The International Listening Library
The following selections have been added to library’s music thanks to the generosity of the Hickman PTSA. Social studies teachers and students are welcome to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the wide variety of geographical areas covered by this collection. We hope to add many more in the near future; please contact the curator at povereem@columbia.k12.mo.us with comments and suggestions.
Asia Classics 1: Dance Raja Dance—The South Indian Film Music of Vijaya Anand (Luaka Bop) “Anand's synthesizers…are obviously world music, and this very rock-era composer, dubbed Jude Matthew by his Catholic schoolteacher father and Victory Ecstasy by himself, is a pomo dream…. [I]n a classic pop meld of artistic innovation and audience appetite, he'll try anything. He doesn't exploit a Vegas-soul horn chart or Indian mode or bluegrass run or Eurodisco beat or the anonymous ur-soprano of a thousand previous soundtracks or any of countless other distinct usages, strings included, because it'd make a cool juxtaposition. He just thinks it'd sound good there, and most of the time he's right.” Robert Christgau, The Village Voice and www.robertchristgau.com
1. Aatavu Chanda
2. Naane Maharaja
3. Aase Hechchagide
4. Prema Rudaayade
5. Neeva Nanna
6. Ellellu Preethi
7. Ba Ennalu
8. I Love You Yenthare
9. Dheem Thana Thana Nana
10. Nalleya Savimathe
11. Yerida Gunginalli
Ensemble Nipponia: Japan—Kabuki & Other Traditional Music (Nonesuch/Explorer) “This…CD by the well-known Japanese ensemble Ensemble Nipponia is the re-release of a LP first released in 1980 by Nonesuch in their collection on Japanese music. In the first half of this CD, we hear pieces and songs of the well-known Japanese kabuki theater, in the style called nagauta (which means "long song"). Nagauta is not the only style used in kabuki, but is the most important and most appropriately adapted to stage actions, providing dance accompaniment, songs, and background music. The ensemble usually comprises singers, shamisen players, percussionists, and a shinobue player (a small bamboo transverse flute). In the second half of the CD, we can here other traditional pieces from the classical repertoire, such a piece for two shakuhachi, an episode of the well-known Japanese epic "Tale of Heike," the singer accompanying herself on the biwa (the Japanese four-string lute), and ending with two modern compositions, one for a 20-string koto and one for shinobue and percussions. A well deserved re-edition from quite surely the best Japanese ensemble.” Bruno Deschênes, www.allmusic.com
1. Echigojishi
2. Ataka No Matsu
3. Musume Dojoji
4. Kanjincho
5. Shirabe-Sagariha
6. Atsumori
7. Hanayagi
8. Satto
Gilberto Gil: “Um Banda Um” (WEA Latina) “…[I]t still disturbs me that no one has worked this Brazilian item in the U.S. Already a dozen albums to the good, Gil converted me utterly at a recent Beacon concert with tunes I'd never heard before yet will know by heart when he brings them back, and most of these are the same way. Usually I play side one, the perfect upful morning groove, but when I turned it over to make sure I hadn't been kidding myself, old friends sashayed out of the speaker and shook my hand. We'll meet again.” Robert Christgau, The Village Voice and www.robertchristgau.com
1. Um Banda Um
2. Afoxe E
3. Metafora
4. Deixar Voce
5. Pula, Caminha
6. Andar Com Fe
7. Drao
8. Esoterica
9. Minina Do Sonho
10. E Menina
11. Nossa
Oruc Guvenc & Tumata: Ocean of Remembrance—Sufi Improvisations and Zhikrs (Cinnabar) “Guvenc is a clinical psychologist, practicing musicologist, and Sufi sheik who heads his own department of music therapy at a med school in Istanbul. He's also a warm, intent, unvirtuosic, spiritually contained singer who plays ney (a flute), oud (a lute), and rebab (a three-stringed fiddle). He and his three associates recorded these six pieces during a blizzard in western Massachusetts while fasting for Ramadan. All six are zhikrs, recitations of God's names. Their distinct rhythms are mesmeric rather than exciting, and while they're not the healing music that is Guvenc's lifework, I can testify that they helped get me through a 101-degree fever--and that I love them when I'm straight as well. Sample-ready: the chanted breaths that take over "Allah, Allah, Allah" about 10 minutes in.” Robert Christgau, The Village Voice and www.robertchristgau.com
1. Bismillah ar-Rahman
2. La illaha il Allah
3. Ali Gordum
4. Allah, Allah, Allah
5. Veysel Qarani
6. Alhamdulillah
The Indestructible Beat of Soweto (Shanachie) “'60s Africa found the Zulu and Sotho beginning to incorporate the influences of African American R&B, jazz, and blues into their traditional, indigenous music. New styles such as township jazz, pennywhistle street music, Kwela, and marabi were formed. Eventually, these myriad styles coalesced to create a new hybrid pop music that came to be known as mbaqanga. Though mbaqanga employs the traditional instrumentation of Western pop (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals), the approach to song structure and rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic phrasing is uniquely African.
