites? When you put something out there - a book, recording, whatever - not everybody is going to like it. Part of putting the music (or book) out there is learning to live with the negative reviews and comments. They will come along, regardless of how good, bad or indifferent the "product" is. It's all part of the game - or business. Same with restaurants, bakeries, clothing companies, and so on. But people usually don't rush to defend big corporations. I got one too many requests to review CDs made by friends and acquaintances, and not all of them understood why I declined. Doesn't matter, though i was surprised by those who didn't understand how my knowing them might bias both their expectations as well as my writing. When people start posting positive (or negative) reviews within a tight time frame, it's kind of obvious that there's something going on, and people can see that... no matter how heartfelt the opinions of the writers might be. it's a strategy used by the major labels on a regular basis, although you'd think they would know better...

Ptah, I do think there is something wrong with the kind of promotion that happens on sites like Amazon (and others) when friends want friends to vote their product up. If someone is giving an honest opinion - positive or negative - fine, but to start a thread about how someone "trashed" an album (when they actually didn't) and then have people rushing to post positive reviews and vote down the so-called "trashing" ... I dunno. Call me old-fashioned if you want, but I just don't think it's right. (I will plead guilty to the charge of "former music journalist," though.)

I have a comment on the following tracklist (from the link in the OP) - at least 3 of these people either are (or were) leading lights of Peruvian music in general. Eva Ayllón is no secret - you can find plenty of vids on Youtube, and she tours all over the world. As for Peru Negro (dance/music company) and Caitro Soto, ditto. You can find plenty of vids of *them* on Youtube, too. Chabuca Granda died not long before Bryne's comp hit big in the US, but she is famous in Latin America. And... you can find instructional vids (and much more) for Peruvian-style cajon all over Youtube. There are also younger musicians - like the collective known as NovaLima - who are getting to be pretty popular, even up here in "gringolandia." and fwiw, Celia Cruz and other NY salseros recorded "Toro Mata" (though in very sped-up arrangements, compared to the way it's played in Peru) back in the 1970s and 80s. Yeah, really, truly "unknown" music. (I could go on about Lucila Campos, Susana Baca and others, but you can track them down on Amazon and Luaka Bop...) [/rant over] I would like to know if this guy is paying any royalties to the artists?! see also There has been a lot of controversy recently - among and about some music bloggers (in the latter case, crate diggers) - re. this kind of crate-digging, unauthorized reissues and whether the artists (in Africa and Latin america) are getting anything from unauthorized US and European releases. I'm not gonna hold my breath on this one - all of the artists they cite have had recording contracts - many do now! - and I'm very upset to see their older releases used in this way. He doesn't say anywhere that he got their consent! And since Chabuca Granda is dead, I doubt she was able to consent to having her side reissued. I have no problem with getting exposure for artists whose work deserves to be heard, but for cryin' out loud - do it right.

hey, I added to that comment. see above.

It's no different than all the people who ask their friends to review their latest album, hoping for all kinds of positive remarks. Which is, as stated just above, unethical. I was surprised to see this thread here, too, but... Amazon.com and other sites like it are full of "reviews" by friends and relatives - and authors and artists as well, hyping their own work under fake names. (There was a glitch a few years back that revealed a lot of embarrassing self-hyping comments in the book "reviews"; I've seen a few myself, but in those cases, the people who wrote the comments are people I actually know.) Swarming a site - even if in support of a friend - is never a good idea, imo.

Very much agreed.

I think Lobi toured with him (and recorded with him) because it gave his own music and playing some exposure, not because the guy is any good...

Agreed! I think the "almost unknown" thing is PR writing myself - I mean, there's that David Bryne comp (as you mentioned) that got tons of press and sold really well when it came out. But that was over 10 years ago, so I guess the publicist figures they can reinvent the wheel (or some such).

Wow, didn't know that - thanks for the info.! There are lots of videos of him on Youtube, touring with a European blues guitarist. That's not really my cuppa.

They're doing a great job - to date, I'm mostly familiar with their ensemble percussion albums (for me to learn from), but I love both Lobi Traore (who died far too young, last year) and Zani Diabate, so I'll be ordering those discs in due course. (Interesting that Lobi's session for them is acoustic, since he mostly played electric on gigs.) There's some fine material on Lobi in Banning Eyre's book In Griot Time (out of print, but you can get it from Banning directly at http://www.banningeyre.com/pages/igt_index.html ).

Regarding the Jack Paar clip: I've never heard anyone else take a slightly down-tempo approach to that song (Surrey with the Fringe on Top). In this, I think she anticipated Shirley Horn's ultra-slowed-down delivery. That performance just plain works, on all levels.

Her phrasing - nice.

Indeed. They're *all* worth buying new, really. (3 of my favorite albums.)

yeah... the albums you want to hear are "Coisas," "Ouro Negro" and "Choros & Alegrias." (The latter two are available in U.S. pressings, though Moacir didn't play on either of them ... both are marvelous, though.) Coisas is, unfortunately, out of print, but you might be able to pick up a used copy of the CD reissue.

Very true, but I think this is one of many reasons why people came... and went, for that matter. J.G. and his wife Miucha were here for a while, then went back; ditto for Joyce and her husband, drummer Tutty Moreno. I'm sure they're not the only ones. Are you thinking of the Som da Gente label, maybe? I didn't know that Hermeto had his own label back in the day, though it seems that he does now... but I might very well be misremembering this. Moacir: yes, it's true. He talked about some of them at length in one of the pieces I linked to above. I know Brazilians who would say that Brazilian Portuguese is partly a product of strong African influence, though... it certainly sounds much different than European Portuguese. As for other African influences (in music itself), of course! (Agreed completely on choro music as well.) I think she was unique, definitely. Wow!!! You're a very lucky guy, Mike. (I got to hear Hermeto and his band in 1988; it was an unforgettable experience.) Absolutely yes. I think Moacir has had more influence than anyone realizes.

Hermeto & Elis (same gig) - funny *and* some really incredible phrasing (starts a bit past the halfway mark) -

Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo, c. 1986... (Hermeto is on keys.) Hermeto & Elis at Montreux (late 70s)...