Listen to the music

Beyond the Roots
While music with 'roots' is my main interest, I also have an interest in music that blurs the boundaries between folk, roots jazz and rock. This section will highlight just a few of the CDs from beyond the roots that I carry.


La Tarantella: Antidotum Tarantulae - Lucilla Galeazzi, Marco Beasley,L'Arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar - 18.99
New SACD Edition (2010) - A fascinating, original crossover of folk and classical, with the musicians of the Renaissance ensemble L'Arpeggiata joining the illustrious singers Galeazzi and Beasley, performed on modern and ancient instruments including chitarra battente, lutes, harp, psaltry. With Alfio Antico, Eero Palviainen, Marcello Vitale and many other fine musicians. (This SACD edition includes one additional track not on the original release)


tango agazapado - la Chicana - 17.99
I have been thoroughly captivated by this Argentine band that has created its own dark, expressive version of contemporary tango, with a rich European sound, traces of traditional folk from Argentina and Uruguay, a bit of flamenco, and a youthful bad attitude. Fronted by one of the great husky voices of South America, Dolores Solá. Go listen.

Askur (2 CD) - Kristian Blak and Yggdrasil - 22.99
Yggdrasil is a Nordic ensemble based in the Faroe Islands, formed in 1981 by composer and pianist Kristian Blak. The ensemble has a repertoire that encompasses a wide range of genres - from free jazz to classical - and expressions - from humor and beauty to disaster and destruction. This is a 2 CD cololection fo live concerts from 1982- 2006. Artists in these shows include Anders Hagberg - Anders Jormin - Angelika Nielsen - Annika Johannesen - Aviaja Lumholt - Brandur Jacobsen - Eivřr Pálsdóttir - Ernst Dalsgarđ - Heđin Ziska Davidsen - Herfinnur Árnafjall - John Tchicai - Kári Sverrisson - Karin Korpelainen - Kristian Blak - Lelle Kullgren - Mia Káradóttir - Mikael Blak - Morten Carlsen - Ólavur Řster - Philippe Carré - Sunleif Rasmussen - Tarira - Tore Brunborg - Villu Veski

Sol - Stockholm Lisboa Project - 18.99
Stockholm Lisboa Project's new CD is about bringing Portugal and Sweden's traditions together. From Portuguese fado to Swedish polskas, they journey through melancholy and high energy. The beautiful voice of Liana (Portuguese National Fado Award Winner twice) and the combination of Nordic mandola, Portuguese mandolin and violin makes this project an exclusive combination of strong personalities revealing an amazingly powerful mixture. The musicians: Liana (vocal), Luis Peixoto (Portuguese mandolin, bouzouki and vocal), Sérgio Crisóstomo (violin and vocal) and Simon Stĺlspets (Nordic mandola, harmonica and vocal) make a unique and unusual addition to the world of cultural fusion.

Ice Concerts - Terje Isungset - 17.99
Live concerts of voice and mostly instruments made of ice: Terje Isungset: ice percussion, flute, voice; icefon; icehorn, ice; Sara Merielle Gaup: joik; Arve Henriksen: trumpet, vocal, icehorns; Unni Lovlid: vocal; Lena Nymark: vocal; Silvia Moi: vocal; Jon Halvor Bjornset: live sampling; Nature: snow and ice.

Maximalism - Katzen Kapell - 18.99
Their 4th recording is all instrumental and invokes classical, folk and jazz sources as it creates its own unique soundscape using accordion, voices, violin, grand piano, organ, marimba, vibraphone, drums, percussion, glockenspiel and double bass.

Katzen Kapell - Katzen Kapell - 17.99
Katzen Kapell say they have invented a musical style of their own, in an unusual combination of instruments certainly creates an original sound. The band is Catharina Backman on accordion and vocals; Eva Lindal on violin, Magnus Andersson on Wurlitzer organ, keyboards and vocals; Kjell Nordeson plays marimba and vibraphone, Lasse Lundbom on drums and percussion and Gustaf Hielm does bass. (Originally released in 1994)

Vital - Fernando Otero - 16.99
Argentine pianist, composer and bandleader Fernando Otero’s new album for World Village, Vital, is a meditative yet emotionally refractive set of eleven modern chamber music pieces, redolent of new-style tango, twentieth century atonality, sharp-edged downtown jazz, and other sounds Otero picked up at home and on his travels. The opening duet for piano and violin, "Nocturno," is a limping waltz that appears to depict an insomniac’s midnight musings; it leads seamlessly into two succeeding yet unrelated movements. "Siderata," scored for six players including a bandonéon, Argentina’s emblematic squeezebox, is an exercise in stillness, like the uneasy peace that so often precedes a difficult decision. "La Abundancia," another duet, is roundly, ripely melodic; but the wryly titled "Reforma Mental" is scored for eight players and from its opening keyboard arpeggios, depicts a dialogue between voices in conflict, with scampering piano runs periodically overwhelmed by groaning, overbearing horns. Between them, the violin and bandonéon achieve a small universe of sonic color on "Noche Illuminata," while "Fin de Revision" contradicts its title by continuing to mutate and evolve until the final, wheezing exhalation. Listen

Glitter and Doom Live - Tom Waits - 16.99
17 selections hand-picked by Waits, from his 2008 tour: 'Trampled Rose', 'Get Behind the Mule', 'Singapore", 'Dirt In The Ground', more. With a typically strange, Waitsian 35-minute bonus disc encompassing an arrangement of between-song banter into a consecutive monologue entitled, 'Tom Tales'.

Arv - Arild Andersen - 19.99
Bassist Arild Andersen's epic Nordic folk and jazz fusion, with Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, Kirsten Brĺten Berg on vocal, munnharpe, langeleik, and Bendik Hofseth on tenor and soprano saxophones. Recorded in 1993 - how did I miss this one all these years? Highly recommended.

Duologues - Yggdrasil - 16.99
Faroese composer Kristian Blak creates new works with the Danish painter Anders Hjuler. They imagine "duologues' between ancient and modern figures from philosophy and literature (Beatrice and Dante; Munch and Nietzsche; Mandela and Dalia Lama, Lao Tse and Confucius) performed by the reknowned Nordic ensemble Yggdrasil.

Reptilica Polaris - Afenginn - 16.99
the band says: "In the dark uniform western hemisphere, where rationality and stress seems to be the new religion, a small distant light is now appearing. Deeply rooted in the faith and tradition of sincere musical virtuosity and sheer madness, the new release from the acrobatic Danish deviates Afenginn, must challenge the stagnate state of every part-time depressed citizen of modern society. In a challenging unpretentious head-on collision with the conformity of well polished musical mainstream, this one-of-a-kind polyethnic contrastic Balkan-Scandinavian music blend will make every honest delirium-connoisseur go into ruptures. The music is best defined as Bela Bartok drinking schnappses of melancholic nordic klezmer with Mike Patton." 'Nuff said.

Akrobakkus - Afenginn - 16.99
fRoots says: 'Denmark's favorite madmen (the closest analogy as far as bizarre humor goes is 3 Mustaphas 3) are back with more of what's become their stock-in-trade: Balkan-influenced original music that veers from the bizarre to the sublime. The music, by mandolin player Kim Nyberg, is delightfully complex and full, bringing in not only the five-piece band but a number of guests here and there. The musicianship is wonderful throughout (just listen to clarinetist Rasmus Krřyer wail, or the solos from bassist Andrzej krejniuk) and the sense of strange fun is as palpable as on their previous discs (you have to love a band that lists "trash" among their instruments). The liner notes are as interesting and amusing as the music and that's saying a lot. They've developed into a worldclass eccentric group, even though there's little of Denmark in their sound (okay, absolutely nothing). Take them for what they are, which is wonderful, and enjoy. Pure madness'

Two Moons - Terje Isungset - 17.99
The second recording of "all ice" music from the Norwegian percussionist, this time joined by Per Jřrgensen on vocal and ice trumpe, with Isungset on ice percussion, icehorn and isofon. Absolutely unique; beautiful, surprising and highly recommended.