“Recorded between 1981 and 1984,
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BEAT OF SOWETO is the first (and arguably the best) of a
slew of South African pop recordings that soon followed. Characterized by
insistent, rhythmically complex beats, elastic, burbling basslines, tight,
ska-sounding guitar accompaniment, and thick, multi-part vocals, this music is
as intriguing as it is appealing. Groups with such names as Udokotela Shange
Namajaha and Amaswazi Emvelo serve up bright, infectious melodies and
percussively insistent tracks that are clearly intended for dancing. Though
this "pop" may at first seem strange to Western ears, repeated
listens reveal its true nature: rich, individual, joyous, and simply wonderful
music.” (www.half.com)
“At once more hectically urban-upbeat
and more respectfully tribal-melodic than its jazzy and folky predecessors,
marabi and kwela, the mbaqanga this compilation celebrates is an awesome
cultural achievement. It confronts rural-urban contradictions far more painful
and politically fraught than any Memphis or Chicago migration, and thwarts
apartheid's determination to deny blacks not just a reasonable living but a
meaningful identity. Like all South African music it emphasizes voices, notably
that of the seminal "goat-voiced" "groaner" Mahlathini, who
in 1983 took his deep, penetrating sung roar, which seems to filter sound that
begins in his diaphragm through a special resonator in his larynx, back to the
studio with the original Mahotella Queens and the reconstituted Makgona Tsohle Band.
But with Marks Mankwane's sourcebook of guitar riffs hooking each number and
Joseph Makwela's unshakable bass leading the groove rather than stirring it up
reggae-style, it's also about a beat forthright enough to grab Americans yet
more elaborate than the r&b it evokes. The defiantly resilient and
unsentimental exuberance of these musicians has to be fully absorbed before it
can be believed, much less understood. They couldn't be more into it if they
were inventing rock and roll. And as a final benison, there's a hymn from
Ladysmith Black Mambazo.” Robert Christgau, The Village Voice and www.robertchristgau.com
1. Awungilobolele - Udokotela Shange Namajaha
2. Holotelani - Nelcy Sedibe
3. Qhude Manikiniki - Umahlathini Nabo
4. Indoda Yejazi Elimnyama - Amaswazi Emvelo
5. Emthonjeni Womculo - Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgoashiyo
6. Sobabamba - Udokotela Shange Namajaha
7. Qhwahilahe - Moses Mchunu
8. Thul'ulalele - Amaswazi Emvelo
9. Sini Lindile-Nganeziyamfisa No Khambalomvaleliso
10. Ngicabange Ngaqeda - Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgoashiyo
11. Joyce No. 2 - Johnson Mkhalali
12. Nansi Imali - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Khaled: N’ssi N’ssi (Mango) “Maybe he is Elvis for Arabs, but the analogy wouldn't ring true here even if we understood the words--even if we understood their tradition. The culture he rebels against is just too different from ours, especially in re sex and gender….” Robert Christgau, The Village Voice and www.half.com
1. Serbi Serbi
2. Kebou
3. Adieu
4. Chebba
5. Les Ailes
6. Alech Taadi
7. Bakhta
8. N'Ssi N'Ssi
9. Zine A Zine
10. Abdel Kader
11. El Marsem
The Klezmatics: Jews with Horns
Genre: Postmodern
Klezmer Music Year: 2002
KISS and Prince and KC and the Sunshine Band have nothing on these “Jews with horns,” who’ve taken traditional klezmer music, mixed in some post-modern ruckus, and come up with an exalted party music that’ll have the house hollerin’ in unison. While you’re dancing, watch out for their secret weapons: lyrics that comment cuttingly on society and politics at large. Especially recommended to fans of the People’s Republic of Klezmerica, Columbia’s own potent brand (which, by the features several Hickman and Rock Bridge grads). Their recent CD, Shalom, Y’All, is a pretty fair match for this one and will soon make the collection itself.
