[Music] Daymé Arocena – Trilogía

Daymé Arocena is the most important artist to come out of Cuba since Celia Cruz, and this is not hyperbole.  She will be seen among the legends of Cuban music if she continues on her trajectory.

I’m looking forward to her latest album, Sonocardiogram, to come out in September of this year. In the meantime, she saw fit to release this EP containing three tracks from that album which give a taste of the World Music stew she’s become famous for. Rhumba, Latin Jazz and other styles flow together effortlessly, reminding one of the more fusion-y elements of Miles Davis while he was working with Hermeto Pascoal. ¡Sabor!, indeed!

[Sample] Verckys et l´Orchestre Vévé – Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969​-​1978

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1448801674/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

The Internet is a treasure trove which never ceases to amaze. Thanks to the enterprising souls over at Analog Africa, a brilliant reissue label from Germany, we get to here these long-forgotten wonders from the country formerly known as Zaïre, now the Democratic Republic of The Congo.

[Video] Franco & O.K. Jazz – On Entre O.K., On Sort K.O.

Welcome back, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve bothered to post anything here due to traveling and work obligations. Time to make this little labor of love a bit more active!

We start out by posting a classic rhumba-and-calypso-influenced tune from what was then the Belgian Congo, then Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of The Congo). The bank, O.K. Jazz, were one of the finest exporters of this type of sound in South-Central Africa, and they gave the world one of the true giants of African music, the guitarist François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, know to his legions of admirers simply as Franco.