Rumi - Lu (Luisa Cottifogli) - 11.99
Italian singer and composer Cottifogli returns in 2006 with a new solo project that expands on the explorations started in her superb (and sadly, out of print) Aio nene. Innovative arrnagements that delve into the 21st century via ancient roots are executed by a fine ensemble of piano, percussion, chitarra battente, guitars, flutes, electronics, reeds and strings, all focused on one of Italy's finest young voices. A heavier emphasis on samples and electronics is balanced by chorale vocals, classical strings and a total awareness of the roots of the music, be they sacred or profance. This is a unique and challenging recording that offers new rewards with each listen.

Paroles de Swing - Angelo Debarre and Ludovic Beier - 9.99
Born in Saint-Denis, France, Angelo Debarre was only 8 when he picked up the guitar. In the Gypsy community, musical practice is transmitted orally at family gatherings, where music always occupies a prominent place. The gypsy jazz tradition launched by Django Reinhardt is at the heart of this culture and Debarre quickly became one of its key proponents. He founded his first group, "The Angelo Debarre Quintet," in 1984 and began touring the world with Gypsy musicians the following year. This is music he knows inside and out, and at concerts and festivals his enthusiasm and passion prove it. For Debarre, Django Reinhardt's music never loses the dynamism and richness of the past: it is immortal, a living art form. Here is his fifth collaboration with fellow-musician, accordionist Ludovic Beier. Hot on the heels of their previous release Entre ciel et terre, here they are joined by guest singer Sansévérino, making a cameo on 2 of the tracks.

El Dorado - 17 Hippies - 15.99
El Dorado perfectly demonstrates how a band matures over time. Having played together for 14 years, with 1,500 concerts in 20 countries, these musicians have found a unique style. Whether infl uenced by Balkan music, American rock, British pop, or film music, their compositions and sophisticated arrangements enter a new realm. Always filled with energy and razor-sharp interplay, 17 Hippies’ music still “boils down to plain dance music!” Regardless of age or nationality, everybody around the world seems to get it, as proven by the international success of this “Rock-The-World-Orchestra.”

Outra Praia - Swami Jr. - 18.99
Outra Praia (Another Beach) is a case of a supporting actor emphatically and justifiably stealing the limelight. Swami Jr. has long been a highly sought-after producer, arranger, composer and guitarist who has worked with musical talent from Brazil and further afield. He recorded and toured with Chico César for ten years and has accompanied and/or produced Omara Portuondo, Vanessa da Mata, Elba Ramalho, Zélia Duncan, Elza Soares, Zeca Baleiro, Tom Zé, Lokua Kanza, Mayra Andrade, Dori Caymmi and more. This is the debut solo album for Swami Jr. as he establishes himself alongside these cohorts as a major new name in Música Popular Brasileira. Listen and Listen

Dype, stille, sterke, milde - Skruk and Nymark Collektive - 19.99
'deep still strong mild' is a captivating choir record that highlights what Skruk is all about. This album presents Norwegian popular religious songs performed with a small jazz ensemble.

Nade over nade - Knut Reiersrud and Iver Kleive - 19.99
Nĺde over nĺde is the third recording by Norwegian guitarist Reiersrud and organist Kleive, again recorded with the full pipe organ and in the beautiful acoustics of the Odense Cathedral. As with their earlier albums, old psalms and folk tunes predominate, with a few interesting reinterpretations of contemporary songs ("What a Wonderful World" and "Grandma's Hands"). But this time Reiersrud and Kleive have maximized the church's dynamics and three-dimensional qualities, fully exploited under guidence of recording engineer Alf Christian Hvidsteen. Highly recommended.

Is This Tomorrow (2 discs) - The Henrys - 15.99
The new CD/DVD combo from this most eclectic band is coming in late June, 2009. This is not just a CD, it is a CD/DVD package. 2-disc set is about 2 hours of music, copious photography, home theatre (5.1) sound, a pdf file with song info, and the tactile kicks of the 3x2 panel recycled paper digipak packaging. Highly Recommended

Hypnogol - Aurelia - 19.99
The second ring by the trio Aurélia: Aurélie Dorzée (violin, alto, voice), with Tom Theuns on guitars and vocals; Stephan Pougin on percussion. Guest musicians Michel Massot (tubas) and Sara Salverius (accordéon chromatique) fill out the ensembles unique, edgy sound in this slightly skewed tale of the sea.

Kropp och Själ - Fagel Roc - 15.99
Sweden-based Fĺgel Roc gets its inspiration from their own home and around the world, and the band of synth-guitar, keyboards, bass and percussion uses an excellent pallat of Latin rhythms, Oriental melodies, western pop, Bagdad rock, and what they call Etnoschlager. They are vocally led by the wonderful Nadia Louis, an Iraq singer now based in Sweden who works in many languages including Assyrian and Swedish.

Haramand Plane - Jerry Hunt - 15.99
In stock. Please click on the title for more information

Rishte - Najma Akhtar, Gary Lucas - 17.99
Najma Akhtar is an English-born singer of South Asian ancestry. Her unique and distinctive styles ranges from fusions of jazz with Indian ghazals and bhajans (love songs and spiritual songs), Indian semi-classical vocals and the occasional Bollywood hit. Gary Lucas is an American guitarist, a GRAMMY nominated songwriter, and an international recording artist with over a dozen solo albums to date as well as a soundtrack composer for film and television. He has been described as "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" a "legendary leftfield guitarist" and one of "the most innovative and challenging guitarists playing today." Listen

Cantador - Simone Guiducci Gramelot Ensemble - 17.99
as the band itself puts it, this is “fluid and free, rippling between jazz, classical and popular music, between regional and global, between the ancient and modern world. It is a language of jazz improvisation interwoven with popular melodies, spoken with an ease and grace. It is many “languages”, spoken as musical expressions or idioms, which come together in a world where the imagination shapes them into new and old forms that are always intriguing”.

Quiver - KTU - 16.99
This powerful, agressively fronds group returns with this 2009 powerhouse of sounds. Trey Gunn / Warr guitar; Kimmo Pohjonen / accordion, voice; Pat Mastelotto / rhythmic devices, beats and noises with Samuli Kosminen additional beats and noises, Kosminization

Songs Unrecantable - ErsatzMusika - 18.99
In their second release, still fronted by the voice of artist and singer Irina Doubrovskaja, and people by a half dozen Soviet émigrés who escaped the turmoil of Russia following the end of Cold War for the artistic communes of East Berlin, ErsatzMusika are the ghost in the machine of 21st century music, a rootsy, Russian urban folk, edgy and ripe for this dark new age.

Silent City - Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider - 17.99
Kayhan Kalhor has performed and recorded with Iran's greatest singers and instrumentalists and toured the world as a soloist. He co-founded the Dastan, Ghazal and Masters of Persian Music ensembles and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, and others. In addition to his work as a performer, Kalhor's compositions have been used for various television and film projects. He is also is an original member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project and his works are heard on all of the Ensemble's albums. Three of his recordings, including his two previous World Village releases, Faryad and Without You, were nominated for Grammy® Awards. The innovative, genre-bending string quartet Brooklyn Rider (Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violins, Nicholas Cords, viola and Eric Jacobsen, cello), is named for the members' beloved New York borough and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) — a German expressionist movement that flourished during the early twentieth century. The quartet has been challenging and delighting audiences ever since its inception by dividing its time between exploring traditional classical repertoire, new music and fervently adventurous intercultural explorations. Aside from their affiliation with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, Brooklyn Rider has worked with composers such as Chen Yi and Kayhan Kalhor and performers such as violinist Jenny Scheinman and visual artist Kevork Mourad.