Playlist:
1. Man In A Hat
2. Fisherlid
3. Khsidim Tants
4. Simkhes-toyre
5. Romanian Fantasy
6. Bulgars / Kiss, The
7. Nign
8. Honga
9. In Kamf
10. Doyna
11. Freyt Aykh, Yidlekh
12. Kale Bazetsn
13. Heyser Tartar-tants
14. Es Vilt Zikh Mir Zen
15. Overture
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Rapture (Music Club) “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan epitomizes
qawwali music. The qawwal was developed by the sect of liberated mystics of
Sufism and is at once devotional and ecstatic. RAPTURE draws from recordings
Nusrat made in the 1980s and '90s, and showcases the breadth and scope of this
now legendary singer's repertoire, including pulsating, ancient religious
chants, and beautiful ghazals, or love songs.
“In the mid-1990s, Nusrat was exposed to
Western artists, including Madonna and Hootie And The Blowfish. Attempting to
assimilate this music, he performs one song on RAPTURE that includes a rock
backbeat, a pop melody, and even an electric guitar solo. The result is
compelling; "Sab Vird Karo Allah Allah" is more resonant and
affecting than many of the sources that inspired it. Other highlights include
the mesmerizing "Man Atkeia Beparwah De Naal," and the powerful
"Un Ka Andaz-E-Karam." (www.half.com)
1. Man Atkeya Beparwath De Naal
2. Sab Vird Karo Allah Allah
3. Sanson Ki Mala Peh Simroon Bhajan
4. Tumhen Dil Lagi Bhool Jani Paregee
5. Dam Dam Karo Fareed
6. Ghunghat Chuk O Sajnan Hun Sharman
7. Un Ka Andaz-E-Karam
Kings of African Music (Music Club) “African rhythms have provided the foundation of so much of the world's pop music, from blues and rock to reggae, funk, and rap, from jazz to salsa to hip-hop. Returning to Africa in their new pop clothes, these strains have, in turn, influenced African musicians, and have been, in effect, re-Africanized. No better example than Ali Farka Toure, whose spooky, bent-note guitar style (his "Hawa Dolo" is included here) sets American blues to stark calabash gourd percussion to create a kind of reformatted African blues. Senegal's Youssou N'Dour combines vague reggae underpinnings to a Curtis Mayfield-style vocal on "Mercy," the opening track on this collection. Other highlights include "Mhondoro" by the courageous Thomas Mapfumo, the Bob Marley of Zimbabwe. Mapfumo's mbira (thumb piano) playing is as explosive and expressive as any virtuoso on electric guitar. Manu Dibango's international hit "Big Blow" still sounds as hip as ever. Kanda Bongo Man's fast stepping and horn-driven "Zing Zong" also shines. This is a decent introduction to African pop, with most of the rough edges tucked away.” Steve Leggett, www.allmusic.com
1. Mercy - Youssou
N'Dour
2. Zing Zong - Kanda Bongo Man
3. Hawa Dolo - Ali Farka Toure
4. Tres Impoli - Franco
5. Kookokorobo - Papa Wemba
6. Demgalam - Baaba Maal
7. Den Te San - Kasse Mady Diabate
8. Zunguluke - The Four Stars
9. Big Blow - Manu Dibango
10. Mokete - Malhlathini
11. Jelebi - Ismael Lo
12. Mhondoro - Thomas Mapfumo
13. Andrada - Koffi Olomide
The Master Musicians of Jajouka (featuring Bachir Attar: Apocalypse
Across the Sky (Celluloid)
“This ensemble consists of 16 musicians plus an additional group of 6 women.
The primary instruments are the Tebel, a drum, and the Ghaita, a high-pitched
wind instrument. The music of Jajouka served as an inspiration to Brian Jones
of The Rolling Stones (among others), and was later featured on the Rolling
Stones' song "Continental Drift" from the STEEL WHEELS album.
