News: November 2006
Posted November 14, 2006Following the showcase of Georgian ensemble THE SHIN at the WOMEX world music get-together in Sevilla en of October, 23 agents and festival programmers passed by the stand of German label Jaro right on the next day. As a result, amongst many others the group now has a French touring agent with Blue Line and will certainly be visiting our shores in 2007. The album is due for release beginning of 2007, with distribution by Abeille Musique.
Also on Jaro, the Warsaw Village Band should have a new album ready for release in spring 2007. Amongst the tentative touring schedule is an evening in Paris with a double billing with the great musicians from Tuva (Central Asia) Huun Huur Tu. That should be an exquisite sequence of music to relish for all lovers of extraordinary sounds.
At WOMEX, we also learned that the Rumanians of the Fanfare Ciocarlia on Asphalt Tango will have a new album ready for the spring 2007, containing a number of great vocal collaborations. More about this as soon as the album is “in the can”.
Again at WOMEX, the Piranha act Cargo Orkestar lead by Darko Rundek conquered the audience on the last evening of the event. The band should be on stage in Paris before the end of the year, and several international promoters expressed interest. Also present at the WOMEX event was the extraordinary and endearing Maurice el Medioni, for once not with his piano, but to reply to the questions of French journalist François Bensignor at a specially organized press conference. He retraced his musical carreer and his life, as now the last artist at work of the brilliant arab-jewish scene which was so creative in Algeria in the 50ies. His concert in Paris on January 25, at the Museum of Art and History of Judaism will be a great event. He will be with the cream of Latin American musicians based in Paris to present the music of his Piranha album “Descarga Oriental”.
Cuban pianist Omar Sosa album “LIVE AT FIP” is off to a great start in France. FIP is a national radio station with only music, no jingles and very little editorial content and a large and loyal audience, which also organises very successful concerts in La Maison de la Radio, home in Paris of all public and national French radio stations. The album was recorded live at one of those concerts a year ago, before the demise of the brilliant Cuban percussionist Angà Diaz. Omar and Anga had been playing together and inspiring each other for a number of years, but had never recorded together. This album is a precious reminder of a great musical collaboration, and a great Cuban jazz record. Omar will be on France Inter, the biggest public national station on November 25 at 8 pm for an interview and a live performance in Trio with Childo Tomas and Steve Argüelles.
Young pianist Michael Wollny finishes the year in beauty here in France ; after the “CHOC” award for his new album in trio formation, “[em] II”, awarded by French magazine “Jazzman”, his second album with saxophonist Heinz Sauer, “Certain Beauty”, is going to receive the “CHOC de l’année 2006” which is given to the ten best albums of the year by JazzMan, the most read jazz monthly here.
The brilliant duo will be performing two concerts in France this month: on the 24th November in Paris, at the Hungarian Institute and on the 25th of November at the Goethe Institute of Nancy.
Last not least, several self-produced albums by artists signed for publishing with Métisse Music are now available for download at the French based world music website Mondomix, following an agreement between the platform and Métisse Music. You will discover music by Ghetto Blaster from Africa, by Beatriz Azevedo from Brasil, by the French duo Man, by Israeli artist of the world Sara Alexander, and much more good music not that easy to find on the store racks, at least in Europe.