E40 - Dazibao - 19.99
The second release by this wonderful Belgian ensemble will surely garner as much acclaim as their previous CD, Alma. The diatonic accordions of Sophie Cavez and Jonathan de Neck are still in the forefront, musically and compositionally, but this 2007 release offers a more confident ensemble sound, a little richer in jazz roots while still solidly enthralled the folk roots of their region. Exceptional music from an exceptional ensemble, once again.

Nubiska Natter - H3FK - 17.99
Mixing influences from the likes of John Coltrane and Anouar Brahem with their own unique style, this ensemble offers an unorthodox vision. The group started out as a double trio mixing modern jazz with Arabic folk music, but have now reached a point where the borders are blurred and the feeling is completely natural and original. The compositions are written for the whole ensemble, but also includes trio and quartet pieces, with elements of Arabic, Middle-Eastern, Gypsy and Swedish folk and pop.

Unpacking The Trailer - QQQ - 14.99
QQQ unspools folk music from a place where bluegrass, Norwegian wedding marches, progressive rock, and post-minimalism have merged into a funky, engaging hybrid. Dan Trueman plays the Hardanger fiddle, Monica Mugan is on classical guitar, Beth Meyers on viola and Jason Treuting does the drums and percussion.It is a wild and decidedly non-traditional mix, yet the music still sounds ancient and rooted.

Live - Jonas Knutsson and Mats Öberg - 18.99
Saxophone maestro Jonas Knutsson and the keyboard genius Mats Öberg have played together since childhood and know each other inside out. The is a recording of a concert in Stockholm, February 2008.

Bla koral - Knut Reiersrud Og Iver Kleive - 19.99
Knut Reiersrud and Iver Kleive's Blĺ Koral (Blue Choral) features Knut's earthbound guitars coupled with Iver's pipe organ in a meeting between the religious European organ tradition and Norwegian and American folk tradition, where salms and folk melodies are performed in unorthodox, unprejudiced and free interpretations. 'A thoroughly interconnected musical triumph' said PULS and 'deserves tremendous words of praise' (Dagbladet). The album earned them the Spellemannsprisen in 1991

KKV: 30 years of fidelity - various - 19.99
One of Norway's premier labels, Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) is known for their excellent combination of musicianship and high audio standards. This CD collection celebrates 30 years of cultural work with music from a wide variety of artists in all fields of music: folk, popular, jazz and art music. Artists in this collection include Kari Bremnes, Lill Lindfors, Knut Reiersrud, Iver Kleive, Ole Paus, Ketil Bjřrnstad, Arild Andersen, Sigvart Dagsland, Frode Alnćs, Sondre Bratland, Stian Carstensen, SKRUK, Rim Banna, Lynni Treekrem, Kirsten Brĺten Berg, Aage Kvalbein and Eva Dahlgren.

Himmelskip - Iver Kleive and Knut Reiersrud - 18.99
The Norwegian organist and guitarist have created some stunning music. The combination of electric guitar and church organ is a truly magnificent musical experience, and its unique character led to their being awarded the prestigious Norwegian Music Award (Spelemannprisen).

Summer Night - Elise Einarsdotter, Olle Steimnholtz w/ Lena Willemark - 18.99
Swedish pianist Einarsdottir, bassist Steimnholtz in near jazz settings of standards and originals, both instrumental pieces and with guest vocalist Willemark on 5 tracks. Einarsdottir is often (I think fairly) compared to Bill Evans, in both her fluid playing and her melodic sense.

En Forme De Poire - Melonious Quartet - 18.99
The Melonious Quartet, four musicians led by Patrick Vaillant, make an unseemly postulate: the mandolin and Satie. Practising the art of what if, the mandolin quartet has taken on in the painstaking work of transcription of Erik Satie. Completely original and unique. Highly recommended!

8 Armed Monkey - KTU - 16.99
Finnish accordionists Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen (Kluster) join Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn (percussion and guitar from King Crimson and duo TU) for a round of agressive, loud and utterly unclassfiable new music.

Burlesque - Bellowhead - 17.99
I have tried to tone down the prose to write this description, but what can I do? This is a remarkable recording, a shock to the sytem. fROOTS' Colin Erwin calls it "Astonishing!" It's Brecht meets Childe in Copeland's backyard, chats with Coltrane and dances with brass monkeys. This 11 piece band of notorious trad-arr hipsters (including Spiers and Boden and Benji Kirkpatrick) plays accordions, fiddles and such, punched into high gear by brass band and strings, and all manner of exceptional strangeness ensues. It's all traditional, in a sense, but like nothing you have heard before. Bonus: the package is a small, lovely hardcover book with lyrics, photos (wild!) and more.

Yizkor: Music of memory - Chevan, Nizrahi and Afro-Semitic Experience - 14.99
Composer and bassist David Chevan's Afro-Semitic Experience is joined by Jewish cantor Alberto Nizrahi for a contemporary look at Yizkor, a memorial service when sinners seek atonement, remember those who have passed before and contemplate the the transience of life. Carefully fusing modern American jazz, older American roots and ancient Hebrew traditions is no easy task, but Chevan and company prove more than up to the task on this 2008 exploration of modern American spiritually and musical experimentation.

Aldrig fĺr jeg fred - Tumult - 16.99
The Third recording by the Danish folk-rock ensemble is by far the most broad in scope, and complete in execution. From hard rockers to folk ballads, their never miss a beat as they forge ahead.

cinema novo - Massot-Florizoone-Horbaczewski - 18.99
So what can you can do with an accordion a tuba and a cello? The three instruments have a lot in common: they are well equipped with a big sound, an imaginary character, a large register and a photogenic outfit. This band pusheds their limits in a creative new way. Michel Massot - tuba, euphonium, trombone; Tuur Florizoone - chromatic accordeon; Marine Horbaczewski - cello.

Marcel - Olla Vogala - 18.99
Olla Vogala offers a fascinating and unusual interpretation of music, word and sound, making multi-culti and multi-ethnicity much more than hollow phrases. This large ensemble is led by Belgian composer and violinist Wouter Vandenabeele.

The luckless lands of the North - aNoo - 16.99
aNoo is a group led Brussels based Finn, Anu Junnonen. Anu started playing piano at the age of seven and added flute a few years later. She got the kick for jazz in her teens from playing saxophone and jamming with friends, with whom she also created a local junior big band in order to perform modern -tunes and Finnish compositions. She is accompanied by accordion, trombone, acoustic bass and drums on a set of original and unusual songs. Listen

BBB - Mr Diagonal and the Black Light Orchestra - 18.99
A marriage between 2 unusual traditions: British music-hall and Belgian surrealism. OK, what more can I say than that?! Daniel Barbenel (piano, voice); Grégoire Tirtiaux (saxaphone, bass, voice); Eric Bribosia (keyboards, voice); Yannick Dupont (drums, vibraphone, glockenspiel, electronics) and Quentin Manfroy (flutes). Listen

Kriya - Kriya - 16.99
Many of you already know Pauliina Lerche's accordion experiments with various global music sources, and her partner Peter Lerche's work on the guitar in similar modes. Kriya (work or process in Sanskrit) is the culmination of those explorations. The members of Kriya come from various musical backgrounds; Finnish traditional music, rock and the classical Indian (Hindustani) tradition. Songs are sung in Finnish and Sanskrit. While the folk roots are stong, this music is emphatically contemporary with strong hues of rock and jazz.

PresenteRemoto - Riccardo Tesi - 18.99
A full blown ensemble release by the master organetto player from Italy. A great ensemble that includes Stefano Bollani, Elena Ledda, Ginevra Di Marco, Gianmaria Testa, Daniele Sepe, Gavino Murgia, Patrick Vaillant, Gabriele Mirabassi and of course, Tesi's Banditaliana. Highly recommended, like everything Tesi does.

