GLOBAL A GO-GO

ARTIST: Aziz Sahmaoui & University Of Gnawa
TITLE: Mazal
LABEL: World Village
Aziz Sahmaoui is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from France via Morocco who founded the excellent pan-Maghrebi ensemble Orchestre National De Barbes and went on to join Joe Zawinul’s jazz group as a percussionist. This is Aziz’s second album as bandleader and it’s every bit as good as his debut, which was one of my favorite releases of 2013 (the year it gained American distribution). Certainly Moroccan gnawa is an influence here, but this isn’t trance music at all – Aziz wrote all but one of the songs and his tuneful material sounds as close to chaabi (Moroccan pop), Kabyle (Berber) music or even French chanson as to gnawa on tracks like 1, 4 and 9. The core of University of Gnawa is three Senegalese musicians: Herve Samb on guitar, Cheikh Diallo on piano and kora, and Alioune Wade on bass. This nimble trio has the chops to create the deep gnawa grooves of tracks 6 and 8 and the flexibility to put across the more melodic material just as effectively. Aziz sticks to strings here (with Adhil Mirghani joining on percussion) and excels throughout on mandol and ngoni. This is a unique band with a compelling sound, well worth your attention.
TOP TRACKS: 1 4 6 8 9
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 2 7 10 11 12

ARTIST: Rebel Tumbao
TITLE: Rebel Tumbao
LABEL: Sacred Rhythm
Rebel Tumbao is a project originally conceived by Jose Claussell and Matt Jenson way back in 2002 based on their shared interest in deep groove music and the fight for social justice. It’s been a long time in the making, but their debut album is finally here. And it starts with a roar: the first four songs are probably as good as anything I’m going to hear all year. The music is equal parts salsa, Latin soul, reggae and jazz – the band flips between them on a dime and fuses them ingeniously. Track 1, about the new slavery of consumer credit, sounds like Gil Scott Heron fronting Eddie Palmieri’s Harlem River Drive. 2 is a Bob Marley song (one of five Marley tunes here) that morphs from reggae to salsa right before your eyes. Speaking of Bob, track 3 links him and John Coltrane so naturally that you’re left wondering how no one thought of this before. And 4 turns Marley’s protest song into a powerful Afro-Latin suite. Nothing on the rest of the album compares to those first four songs, but that’s too high of a bar for just about anybody. Kudos to all involved, especially singer Toussaint “The Liberator” Yeshua, who is superb throughout.
TOP TRACKS: 1 2 3 4
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 5 6 9 11

ARTIST: Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band
TITLE: Juguya
LABEL: Sublime Frequencies
The Sublime Frequencies label is best known for its audio verite recordings and for reissues from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Recently they’ve dipped their toe into releasing studio recordings of current artists, most famously Omar Souleyman. Now they have another winner in Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band from Burkina Faso in West Africa. They’re a soulful, gritty, funky band, playing a variety of local rhythms with the forward thrust of Afrobeat and the attitude of rock ‘n’ roll. Baba Commandant has a gravelly voice that growls and moans like Howlin’ Wolf or Moussa Doumbia (the James Brown of Mali); his donso ngoni (West African hunters’ harp) playing provides the harmonic center for stinging guitar and saxophone solos that occasionally spiral out into space like free jazz and are brought back to earth by an in-the-pocket rhythm section of bass guitar and drum kit. Is this folk music, pop or jazz? Yes, it’s all of the above and then some. The recording is basic and spends more time in the red than a pro might recommend – it sounds just like they must sound in a sweaty little nightclub. This is the real sound of Africa today – don’t miss it.
TOP TRACKS: 1 3 5 6 8
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 2 4 7

ARTIST: E.N Young
TITLE: Live Love Stay Up
LABEL: Roots Musician
E.N Young is a busy young San Diego-based reggae musician – he sings and writes songs, plays keyboards and melodica in the band Tribal Seeds, runs his own record label, and produces and engineers at his own recording studio. His second album as a solo artist is an impressive display of his various talents. There are nine songs, with three versions of each: original, acoustic and dub. The key element here is the songs: the writing is excellent, showing a deep understanding of the roots reggae tradition, packed with strong melodies and unrelentingly conscious, uplifting lyrics. The arrangements are simple and spacious, and mercifully light on the digitalization that is making reggae indistinguishable from other pop genres – everything here sounds handmade. My favorite is 2, with a simple set-up featuring Young’s comping piano replacing the scratching guitar typical of reggae, a lovely melodica solo, and relaxed vocals. 7’s melody is based on the Fiddler On The Roof overture (seriously), 1 has some mellow toasting and horn playing, and 8 is the set’s ballad, apparently written on ukulele. This is strong, tuneful contemporary roots reggae.
TOP TRACKS: 1 2 7 8
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 5 6 9

ARTIST: Red Baraat
TITLE: Gaadi Of Truth
LABEL: Sinj
Red Baraat is one the most unique, explosive bands in America today. Led by dhol (double-headed Indian drum) player Sunny Jain, this 8-piece ensemble puts bhangra music into a whole new context: all horns and drums, they’re a desi brass band that draws as much on jazz, funk, hip hop and DC go-go as on any music from the subcontinent. Their new album, ten original compositions and two remixes, sees them taking this one-of-a-kind fusion even farther out than previously. Start with the title track (1), a rumination on “touring while multi-ethnic,” if one can be said to ruminate with horns blaring and drums pounding. 2 slows down the frantic tempo briefly; it’s like a New Orleans brass band sprinkled with garam masala. Track 5 starts out closely aligned with the Rajasthani brass band tradition, but gradually morphs into Dixieland hot-jazz-style polyphonic improvisation. 10 features a funky syncopated tuba line, solo space for just about everyone, and a wild double-time ending. And 12 is a lovely, atmospheric Karsh Kale remix of jungle-influenced track 7 that improves on the original. Get the album, and make sure to see them live while you’re at it.
TOP TRACKS: 1 2 5 10 12
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 4 7 8 9

