On the edge of the Amazon in the 1960s, a sound emerged that united Peru’s indigenous melodies with Colombia’s highly-danceable cumbia rhythm, surf rock wah-wah pedals, and rock and roll’s organ-playing. These cumbias amazonicas migrated to Lima and became chicha, the soundtrack of empowerment for the era’s newly urbanized indigenous population. The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru on Barbès Records features six of the most compelling bands from the scene, before the sound became watered down with pop aesthetics and cheesy synthesizers.
Chicha emerged around the time of Peru’s big oil boom and the associated rural-urban migration (and dislocation) of the time period. This happened to be the same period that guitar effects and compact electric organs became available, and worldwide local styles became electrified. Rural populations moved into the city, often living in poor conditions while adopting Western and urban musical elements to create new hybrids. As the music gained popularity, it became a great source of cultural (and even class) pride. In Peru this emerging style assumed the label chicha, the name of a fermented corn drink associated with pre-Columbian indigenous people in the region.
Chicha is further characterized by the rich guitar tradition of Peru (some say more virtuosic than any other Latin American nation) which was translated to electric guitars. While other styles of music – like Andean folkloric and Afro-Peruvian music – became accepted by the powers that be in Peru, chicha was looked down upon by many as only for the poor and working class.
Oliver Conan, owner of the Barbés nightclub and record label, discovered the music on a trip to Peru. He also discovered that the label that put out a lot of the music had gone bankrupt and many of the master recordings were lost. He finally tracked down six Chicha combos – los Mirlos, Juaneco y Su Combo, los Hijos del Sola, los Destellos, los Diablos Rojos and Eusebio y Su Banjo – and put together this 17-track compilation. The results were unique, recalling the cultural history of other regional working-class music like ska and bachata.
Sérgio and Odair Assad’s Nonesuch album Jardim Abandonado (Abandoned Garden) was apparently in the pipeline for some time; part of it was recorded in 2002 and the rest in 2006. This mixed programme of works ranging from Debussy to music written by Sergio Assad’s daughter Clarice was certainly worth the wait. This beautifully recorded album, with a breathtaking photograph by French master Eugène Atget gracing its front cover, is eminently listenable and seamlessly moves through works of Jobim, Milhaud, Debussy, and Sérgio Assad’s arrangement of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ without missing a beat. Among the most striking aspects of Jardim Abandonado is the selection of contemporary pieces included, which are sunk in among the more familiar stuff – three radiant duets by Clarice Assad, a bracing and rhythmically palpitating long form piece by Sérgio Assad himself, and an instrumental work entitled ‘Octet’ written by Broadway composer Adam Guettel.
Proving that no challenge is beyond the incredible crate-diggers at Far Out, in time for the World Cup they’ve put together a selection of songs celebrating the beautiful game, all from a Brazilian perspective. Kicking off with Grupo Batuque’s “Umbabaraumba,” a song previously made famous by Jorge Ben in the 1970s, a swinging bossa-nova underpinned by a bluesy guitar riff and stuffed full of breezy funk.
Sultry, seductive and infused with that inimitable samba swing, the music of Luísa Maita embodies the modern spirit of Brazil. Inspired by the bustling urban life found in her native city of São Paulo, Lero-Lero has a contemporary vibe with influences from alternative pop and downtempo electronic music melded with an acoustic foundation deeply rooted in samba, bossa nova and MPB. Fans of Bebel Gilberto, Céu and Seu Jorge will find much to love in Luísa Maitas tropical, forward-looking sound, and her sensual yet soulful voice begs comparisons with everyone from Billie Holiday and Sade to Feist, St. Vincent and Cat Power. Hailing from a country overflowing with musical talent, Luísa Maita rises above the fray as one of the most promising young singers of her generation. Cumbancha Discovery will release Lero-Lero on 21 June 2010 in the United Kingdom. This should be your soundtrack to the summer.
Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears) is a collaborative effort between the octogenarian Cuban piano master Bebo Valdés and the reigning Spanish flamenco cantador, Dieguito El Cigala. Recorded for Fernando Trueba and Nat Chediak’s Calle 54 label, the sessions took place in Madrid between September and December 2002. Maestro Valdés (born in 1918), the father of the jazz pianist Chucho, has a long history as an innovator in Cuban music. He recorded the first Afro-Cuban jazz session in 1952, and was a tutor to the great bandleader Beny Moré, writing early charts for him. Valdés is also a world-class arranger. Dieguito El Cigala was born in 1960, and has become the undisputed king of Spain’s flamenco singers. This recording features nine tracks that meld together cooking son, jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and flamenco rhythms, in tunes by composers such as Lolita de la Colina, Virgilio and Homero Expósito, Ramón Perelló, the grand team of Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, Caetano Veloso (who makes a guest appearance), Maria Teresa Vera, Miguel Matamoros (who composed the title track), and others. Most are Cuban ballads. Guests such as Veloso, Paquito D’Rivera, Pancho Terry, Tata Güines, and El Niño Josele fall by on different tracks. And while the tunes are top-shelf and the guests make this a very special and historic occasion, it is the unusual dynamic and the integrity with which it is employed that makes this set so unique. Valdés’ style is an elegant one; his rhythmic left hand accents rhythms and shifts them effortlessly, adding street and nuance here, space and tension there. Always his notes are sure, precise, and solid. El Cigala’s voice is a true cantador’s; he wavers, lilts, growls, and gutturally moans; he slips between rhythms and melodies, underscoring first one and then another, using the rhythms to sing counterpoint to the piano’s stridency and sheer graceful approach in the ballads, shouting assent and further challenges on the up-tempo songs. Together, the combination is its own moving poetry, meeting in the middle of a tradition as old as flamenco’s “cante jondo” and as integrated as Cuba’s. The sacred and profane dine and drink together and no one will say which is which. All nine songs offer differing emphases on lyric and rhythm, all offer variant harmonic concerns, but they all contain the spirit of the “duende.” While there isn’t a mediocre second on this album and all of the performances are breathtaking, “Lágrimas Negras” and “Corazón Loco” are clear standouts. Highly recommended.
For many years, instrumentalist Jorge Strunz has had a very multicultural outlook. That was evident when he was with the late ’70s jazz-fusion band Caldera, and it was equally evident on the ’80s, ’90s, and 00s albums that the Costa Rica native recorded with Iranian guitarist Ardeshir Farah as half of the acoustic guitar duo Strunz & Farah. Thankfully, Strunz’s multiculturalism doesn’t decrease a bit on his solo album Neotropical Nocturnes, which isn’t a radical departure from Strunz & Farah’s output. Strunz brings so many different influences to this 2010 release (Hispanic as well as Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African) that categorization is difficult. Perhaps the most convenient description of Neotropical Nocturnes would be nuevo flamenco. Certainly, Spanish flamenco guitar is a prominent influence on this 47-minute recording, but Strunz is by no means a flamenco purist – and he never claimed to be. In fact, the term “nuevo flamenco” implies that one isn’t getting traditional flamenco, but rather, a hybrid mixture of flamenco and other styles. There are many influences on Neotropical Nocturnes other than flamenco, including Colombian cumbia on “La Finca,” Peruvian landó on “Cielo Playero,” and Afro-Cuban music on “La Finca.” Meanwhile, “Zambraya” draws on both flamenco and Arabic music, which makes sense because flamenco’s Moorish heritage is still evident after all these years. But despite having all those different influences, Neotropical Nocturnes never sounds confused or unfocused. Strunz is an expert when it comes to bringing a variety of influences together and making things sound totally organic rather than forced or unnatural. Those who admired Strunz’ work with Ardeshir Farah will be glad to know that his multicultural perspective serves him equally well on Neotropical Nocturnes.
Produced once more by his New York neighbour Arto Lindsay, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Cantuaria’s latest album – launched with a concert at London’s Barbican last Tuesday – returns to the laid-back, drifting samba-jazz with which he made his name.
Argentine Federico Aubele is first and foremost a guitar player. But inspired by artists as diverse as avant-garde tango composer Astor Piazzolla, Wes Montgomery, and Thievery Corporation, he set out to create a solo record that crossed electronica, dub, and Latin guitar music while capturing the sound and feeling of Buenos Aires. The resulting album, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires – actually produced by Thievery Corporation and released on their label, ESL – is like the reverse image of trip-hop. Aubele’s songs are atmospheric, driven by sampled beats, and even employ scratching in some cases, but unlike trip-hop, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires is sunny, free-spirited, and celebratory. Always at the centre of tracks like “Ante Tus Ojos” and “Despertar” is Aubele’s hypnotic guitar. Around that he collages an entire band worth of instruments and samples and, finally, sultry female vocals sung by friends of Aubele from Buenos Aires. The format seems ultimately liberating, allowing Aubele the ability to masterfully apply solid hip-hop beats to jazzy Latin numbers and to allow what could be Argentine folk songs to drift into the realm of electronic ambience and dub (the beautiful “Diario de Viaje”). Gran Hotel Buenos Aires is a wholly brilliant album and Federico Aubele may be to Argentina what Sigur Rós is to Iceland: the most forward-thinking and experimental artist to capture the sound of his homeland’s cultural, symbolic, and physical geography. 
Regions like Rio de Janeiro or Bahia may be better known musically, but the state of Pernambuco is a veritable cauldron of musical innovation. Chico Science, Luiz Gonzaga and Lenine as just three examples of an area teeming with musical talent. 
Sometimes you see a performance that just makes you sit up and listen. This piece by bass gitarist