With mallets and strings - Ildikó Vékony - 17.99
Performances on solo cimbalom of J.S. Bach's 'Partita No. 3 in E major' and 'Sonata No. 1 in G minor.' The artist says: 'Why this music? ...you may ask. Some pieces I have been playing for ages; others I have always wanted to play. Some are not really my world, (but sometimes we long for another world); some are pieces I have been waiting for, and yet I needed years to uncover their deeper meaning. And some have jolted me out of my habits, highlighting for me the moment when a sound is born.'

Soul Science - Justin Adams, Juldeh Camara - 17.99
Buzzing bass lines, no-holds-barred guitar licks, tough but playful rhythms, searing fiddle riffs, percussive groundswells and ancient-rooted vocals, Soul Science is less of a cross-cultural collaboration than a fascinating dispatch from an entirely new nation.Evoking the blues from several continents, American rock 'n' roll, a hot Sahel afternoon and desert evenings, Justin Adams (electric and acoustic guitars, Tamashek lute, percussion, banjo, vocals) and Juldeh Camara (lead vocals, one-string fiddle, West African banjo, percussion) and the tight rhythm section of Salah Dawson Miller (percussion) and Billy Fuller (bass), have achieved a synthesis instigated by centuries of history refracted through the kaleidoscope of the information age. Already an international sensation, Soul Science was nominated for "best album" in the "Culture Crossing" category at the annual BBC World Music Awards, and was selected among the "top 100 albums of the year" by both fRoots and Songlines magazines. Highly Recommended

Follow - Joel Grare - 17.99
Bells, Indian double-headed drums, bendirs and many other instruments blend together and offer a fascinating imaginary journey: Grare integrates all the possible and imaginable influences and invents a unique and outstanding world of sounds. Joël Grare, percussions and featuring percussion ensemble Koân with Axel Lecourt and Nicolas Giraud on trumpet and percussions

Paris - Istanbul - Shanghai - Joël Grare - 17.99
Joël Grare (ar., percussion), Guo Gan (erhu), Bruno Helstroffer (theorbo), Emek Evci (bass), Karine Herroud Gonzalez (Flamenco) with the participation of the ensemble Les Tambours de Lune, Claire Lefilliâtre (soprano vocal) and Véronica Votti (cello). This recording is a manifesto of modernism, culture, temporality, style and improvisation. This Paris-Istambul-Shanghaďensemble is a musical invitation to travel. Somewhere between a chamber music ensemble and a traditional one, they play standardsmuch like in jazz. But their standards are classic themes from Spain, Turkey and China, ancient music… Puching these melodies well beyond their borders, thoroughly enjoying them, improvising, composing, whether or not in the style of their country or their period, following moods and moments to a uniqque new sound.

Liberte Creativite Feminite - Sabina Manetti - 18.99
Liberté Creativité Feminité presents a strong vocalist from Tuscany in a solid mix of roots and jazz, accompanied by a straight ahead jazz ensemble of bass, drums, pianos, percussion, with accordion and violin. This is the first I have heard her, and she's a voice to hear.

Homescape - Nguyen Le - 16.99
French-Vietnamese jazz musician Nguyên Lê stands out as a unique explorer of sound. Homescape is based upon improvised duos with either Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu or oud player and vocalist Dhafer Youssef. Lę's postproduction then crafts these performances into a piquant series of moving and thrilling world-jazz tracks.

Kronomakia - Daniele Sepe, Ensemble Micrologus, Und Rote Jazz Fraktion - 18.99
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.

Satyricon Circus - Satyricon Circus - 18.99
A rich new musical production, the work of composer Gabriele Coen (Klezroym), Mario Rivera (Agricantus) and Vito Ranucci, with participation from Barbara Eramo, Gabriel Zagni, Maria Letizia Gorga, Federica Vincenti and Gianni Santucci.

Invente a La Ciotat - Moussu T e lei Jovents - 17.99
Occitania and Brazil meet in this group that takes its inspiration from Marseilles in the thirties, a veritable musical melting pot, where Provençal songs could be heard alongside local operettas by Vincent Scotto or the Black jazz and blues bursting onto the scene at the time (with music from the West Indies and Brazil to boot). That eventful decade provides the background for the group's up-to-the minute songs and sea shanties that speak of briny air, shipyard cranes and rocky inlets. The DVD side of this DualDisc release features two hours of images for a journey through their world, with clips, extracts from live concerts and shorts produced by some of the best film-makers in Occitania.

Son de los diablos - Tonadas afro-hispanas del Perú - Diana Baroni and Sapukai - 17.99
The record label says 'Far from the stereotypes of pseudo-Peruvians in publicity and the subway, this recording approaches the same sources of Andean music, mixing pre-Colombian music and the contributions of the conquistadores with the music of African slaves brought to the region.' The result is a formal 'art music' approach that finds both the formaility of the composition and the raw energy of the source material.

BNB - ein song frĺ dei utsungne stunder - Berit Opheim, Nils Okland and Bjorn Kjellemyr - temp out of stock-17.99
Berit Opheim, Nils Řkland and Bjřrn Kjellemyr are inspired by a wide variet y of classic styles but find common ground in the field of improvisation.Berit Opheim has won the traditional Landskappleiken with her shining vocal. Nils Řkland is an extraordinary music who plays fiddle, hardanger fiddle and viola d 'amore. Bjřrn Kjellemyr's double bass and his recent fondness of the colascione, a bass lute from the Renaissance, adds the appropriate gravity to this recording, performed live in the Ullensvang church in Norway. There is a deep tradition here, but also an untamed avant garde, and together they make BNB a highly recommended CD.

Il Ritorno Alla Fede Del Cantante Di Jazz - Enrico Fink - 17.99
'The Jazz Singer's To Faith' is an exploration into Italian Semitic tradition from a decidely modern viewpoint by one of Italy's premier Jewish musicians. With Amit Arieli,clarinet; Stefano Bartolini,saxophones; Arlo Bigazzi,bass, Percussion, programming; Enrico Fink, voice, flute, programming; Alessandro Francolini, acoustic guitar; Filippo Pedol, double bass; Guglielmo R. Gagliano, programming and featuring Orio Odori and la Banda Improvvisa.

Sumiglia - Savina Yannatou - 17.99
The 2005 recording by Yannatou and Primavera en Salonico is positively superb, with a rich beauty and a vital edginess that rises above genre.

Chants, Hymns and Dances - Tsabropoulos and Lechner - 16.99
Compositions by Gurdjieff and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, performed by pianist Tsabropoulos and Anja Lechner on violincello. the pieces are boundary crossing experiments in multi-cultural classicism and contemporary minimalism, often mournful, occasionally spritely.

Sangam - Trygve Seim - 17.99
A cross-referencing of jazz, contemporary composition and diverse world folk traditions bring this second recording by the Norwegian saxophonist and composer to the forefront of his output. He draws inspiration from musical and non-musical sources both local and far-flung, bringing these influences to bear on compositions and arrangements that are uniquely personal, and executed by a phenomenal ensemble of Hĺvard Lund clarinet, bass clarinet; Nils Jansen bass saxophone, contrabass clarinet; Arve Henriksen trumpet; Tone Reichelt french horn; Lars Andreas Haug tuba; Frode Haltli accordion; Morten Hannisdal cello; Per Oddvar Johansen drums; Řyvind Brćkke trombone; Helge Sunde trombone.

The Great Polka Swindle - Polkaholix - 17.99
The band says: 'No Polka - no fun! Without Polka there is no TexMex, no Merengue, no Ska, no Punk, no - I don't know what. Firstly: no Rock'n Roll. - What, you didn't know that?' Well, they do it all... and more, with high energy, great musicianship and lots of attitude.