ARTIST: Dengue Fever
TITLE: The Deepest Lake
LABEL: Tuk Tuk
Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever is back with the sixth full-length album of their now 14-year career, and it’s their best one yet. That’s saying something for a band who’ve made my annual top ten twice already. The band’s roots are in pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodian rock, and my favorite track here (3) is an original that harkens back to the days when they were covering Ros Sereysothea. But Dengue Fever’s sound has deepened and (especially) thickened since then – track 3 is a frothy, delicious concoction of swirly organ, twangy guitar, funky bass and drums, a John Doe/Exene-esque joint lead vocal and a far-out sax solo. It’s a near-perfect pop song. And that’s just one of a half-dozen small masterpieces here: the exotic track 4, a supernatural tale (in Khmer) about late LA artist Mike Kelley; soulful, yearning 5; sweetly off-kilter 6; high-anxiety 8, ready for immediate chase-scene use; and the equally epic, cinematic 2 (about the meth house across the street from the band’s studio) which features singer Chhom Nimol’s first Khmer rapping. It’s too late to call these guys neo-Cambodian or neo-psych. They’re their own thing now: simply the best rock band in America.
TOP TRACKS: 2 3 4 5 6 8
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 1 7 9 10

https://luminatofestival.com/festival/2013/dakhabrakha

April's Global A Go-Go picks:

Ukrainian "ethno-chaos" combo DakhaBrakha (pictured above), who wowed a Richmond audience in November, return to the region on Thursday April 2 with a performance at DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Amazing Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux makes a rare appearance in the USA on Wednesday April 15 at the Black Cat in DC
The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, who must be heard to be believed, visit Strathmore in Bethesda on Sunday April 26

Have an event you'd like me to include, or a suggestion for the concert calendar? Just drop me a line at globalagogoradio [at] gmail [dot] com, or leave me a message right here.

Click "Read more" to see the entire April calendar.

Wednesday Apr 1
Tribal Seeds, The Movement & Leilani Wolfgramm at the Jefferson Theater (Charlottesville)
http://www.jeffersontheater.com/events

Thursday Apr 2
DakhaBrakha at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue (DC)
http://www.sixthandi.org/events/category/arts-entertainment/music

Friday Apr 3
Galactic at the 9:30 Club (DC)
http://www.930.com/concerts

Saturday Apr 4
Rattlemouth at Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream (Richmond)
http://www.crossroadsrva.com/calendar.html

Galactic at the 9:30 Club (DC)
http://www.930.com/concerts

Dom La Nena at Artisphere (Arlington)
http://www.artisphere.com/calendar/music.aspx

Wednesday Apr 8
Morgan Heritage at the Howard Theatre (DC)
http://thehowardtheatre.com/calendar

Thursday Apr 9
Tamagawa University Taiko Drumming and Dance Troupe at Freer Gallery of Art (DC)
http://www.asia.si.edu/events/performances.asp

Saturday Apr 11
William & Mary Middle Eastern Music Ensemble with Kareem Rouston at Kimball Theatre (Williamsburg)
https://events.wm.edu/calendar/upcoming/arts

Tuesday Apr 14
Eliane Elias at the Hamilton (DC)
http://live.thehamiltondc.com/listing

Wednesday Apr 15
Ana Tijoux at the Black Cat (DC)
http://www.blackcatdc.com/schedule.html

Thursday Apr 16
Fatoumata Diawara at Artisphere (Arlington)
http://www.artisphere.com/calendar/music.aspx

Friday Apr 17
Hotel X at Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream (Richmond)
http://www.crossroadsrva.com/calendar.html

Caravan Of Thieves at Ashland Coffee & Tea (Ashland)
http://www.artisphere.com/calendar/music.aspx

Ocean Celtic at Creative Cauldron (Falls Church)
http://www.creativecauldron.org/passport_2015_249.html

Thursday Apr 23
Jarabe De Palo at the Howard Theatre (DC)
http://thehowardtheatre.com/calendar

UVa Klezmer Ensemble with Daniel Kahn and Jake Shulman-Ment at Old Cabell Hall (Charlottesville)
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Friday Apr 24
Gilberto Gil at Lisner Auditorium (DC)
http://lisner.gwu.edu/events

Plena Libre at Artisphere (Arlington)
http://www.artisphere.com/calendar/music.aspx

Saturday Apr 25
Ute Lemper in Forever: The Love Poems Of Pablo Neruda at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue (DC)
http://www.sixthandi.org/events/category/arts-entertainment/music

Kamel Zennia at Creative Cauldron (Falls Church)
http://www.creativecauldron.org/passport_2015_249.html

African Music and Dance at Old Cabell Hall (Charlottesville)
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Sunday Apr 26
Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain at Strathmore (Bethesda)
http://www.strathmore.org/eventstickets/calendar.asp