“Recorded on location in the foothills of
the Rif Mountains of Morocco on November 8, 9 & 10, 1991 on an Akai DAM
Digital 12 track. Includes liner notes by William S. Burroughs amd Brion Gysin.
“The Master Musicians of Jajouka are a
special caste of people who live in the Jibala hills of Morocco and carry on a
4,000 year old musical tradition. The Musicians, comprised of several
generations of supremely skilled players, are believed to be magicians and
conjurers of spirits. APOCALYPSE ACROSS THE SKY captures this sacred,
primordial music in all its overwhelming majesty. While at first the sounds may
be startling to Western ears, closer attention will reveal the Musicians' work
(played on instruments such as the tebel, ghaia, lira, gimbri, tarija and
bendir) to be something of a gateway.
“Worlds seem to open up within the
frantic dialogues of horns, the dazzling percussion polyrhythms, the looping
vocal lines and the call and response between leader and chorus. Produced by
industry sophisticate and part-time ethnomusicologist Bill Laswell (and
contextualized with liner notes from William Burroughs), the music is presented
purely: its sheer complexity and force intact. The legend has it the if the
Master Musicians of Jajouka stop playing the world will end. After witnessing
the mind-boggling power of these recordings, the claim is not difficult to
believe.” (www.half.com)
“Apocalypse my ellipsis, pipes of Pan my
patootie. Forget the delusions of grandeur this Tunisian mountain music has
given rock and rollers since Brian Jones expected to fly and settle for a few
facts, because the facts are grand enough. We have here an incontrovertibly
sacred music with no regard for what any theocrat would validate as decorum or
beauty. Dominated by screechy horns, it's loud, fast, percussive, and, whatever
its scalar conventions, dissonant. Not only is it exciting because it's ugly,
it's supposed to be exciting because it's ugly. That's why Bill Laswell went
and recorded it again. And a good thing too, because a quarter century after Jones
died, we rock and rollers know its scales well enough to find it beautiful too.
Excitingly ugly we already knew about it.” Robert Christgau, The Village
Voice and www.robertchristgau.com
1. Gabahay
2. A Habibi Ouajee T'Allel Allaiya
3. El Medahey
4. Boujloudia "Boujloudia Dancing With Aisha Qandisha"
5. Alalilla "About The Night"
6. Middle Of The Night, The
7. Bujloudia
8. Jajouka Between The Mountains
9. Memories Of My Father
10. Mohamed Diha Utalla Fiha (Take Care Of Her Or Leave Her)
11. Sbar Yagelbi Sbar
12. On Horseback
13. Talaha L'badro Alaina
Phases of the Moon—Traditional Chinese Music (Columbia) “Blessed with neither roots nor technical insight, I come to this 58-minute collection of 11 subtle, surprising instrumental pieces--most of folk origin, though three are postrevolutionary and one "a treasure of Chinese classical music"--as a sublime novelty record. That is, I get off on its strangeness, and why not? Though the mood is quiet the total effect is far from ambient, not just because things do get loud at times but because most of these melodies are instantly arresting. They don't repeat as insistently as Western folk tunes do, either. At times I wonder if I'm back in sixth grade memorizing "Minuet in G" and "Hall of the Mountain King" for Mrs. Tully, and I find that the thing can grate if I start playing it two or three times a day. But why do I keep putting it on? What a trip.” Robert Christgau, The Village Voice and www.robertchristgau.com
1. Moon Mirrored In The Pool, The
2. Moon On High, The
3. Days Of Emancipation
4. Dance Of The Yao People
5. Peking Opera Melody: Flowing Water
6. Tashwayi
7. Spring On The Pamir Plateau
8. Purple Bamboo Melody
9. Dancing In The Moonlight
10. Song Of The Herdsmen
11. Spring On A Moonlit River
The Secret Museum of Mankind—Ethnic Music Classics 1925-1948, Volumes 1-2 (Yazoo) “Of all the recent excavation projects inspired by our voracious musical culture, none is more fascinating than Pat Conte's SECRET MUSEUM series for Yazoo. Till now, a Western listener's familiarity with ethnic music from the distant past has depended on unsexy field recordings of relatively recent vintage, produced in a spirit of near-scientific inquiry by anthropologically minded musicologists. When the commercial record business really began to expand in the late '20s however, just about every national style of music was sought out and captured for a growing marketplace. This was true "world music," dressed in its Sunday best perhaps as performed by ambitious locals, but still more vital than the academic, folklorist approach that followed.