Kalmuk (CD) - Kimmo Pohjonen - 17.99


Vitamine K - Klezmic Zirkus - 18.99
Original compositions and traditional themes from Eastern Europe are spiced up with jazz, classical, rock, folk and reggae to create a copletely personal musical style. Aurélie Charneux (clarinet), Julien De Borman (diatonic accordion), Adrien Lambinet (trombone, tuba), Pierre Greco (double bass), and Wouter Roggemans (drums) Listen

Hostslov - Frode Alnćs, Arild Andersen, Stian Carstensen - 17.99
The third in the seasonal song cycles by Norwegian jazz artists Stian Carstensen (accordion), Frode Alnćs (acoustic and electric guitars) and Arild Andersen (bass), Hřstslřv explores autumn in original compositions and classics like Try To Remember, Vivaldis Hřst sequeing into Singing In The Rain, September Song, Harvest Moon, Autumn Leaves and many others from both American pop and Nordic traditions.

Will There Be Spring - Maria Solheim - 17.99
Norwegian pop, pure and simple, from a fine female vocalist with a quirky sense of timing and arrangement. (Lyrics in English)

Live in Frankfurt 82 - Bitter Funeral Beer Band w Don Cherry, K. Sridhar - 17.99
A remarkable concert recording of innovative trumpeter Cherry and sarod master Sridhar, joined by a stellar cast of Swedish, African, American musicians including Bengt Berger, Atsimevu, Anita Livstrand, Matthias Helldén, Christer Bothén, and many more.

Alhambra - Gabriele Coen and Atlante Sonoro - 17.99
Gabriele Coen is one of the founders of Klezroym. This is his second solo album with the Atlante Sonoro project.Featuring Pietro Lussu on piano, Marco Loddo on bass and Luca Caponi on drums, Gabriele Coen (soprano and tenor sax and clarinet) is exploring fascinating places the border lands between the sunny landscapes of Mediterranean music and contemporary jazz. This project also includes Lutte Berg on guitar, playing on two different tracks. The different pages of this Atlante Sonoro are Hebrew music from eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, various European jazz traditions and the arabesques of Alhambra.

Cammenann - SOS - 17.99
They blend Mediterranean sound and Neapolitan lyrics, and as they put it, 'contaminations melt down to create a half-caste and strange rock.' They start the journey in a Naple's neighbourhood, taking inspiration by the' 'Neapolitan Sound' of the 80’s (Pino Daniele, Avitabile, Senese, E’ Zezi and Almamegretta) and add Egyptian, Nigerian, Senegalese and Algerian influences to make a melting pot of styles, races, cultures and traditions.

Stari Most - Stefano Saletti and Piccola Banda Ikona - 17.99
The latest work by Stefano Saletti (founder and leader of Novalia) and the Piccola Banda Ikona, a newly formed group that brings together members of Nuklearte), Agricantus, Novalia, Nando Citarella Band, Acustimantico, Klezroym and others to explore the culture and language of the mediterranean basin in a most contemporary way.

Ronde Noe - Nidi d'Arac - 17.99


Garage Tango - Gigi - 12.99
An evocation of bellows instruments (accordion, bandoneon, etc) are blended with pop-dance arrangements in an unusual and surprisingly satisfying montage. In this CD, the first 'virtual accordion' (Roland V-accordion) was used; its physical sound modelling technology enables the musicians to express their creativity to sweep unexplored musical genres. Luigi Bruti, who’s responsible for Roland’s musical laboratory, is also the author of this musical instrument.

Bellow Poetry - Maria Kalaniemi - 15.99
Maria K's 2005 release is a solo recording that examines the potential of accordion in the Finnish rune song and lament tradition. Highly recommended.

Etsijä (Seeker) - Suden Aika - 16.99
Liisa Matveinen and Tellu Turkka return for a seond set of wonderful vocal works, joined by Katarlina Alras and Nora Vauru. Austere, beautiful arrangements of 13 pieces for voice, some accompanied by moraharpa and kantele.

Zolo- Finnish works for accordion - Matti Rantanen - 17.99
Solo accordion performances by Matti Rantanen of works by 20th and 21st century Finnish composers.

Árgyélus - Mihaly Dresch Quartet - 18.99
Hungarian saxophonist and compoer Mihály Dresch 's 2007 release. The artist says: I have the feeling that people today are missing a kind of organic musical culture based on a clear overview of a system, typical for example of traditional Indian music or the Transylvanian music of our ancestors. Yet it would seem that at present we are unable to create a new musical system at this level, so we try, piecemeal fashion, to tack together the systems we consider important. The result of this ‘piecing together’ is inevitably a fragmentary culture. Listen

Up Close - Berger Knutsson Spering - 17.99
Swedish musicians Bengt Berger, drums Jonas Knutsson, saxophones Christian Spering, bass recorded this set of songs at Studios La Buissonne in Provence. It includes original works, an interpretation of a South Indian piece, trad/arrs of some Swedish polskas as well as Paul Motians 'It should have happened a long time ago' and Ellington's 'In A Sentimental Mood.' Jazz as only the Scandinavians play it.

Neverland Fusion - Yildirim Levent - 17.99
The leader of a new generation of darbuka players in Turkey, inspired by both the Egyptian and Turkish traditions and by the technique of the Indian maestros. This new album contains two solo pieces, but the bulk of the eight tracks feature him playing with both traditional instruments and contemporary electronics and programming in a fusion of styles. The disc is accompanied by a free bonus DVD with live and studio footage and an interview.

East Off Europe: Closing the Circle - Boris Kovac - 17.99
With the Ritual Nova Ensemble, composer/saxophonist Kovac once again explores the world of genre-less music.

Anamnesis - Ecumenical Mysteries - Boris Kovac - 17.99
The Serbian composer's 1998 work is dedicated to mystics N. Berdjiaev and G. I. Gurdjieff and performed by the Ritual Nova Ensemble.

Ting Qui: Listening to Autumn - Fung Liao aka Lars Fredriksson - 17.99
Swedish born conductor Fung Liao, aka :ars Fredriksson, directs 108 singing Chinese crickets, which belive it or not, is a long respected Chinese tradition. It is strangely beautiful and alluring.

Sha - Peeni Waali and Schildpatt - 16.99
The 2006 brainchild of the amazing Fizze of Switzerland. He says: 'Sound-stalking through Alpine and Persian inflections, drum n' bass oriental improvisations, remixes, dubs, ambiances,collages and genuine creations...' Features santur master Alan Kushan.

Best of Gypsy Jazz Vol.2 - various - 22.99
A 2 CD set of Gypsy jazz old and new, includes performances Ludovic Beier, Pierre Blanchard, Angelo Debarre, Raphael Fays, Bireli Lagrene, Marcel Loeffler, Florin Niculescu, Les Pommes de ma Douche, Mandino Reinhardt, Dorado Schmitt, Tchavolo Schmitt. Each artists' interpretation is then followed by the original performance by Django Reinhardt.

Cipity Lorinc - Szaloki Agi - 17.99
Szalóki Ági's Cipity Lörinc is the Hungarian singer's 2007 release, a unique album for children, folk songs from Transylvania and the Uplands arranged by her band (guitar, cello, bass, percussion, with guests on piano, flute, bagpipe and violin), as well as settings of poems by Ágnes Nagy Nemes and Sándor Weöres performed by two noted actors, Mari Kiss and János Kulka.

I vrochi apo kato (The rain from below) - Thanasis Papakonstantinou - 19.99
More musical wonder and strangeness in 2006 from the Greek laikadelica master.

