Les Amazones de Guinee
Wamato
Les Amazones de Guinée are a unique and quite amazing institution within African music. Since the early 60s they have criss-crossed the continent, with only occasional forays beyond, to help bring their particular brand of joy to the cause of women's emancipation. Yet this is only their 2nd album, tight yet fluid, with the loping rhythms so particular to Guinea, bitter-sweet harmonies and vocals full of conviction. As the cry of "Retour en force des Amazones!" at the beginning of this album attests, these women demand to be heard. The Amazones are back with a vengeance. This is the gold-standard for female (or any other) bands in Africa and an enduring symbol of African women's emancipation. Highly recommended. Listen

Charley Patton / R. Crumb
BD Blues (2 CDs and Book)
Available again: You might already know the music, but this is a unique opportunity to see it as well. Robert Crumb has written a biography in words and drawings and presents it in a full-color, hardcover book. 2 CDs cover the legendary blues master's music, 31 pages of graphics and text (in French only) tell his story. Highly recommended!

Fairy Tale Trio
Ultramarine
Unique folk insprired jazz from Bulgaria by a trio of Theodosii Spassov (kaval), Antoly Vapirov (sax) and Styoan Yankoulov (percussion, tupan) with Enver Izmailov on guitars on a few tracks

Daniele Sepe, Ensemble Micrologus, Und Rote Jazz Fraktion
Kronomakia
Neopolitan arranger, composer and saxophone player Sepe, joined by two ensembles, takes on the early music of Italy in his usual shocking style, seamlessly joining jazz, classical and early art music into a beautiful whole.

Balla Et Ses Balladins
Authenticité: The Syliphone Years
2 CD collection by one of Guinea's most interesting and influencial bands. Listen

Masha and Marjan Vahdat
Songs From a Persian Garden
On 22 May this year KKV and two Western embassies arranged a remarkable concert. In a Persian garden in Tehran, the singers Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat broke the ban on public performances by women. The two sisters were accompanied by Knut Reiersrud and five other Norwegian and Iranian musicians

Mamadou Diabate, Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan, Vidwan Lalgudi Gjr Khrishnan
Strings Tradition
Strings Tradition is an original production, different from the countless recordings which try to mix and mingle musical cultures of various origins. It deals with the union of classical traditions (West Africa, North Indian and South India) which have little in common with the vague idea of popular music that we usually associate with the music of the Indian sitar and violin and the Malian kora. These three musicians are all important artists in their own countries and each one offers inspiration and guidance to the others' musical traditions. They are accompanied by Gourishankar on tabla and Muraly Trichy on ghatam.

Ammaraciccappa
Al Qantarah
This Salentine ensemble have a lot of phrases for their music: "electro-world+salento+maghrebi, ecstatic rhythms of south Italy, desert voices and metropolitan sounds." They make thoroughly modern Italian music, completely rooted in the ancient past, and totally beyond classification or pigeon-holes. Highly recommended.

Enzo Favata Tentetto (featuring Tenores di Bitti)
The New Village
Sardinian musician and composer Favata has been roiling the roots-jazz of Italy for decades now, recording Cds and playing more than 2,000 concertsaround the world. He fuses tradition with a contemporary sense, forging a new music form folk, jazz and avant garde elements that are strictly original. He has studied classical and jazz saxophone, plays the soprano, sopranino and tenor sax, and the bass clarinet, as well as other ethnic wind instruments from Sardinia and elsewhere. Adding Latin, African and middle eastern influences, he has come up with a creative and original new sound that pays homage to the jazz greats while being beholden to no one. This recording features the incredible Tenores di Bitti, who offer not only their voices, but the inspiration of their melodies that are infused into the very core of Favata's new compositions.

Riccardo Tesi
Accordeon Diatonique
The master of Italian accordion offers a completely solo recording that shows the breadth and depth of his skills, talents and interests in the music of the instrument. Highly recommended

Baden Powell
Os Afro Sambas
A new budget-priced edition of this classic: Together with Brazilian singer Vinicius de Moraes, Powell made these remarkable recording in the 1960s to show the deep connection between South American and African music and culture. A welcome reissue of an essential session.

Marlevar
Marlevar
The voice of Luisa Cottifogli in the front line was enough for me to fall in love with this recording. This excellent acoustic ensemble displays a world of musical interests from Italy and France (Provence) and creates their own unique sound with these pieces.