“Just as Harry Smith compiled early commercial blues and country records for his monumentally influential ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC, so Conte has gathered even rarer 78s from all over the globe. Thanks to excellent remastering, we can hear vividly how an ensemble sounded in India or Japan more than a half-century ago or a klezmer orchestra right before the Nazis destroyed that bit of local culture. It's like owning your own time machine.” (www.half.com)
Volume 1:
1. Jubilee Anthem - Eleja Choir (Nigeria)
2. Fiorassio - Effisio Melis (Sardinia)
3. Techudo Techudiessa - Savelli Walevitch (Russia)
4. Kapirigna - Fonseka & Party (Ceylon)
5. Jat Song - Bhoora Singh & Party (Rajahstan)
6. Oye Mi Coro - Septeto Matamoros (Cuba)
7. Dance Song - (Romania)
8. Lo'i Song Nui - Hoang-Vuy (Vietnam)
9. Selska Ratschentitza - Sephanya Penchevya (Macedonia)
10. Upa-Upa - Les Tamaru (Society Islands)
11. Ma Thama Zinek - Raoul Journo (Morocco)
12. Angihambe - Zwabesho Sibisi (South Africa)
13. Ise-No-Umi - Imperial Houshold Orchestra (Japan)
14. Gungru Tarang - Master Manahar Barve (India)
15. Te Quiero Bilbaina - Triki-Triki (The Basque)
16. Byggnan - Eric Sahlstrom (Sweden)
17. A Europaische Kolomyka - Raderman-Beckerman Orchestra (Yiddish)
18. Nie Smuccie Sie Tatry - Goralska Orkiestra (Poland)
19. Hill And Gully Ride/Mandeville Road - Lord Composer (Jamaica)
20. Medina - Haile, Ighigou et.al. (Abyssinia)
21. Alegrias - La Nina De Los Peines (Andalucia)
22. Naidasay Toy Pusoc - Duetto Pamolinao (Visayan Islands)
23. Isa Lei - Andi Thakambau (Fiji)
Volume Two:
1. Wishes Of Welcome (New Caledonia)
2. Storise Khoro Goliamo (Bulgaria)
3. Aguinaldo De Navidad (Puerto Rico)
4. Yari Mohi Gatai Dehi Mai Shaim (India)
5. Abakwagaza (Men of Gaza) (Mozambique)
6. Bahrie Tchifte Tellisi (Turkey)
7. Soekasari (Western Java)
8. Yak Poidu Z Kimi Na Nicz (Ukraine)
9. Old Time Cat-O'-Nine (Trinidad)
10. Malevitziotikos Horos (Crete)
11. Paghjelle (Corsica)
12. Bengeria (Kenya)
13. Kaike Ena Sholio (Greece)
14. Jabadao De Quimper (France)
15. Manaram Sidevi (Ceylon)
16. Zacataque (Spain)
17. Prepei Na Skeptetai (Greece)
18. Pan Koylek (Kazakhstan)
19. Glengarry's Dirk (Cape Breton)
20. Umakotshaha (South Africa)
21. Istikhbar Eraque (Algeria)
22. Liau Kwo Da Tsaou Yuen (Tibet)
23. Hotu Matua (Rapa Nui)
Compay Segundo:
Lo Mejor de la Vida
Genre: Cuban Jazz Year: 1998
Recorded when Segundo, a legendary Cuban guitar player whose fame reached American audiences through the film The Buena Vista Social Club, was a freshed-faced 91-year-old. Rolling, seductive music with serious savoir faire.