Eleve en plein air - A consommer de preference - 17.99
The Belgian band A consommer de préférence offers a unique and varied musical pallet on élevé en plein air. Through the original compositions by brothers Jonathan and Corentin Aussems tell a series of instrumental tales, marrying various musical cultures with the sonorities of piano, guitar, percussion, violin, flute and saxophone. They call it 'Positive Orchestral Music.'

OuterRail - ZetaBoo - 16.99
ZetaBoo arrives for a second round with this down to earth CD, a unique blend of pop, jazz and folk-roots. Composer Jarmo Saari offers songs that are melodic and folky, spontaneous and intuitive. Marko Timonen provides the swinging percussion that is at the heart of this new recording, driving a more relaxed band of vocals, accordion, keyboards, guitars, cavaquinho, trombone, lapsteel, keyboards, citara, and bass (Pekka Lehti) , a bit more subtle than their previous releases. The theme of the disc is the outer rail and homesickness. Says Saari: 'This is like a series of traveller’s landscapes. The journey is more important than arriving. The traveller prefers to follow a flitting butterfly or the advice of a stranger than a tourist map. Boldness and spontaneity are rewarded.'

Risastova - Kristian Blak and Yggdrasil - 15.99
The ensemble Yggdrasil embarks on its 25th year with an ensemble of musicians from Faroe isalnds and Estonia, and featuring Kari Sverrisson. They perform modern interpretations of traditional Faroese skjaldurs, ballads and hymns. There are also unusual compositions by Kristian Blak.

Kapka - Tara Fuki - 13.99
A contemporary duo of voice and cello, Andrea Konstankiewicz-Nazir and Dorota Barová are joined on a few tracks of this unusual performance by Mario Buzzi (sampler).

Kyrie - Iver Kleive - 18.99
Iver Kleive's original compositions are the center of focus on this one (only five of the thirteen tracks come from traditional sources). Kleive's keyboards (church organ, Hammond B3, a grand piano and synthesizers) are acompanied by an interesting ensemble, notably percussion from Paolo Vinaccia on all tracks; Knut Reiersrud guests on three and there are vocal solos and chorales on a number of tracks as well. It's a quirky work that veers from classical choir music to modern pop, from jazz to pure folkiness and then back. It was released in 1994, and it stands up even a decade later as an important and unique work in Norwegian music.

Klezmer at the Cotton Club - Helmut Eisel and Band - 16.99
The German clainetist and his band perform a 'what if' and recreate what klezmer might have sounded like if it had been nurtured at NY's most important jazz emporium. It's fine stuff, and the band us more than up to the task, featuring Michael Marx on guitar, Stimme Stefan Engelmann on double bass, Nino Deda on accordion and Jochen Krämer on drums and percussion. They cover klezmer classics, jazz and blues standards (Handy, Ellington, Calloway) and Eisel's originals (like Rondo alla Klez) are stand-outs on this excellent recording. The sound is unique, and it swings like crazy.

Amore e Odio - Banda Bassotti - 17.99
Heavy ska, roots and rock from an Italian band of guitars, bass, drums and horns - they're political, passionate and loud (think Negu Gorriak, Les Negresses Vertes and The Clash). If you have the 'need for speed,' this is the band for you.

Jazzen - Nina Ramsby and Martin Hederos - 16.99
Singer Nina Ramsby and pianist Martin Hederos first met in 2000 and began singing casually together. In January 2004 recorded Visorna, a collection of their favorite songs in Swedish. In the spring of 2005 they began work on this new recording, Jazzen, featuring their own unique takes on jazz standards by notable jazz performers like Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Sade and Betty Carter. Nina has rewritten the lyrics in Swedish, to suit her own needs and experiences. These are bare, sometimes stark performances, mostly simply piano and voice, with occasional string, harmonica, reed and brass punctuations that envelope the voice and allow it room to expand and contract as it needs. They also have 2 original pieces (one song, one instrumental), which to my ear, are some of the best pieces on the CD.

Bubbemeises:Lies My Gramma Told Me - David Krakauer, Socalled and Klezmer Madness - 17.99
Clarinetist Krakauer strikes again, as he teams up with Jewish hip hop beat architect Socalled and the ensemble Klezmer Madness!, remixing Hasidic chant, klezmer tributes to James Brown and all manner of musical merriment. It's not your old Jewish bubbe's music anymore.

Storie di fiume - Simone Guiducci and Gramelot - 17.99
The Italian guitarist once again explores Italian roots in his efforts to redefine Italian jazz, joined by Roberto Dani (drums and percussion), Salvatore Maiore (double bass), Fausto Beccalossi (accordion) and Achille Succi (clarinet).

Ethiopiques 20: Live in Addis (2 CDs) - Either/Orchestra - 16.99
The 10-piece jazz orchestra from Boston, in a 2 CD set recorded live in Addis with a number of great Ethiopian performers including vocalists Bahta Gebre-Heywet, Michael Belayheh and Tsedenia Gebre-Marqos, saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya and percussionist Mulatu Astatqe. Inspired by the great Ethiopian pop and jazz of the '60s and '70s, they bring a full array of modern jazz and Afro-Cuban innovations to an Ethiopian repertoire. Unusual, to say the least.

Vishnu - Robert Macht - 15.99
Innova_mcf Vishnu blends Macht's playing of the tuned bronzed gongs, xylophones and calf skinned drums from Java, known as the gamelan, with the lyric-coloratura voice of Hyunah Yu. Sandip Burman (Indian tabla), John Wubbenhorst (bamboo flute) and the group Global Percussion add to the spicy concoction.

Once upon a time in Chinese America - Fred Ho - 15.99
Combining music, theater and fantastic Chinese martial arts, Once Upon a Time in Chinese America is a heroic 17th Century martial arts legend of the betrayal of the legendary Shaolin Temple by a renegade monk. It is composer Fred Ho's action-adventure music/theater/ballet epic.

Ruby - Marc Anderson - 15.99
A percussionist with a global perspective but a unique personal style, Anderson has created a record finally worthy of the oft-butchered term world fusion. Working with an unusually diverse group of musicisans from world, folk, jazz and experimental backgrounds, Anderson's dream-like creations are thoroughly unique.

On the sensations of tone - Tom Heasley - 15.99
California Bay Area-based Tom Heasley is an internationally active composer, performer, tubist, improvisor and recording artist whose compositions for electro-acoustic tuba create 'a rich and sonorous aural experience that flies in the face of all the dumb cliches about what tuba music is.' From cathedrals to bars, from barns to conservatories, Heasley is…the ambient tubist.

Live in Florence - Naftule's Dream - 15.99
a live concert performance by one of the most agressive and innovative of the 'new Jewish fringe' bands

sin titulo - Rao Trio - 15.99
his Spanish trio of drums, bass and zanfona (hurdy gurdy) pushes the outside of the envelope with their thoroughly modern approach to folk music

Top Quality Bones And A Little Terrorist - Britta Persson - 17.99
A curious Swedish pop recording (sung in English) by a unique voice with a unusual song writing style. She accompanied by a mostly acoustic ensemble that is equally comfortable with rock, pop and jazz.

Coppola Rosso - Antonello Paliotti - 16.99
The Red Cap is, as the artist puts it, "an autobiographic record which takes its name fron a theatre play with the same title. The play represent the world to which I have been a witness: the world I inherited from my ancestors, the world of war and poverty as experienced at home - unbelievable as it may seem - of those wanting to live and who found the strenght to laugh without second thoughts. Technically, Coppola Rossa is a study of the song as a musical form. It can be interpreted from at least two viewpoints: at first hearing, that of folk tunes, traditional or not. At a second, more in-depht approach, that of the classical processing of material taken from the popular tradition, or at least from my personal tradition: that of somebody in his forties, who grew up with Schoenberg, The Beatles, Debussy, Canfora, Mingus, Berg, Mina, Rota, Chaplin, Satie, Iviani, Brecht.... And so, Coppola Rossa is a tribute to these monuments, which, although intheir death throes, I still feel alive."

Musica Obliqua - Antonello Paliotti - 16.99
As the artist writes, this is "a record that presents the peaceful (and sometimes less peaceful) coexistence of my musical thoughts about ballet, cinema or simply about dreams." Performed by the Orchestra Collegium Philarmonicum directed by Gennaro Cappabianca.

Live ŕ FIP - Omar Sosa - 17.99
This is Sosa's first live recording with an ensemble, featuring bass, drums, percussion and saxophone. Recorded at Radio France in Paris with a live, studio audience, he offers new interpretations of many of his earlier compositions as well as a number of new works, with Angá Díaz on percussion, Childo Tomas on electric bass, Luis Depestre on saxophones and drummer Steve Argüelles. New material includes the tracks “Métisse” and “Paralelo,” and “African Sunrise” featuring Childo Tomas on mbira and vocals.

Habanera, A Soundwalk Through Old Havana, Cuba - Philip Blackburn - 14.99
What better way to get to know the intimate details of a culture than through your ears and your shoes? Environmental sound artist Philip Blackburn ambled through Old Havana, a city full of sounds. Blackburn's path takes us past alleys, buildings and streets where you can hear Fidel waffling on and on, cigar black-marketers, flamenco dancers, kids playing, Santeria and Catholic chanting, and the nightly canon fire. Wear headphones for the full binaural effect and turn out the lights (the CD cover glows in the dark) and walk with Blackburn through Havana 2004.

Bahamut - Hazmat Modine - 15.99
On my list of quirkly originals, this crew just moved towards the top. Duel harmonicas, guitar, trumpet and a drum/tuba rhythm section back vocals of real originality, while guests add Romanian cimbalom, electric banjitar, contrabass sax, claviola and bass marimba, while a gang of genuine Tuvan throat singers round it all out. Totally unique.

Valkoista Sukua - The World Mankeri Orchestra - 17.99
Founded in 1984 as Etno-Pojat, the World Mänkeri Orchestra is an innovative (and aggressive) 'primitive jazz" ensemble that features hand-made, ancient reeds, horns, and drums and electric bass, and on this recording young Finnish vocalist Meri Titola, who brings a new dynamic to the ensemble's powerful noise.

Transumanza - Daniele di Bonaventura and Alfredo Laviano - 17.99
Daniele di Bonaventura, bandoneon and Alfredo Laviano, percussion

Adagio - Antonio Paolo Pizzimenti - 17.99
Unlike his previous recordings, which were both sountracks for film or theater works, this is an original work conceived as a multimedia piece (the CD includes a video 'story'). All the music is composed and performed by Pizzimenti, with the voice of Simona Barbero punctuating some of the tracks. It is all stark, moody and cinematic, as Pizzimenti's work always is.

Apologia Di Un Canovaccio - Neaskene - 17.99
The debut (2006) by a young band from Ravenna, Italy. Fronted by singer Sara Cicognani. Neaskenč work within and without the tradition, mixing jazz, ethnic music, other national idioms and original writing. Tammorre (traditional drums), fretless electric bass, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin and other local and global instruments are merged to create a distinctively "pop" sound with a real edge and solid roots.

Re-covers - Albert Kuvezin and Yat-Kha - 17.99
OK, it had to happen, and Tuvan singer, electric guitarist and experimentalist Kuvezin is certainly the one to do it: Tuvan rooted recovers of pop and country 'hits' (although some here fall into the category of minor). So Led Zepellin's "When The Levee Breaks" gets an acid-rock throat-singing treatment to entrancing if somewhat unsettling results side by side with music from Kratfwerk, Motorhead, Hank Williams, Iron Butterfly, Paul Mauriat, Captain Beefheart ("Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" is one of the gems of the set!), Joy Division and a few Central Asian hit-makers as well. Irresistible fun, and occasioanlly brilliant. (This is the 2006 US release)

Sell Out - The Who - 12.99
OK, why the hell is this in here? One of the 'proprietor's perogatives,' I guess. I found one of my suppliers selling a very reasonably priced edition of what I consder to be one of the 5 best rock records ever made. It was a gem, and this remastered version brings out all its quirks. There are a bunch of bonus tracks, but I don't listen to the out-takes. The core is the madness of their music and advertising parodies, and it's all you need!

Una banda di pezzenti - Daniele Sepe - 18.99
A full-blown modern jazz recording from the Neapolitan saxophonist and musical revolutionary and his ensemble of musicians and singers. There are the usual Arabic, Mediterranean and Italian roots, the requisite Sepe-reggae, but they are sumblimated on this recording, serving the larger goal of making a sometimes terse, sometimes lush contemporary jazz sound with an edge of social/political commentary.

Kuu ja korkokengät - Vihrea Palma - 16.99
I have a soft spot for well-executed schmaltz and the Finnish ensemble Vihreä Palma stroke it nicely! Kirsi Poutanen's wonderfully warm voice fronts a strong ensemble of Juha Mäntylä, accordion, piano; Hannu Rantanen, bass and Timo Seppänen, guitar. It's a quirky mix of Latin jazz and Finnish attitude that makes it unique. Add to it that the ensemble is top-notch and you really can't go wrong.

Paesaggi Lontani - Claudia Bombardella Ensemble - 17.99
An eclectic musician, singer and composer Claudia Bombardella plays various instruments (baritone sax, clarinets, tuba, accordion, steel drum). Joined by her ensemble of voices, violin, cello, bass, accordions, giutar and mandolin, they bring ancient folk songs and new compositions to life through their varied backgrounds of classical, folk and jazz. Complex, creative, rich and beautiful, and all recorded live.

A Ballad for Many - Don Byron and Bang on a Can - 17.99
The record label says: After years of live collaboration, the acclaimed clarinetist shows off his talent as a composer on his new CD. The disc is dedicated to ground-breakers, with large-scale works dedicated to one-of-a-kind comic/satirist/star Ernie Kovacs, and to the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous African-American WWII-era fighter squadron.Recorded by Byron long-time producer Tom Lazarus, it features the Bang on a Can All-Stars at their best, negotiating breathtaking cello-piano duets, rocking out with one of Byron’s great grooves. This CD creates a unique opportunity to hear Byron’s music interpreted by a group other than his own.

See You In A Minute - Berger, Knutsson, Spering, Cherry, Cherry - 17.99
Bengt Berger, Jonas Knutsson, Christian Spering, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Neneh Cherry in an international homage to the late, great Don Cherry

Mulatos Remix - Omar Sosa - 18.99
A remix album of material from Sosa's award-winning Mulatos CD features club-remakes by Paris-based drummer/producer Doctor L; Brooklyn-based producer/remixer DJ Spinna; live Drum and Bass pioneer/drummer Marque Gilmore; Paris-based drummer/producer Steve Argüelles (who produced 'Mulatos'); and French DJ basephunk. The dance-jazz vibe of these remixes features Omar Sosa piano and marimba riffs, funky clarinet riffs, as well as new vocal and flute elements… all sharpened by the cutting edge approaches of the guest remixers. I am never sure what the attraction is to such projects, but if you like this sort of dance-floor chop=shop music, this one is well executed and might be worth your time.

dan_txa - Tomas San Miguel and Txalaparta - 17.99
Composer, acordionist and pianist Tomás San Miguel explores the rythms and modes of the ancient Basque melodic-percussive txalaparta with a definitive jazz outlook, joined by a small ensemble of txalaparta, flutes, keyboards, guitar and percussion (drum kit, frame drums, jaw harps and more). Some of it harkens back to 90's Kepa Junkera in its global energy, but for the most part, Miquel and his ensemble chart their own personal path. (CD and booklet.. shipped without jewel box)

Check it out, Igor - Bela Szakcsi Lakatos and Miklos Lukacs - 17.99
Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, piano and Miklós Lukács on cimbalom offer some wild and far-ranging improvised musical duests drawing on the musical grammar of Roman and Hungarian Gypsy tradition, classical keyboard from the Baroque to Bartók, and jazz styles from barrelhouse to bebop to Braxton. Challenging doesn't begin to describe it!