Playlist:
1. El
Camison De Pepa
2. Tu Querias Jugar
3. Desdichado
4. La Ternera
5. Para Vigo Me Voy
6. Fidelidad
7. Cuba Y Espana
8. Es Mejor Vivir Asi
9. Frutas Del Caney
10. La Juma Del Ayer
11. Linda Graciela
12. La Pluma
13. Juliancito (Tu Novia Te Boto)
14. Son De Negros En Cuba
Shango, Shouter, & Obeah—Supernatural
Calypso from Trinidad 1934-1940 (Rounder) “For anyone familiar with
or interested in the "Santeria" (Regla de Ocha) songs of Cuba, or
interested in the real "melting pot": African cultures outside the
Motherland, this CD is a must. Recorded between 1935 and 1940, these are
selections from the old masters of Trinidad calypso: The Lion, The Growler, and
Atilla the Hun and Lord Executor. Included are songs in the ritual Lucumi
language, but with a British accent, and the Up! down flavor of Trinidad: it's
a treat. Of course, to get recorded, some of the artists speak disparagingly of
"The Religion." But, if you read between the lines, you can tell
"them folks be all up in it.
“Broken into three sections: Shango, Obeah
and Shouter, we get an insider's peek into three African American religions,
before the oil boom of World War II (and the invention of the steel pan)
changed the island, and world music, forever.” Sule Greg
Wilson, Sing Out!
1. Shango - The Caresser
2. Abyssinian Lament
3. African War Call - The Lion
4. Ho Syne No Day - The Lion
5. Three Friends' Advice - Lord Executor
6. Yaraba Shango - The Tiger
7. Shango - Keskidee Trio
8. Amanja Soqua Me - The Caresser
9. Shango Dance - The Lion
10. Shango - The Lion
11. Bongo Dance, The - The Growler
12. Sucoyen - The Lion
13. Lajabeless Woman, The - Lord Executor
14. Mysterious Tunapuna Woman, The - The Tiger
15. Don't Do That To Me - Wilmoth Houdini
16. Trinidad Obeah Man - Lionel Belasco's Orchestra
17. Lillian's Slackness - Lord Ziegfield
18. I Don't Want No More Calaloo - The Growler
19. Jim Congo Meyer - Atilla The Hun & Lord Executor
20. Devil Behind Me, The - Wilmoth Houdini
21. Believers In The Land Of Glory - The Lion
22. Jonah, Come Out The Wilderness - The Lion
23. Coldness Of The Water - The Growler
24. Happy Land Of Canaan - The Lion
25. Preacher Man - King Radio
26. Too Much Sorrow And Pain
South Pacific Island Music (Nonesuch/Explorer) “If you're looking for sweet singing, steel guitars, and the tourist trappings of the South Pacific, you'll need to look elsewhere. These 28 tracks are off the beaten track, but anyone keeping to the straight and narrow might find the results far more satisfying. Of particular interest are the songs and chants, like "Imenetuki," with some eerie, shifting harmonies from the Cook Islands, and the easy beauty of the Tongan "Faikava Love Song." The pan pipes of the Solomon Islands sound like no other, and "Pan Pipe Ensemble" has an almost modern European flavor to it, while the slightly dissonant harmonies of the female singers recall Bulgarian choirs. Over in the Gilbert Islands, the song "Te Kawawa" has an elastic quality, the single male voice sliding in microtones around the notes. A drum accompanies Samoan women as they sing a lullaby on "Tagi," the slow rhythm like a pulse beat. In other words, there's plenty going on here; it's an indigenous travelogue through the Pacific Islands. Beautifully recorded with stunning clarity, the reissue of this 1981 album is a delight.” Chris Nickson, www.allmusic.com
1. Drum Dance
2. Tapa Cloth Beating
3. Mire
4. Imenetuki
5. Tua'a'alo
6. Faikava Love Song
7. Octopus Fishing
8. Fangufangu Nose Flute
9. Muli Tu Pe
10. Male Fan Dance
11. Club Dance Meke Iwau
12. Vakamalolo Mixed Sitting Dance
13. New Year Celebrations
14. Pan Pipes Rereo Taba
15. Pan Pipe Ensemble
16. Pan Pipes And Night Roar
17. Spirit Song U'ula
18. Shell Money Making
19. Women's Song Kukuburiu Sifoa
20. Te Kamei
21. Te Kawawa
22. Toddy Cutting Song
23. Sasa
24. Conche Shell Horn
25. Tagi
26. Ma'ulu Ulu
27. Imene Tarava