To hear with the mouth - Ensemble SON - 16.99


Return to the Woods - Joe Townsend and Martin Green - 16.99
Joe Townsend and Martin Green have recorded an album that walks through the hinterland of jazz, folk, and contemporary music on violin, guitar, accordion, and an array of other instruments such as Mongolian cello, octave violin, musical saw and Fender Rhodes piano. They move from the inspiration of Duke Ellington and Romanian Gypsy music, through the minimalism of Adams and Reich and into the darker regions of English folk music. Through imaginative recording techniques such as the placing of tiny microphones inside instruments, playing the accordion through rotating speakers and using vintage keyboards they have produced a unique voice which is constantly changing yet somehow familiar. There's no explaining it; you simply have to listen.

Plea for Peace - The Afro-Semitic Experience - 15.99
This African-Jewish jazz alliance offers a unique perspective, both musically and philosopically. Using tools expected and unexpected (bass, horns and drums are met by dobro, violin, African percussion and clarinet) they make a music that will grab the ear of mainstream jazz and Jewish fusion fans because no matter the genre, it is genuine, original and surprising.

Meselia Hill - Mihaly Borbely Quartet - 17.99
Mihály Borbélyplays clarinet and jazz saxophone as well kaval flute and tárogató (a wooden soprano saxophone) joined by an ensemble of piano, bass and drums with guests Zoltán Lantos (violin) and Miklós Lukács (cimbalom). Says Michael Stone in RootsWorld, "If Bartók played not-so-straight-ahead jazz, it might sound like the Borbély Quartet, combining Serbian, Slovak, Gypsy, Jewish and German folk influences with classical music, shot through with that thing that swings. Roland Kirk would understand."

Modern dances for the advanced in age - Gabor Gado - 17.99
Hungarian guitarist Gábor Gadó and his ensemble offer "a tongue-in-cheek sextet rounded out by a pair of saxes, trumpet, trombone, bass and drums... a certain down-at-the-heels dancehall feel: odd time changes, droll, edgy tango, cha cha and calypso, a guitar owing as much to Hendrix, Hawaii and heavy metal as to Wes Montgomery and George Benson, while the spirits of Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini drift by for the album closer, 'Moon River,' a place you've never been but might want to reconnoiter." - RootsWorld

Aparelhagem - DJ Dolores - 17.99
Aparelhagem literally means 'equipment,' and is the Brazilian slang expression for 'sound system.' It is both the title of the album and the name of DJ Dolores’ new live band and features female singer Isaar, a horn section with a distinct Nordeste-cum-reggae flavour, rock guitar, percussion, vintage synths, and DJ Dolores on laptop and turntables.

Around the world - Elmer Balasz Group - 17.99
The Hungarian drummer and his ensemble of piano, bass, guitar and percussion in a set of jazz based on Hungarian roots, with Mihály Dresch on flute, David Yengibarjan on accordion, and vocalists Gábor Winand and Henriett Czerovszky.

Lesamore - La Banda Improvvisa w/ Sepe and Kokko - 17.99
The remarkable Italian 'municipal orchestra' in a concert that is nothing like you have heard on your town square. Powerful performances by excellent musicians, and joined by two legendary guests, saxophonist is joined by Daniele Sepe and singer Auli Kokko. It's challenging, romantic, funny and great fun.

Pratomagno Social Club - La Banda Improvvisa - 17.99
It may look like it on first glance, but is is not your mother's municipal band. Giampiero Bigazzi's La Banda Improvvissa is a notorious big band with a bad attitude, taking the music of Italy's community orchestra to a new leverl with daring adventure. This time around they have invited violinist Blaine L. Reininger and zingane masters Kocani Orkestar along for the ride and the results of this live concert are surprising and completely original.

Play-Station - Motion Trio - 17.99
The Polish 'infernal trio' returns with their second recording, an adventurous exploration of the analog accordion in the digital age. The musicianship is peerless, their ideas are on the edge, and the execution is remarkable.

Together again - Yunakov, Papazov, Ali and Neshev - 16.99
The epic meeting of "The Legends of Bulgarian Wedding Music" Yuri Yunakov, Ivo Papazov, Salif Ali and Neshko Neshev join forces for a Bulgarian musical event. In the 70s and 80s these musicians pretty much recreated the eastern European musical terrain with their hyper-powered blend of Balkan folk music peppered with jazz, rock, Gypsy, Turkish and Indian music. Reeds, accordion and some of the most stunning percussion you are likely to hear anywhere join forces for this important 2005 release.

Soul of a Man - Knut Reiersrud - 17.99
The Norwegian guitarist's 1998 take on soul, blues and gospel is, as always distinctive and surprising. Always a step ahead, Knut employed samples of legendary blues performances together with rock-solid band of Paolo Vinaccia, Auden Erlien, Bugge Wesseltoft and Reidar Skĺr. The album is more of a band album with Knut's electric guitar virtuosity in focus. Three of the songs were written exclusively for him by Mac Rebenack and the late Doc Pomus, and the most convincing song on the recording, the title track, is an original. Completely unique and different.

Hold Me To This (...plays Radiohead) - Christopher O'Riley - 17.99
Pianist O'Riley plays 14 songs by Radiohead. Go figure!

Orgia - Jaume Sisa - 17.99
Jaume Sisa was an important part of Musica Dispersa and is a folk-rock artist with a very idiosyncratic style. His first album Orgia was a prime example of psychedelic rock - the Spanish way - with Sisa followings his whim much like Incredible String Band. The vocals and harmonica playing is a little indebted to Bob Dylan, but a lot stranger. Elsewhere there are kazoos, piano, tablas, recorders, snippets of tapes, and even occasional strings and brass. The same year, 1971, that Musica Dispersa was released, he also put out this great solo album. Crazy acid folk with lots of humour and weird vocals by Sisa himself.

Mademoiselle Marseille - Moussu T e lei Jovents - 17.99
Tatou and Blu of the Massilia Sound System join Brazilian percussionist Jamilson to explore the city of Marseilles, circa 1930. Provençal songs sit side by side with Vincent Scotto operettas, jazz, blues, Latin and Caribbean dance music evoking the coastline from Marseille to La Ciotat. This is unique French music, a rough-hewn acoustic sound, augmented by clever electronics, samples and audio archival snippets, all to create a psuedo-historical documentary that might be more true than the real thing.

Dance of the Vampires - Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Iva Bittová, Leoš Janácek - 17.99
The innovative new music ensemble in a program performed with Czech singer and violinist Iva Bittova and composed by Bittová and fellow Czech Leoš Janácek. Challenging, exhuberant and exciting music that bridges the classical, folk and avant garde musical worlds with ease and energy.

The Star Chamber - Industrial Jazz Group - 16.99
The ensemble says ' Not that kind of industrial. This one is way more fun!' I heard their Gross Fugue on the radio (WPKN, in Connecticut) and was positively blown away by it, and immediately put it in the catalog. They skirt the edge of a 60s noir jazz style, but ultimately, they are so far beyond categorizing that it is silly to try. Adventurous and unique.

Elida: Bang on a Can - Iva Bittova - 18.99
The unique Czech violinist/singer/composer has teamed up with the dynamic Bang on a Can All-Stars for an unforgettable recording. Elida (the name is a brand of soap from the composer's childhood) finds Bittova using the All-Stars as her orchestra. Sweeping piano lines meet full string ensemble settings, while clarinet improvisations meet electric guitar noise. The music is at the same time sophisticated and direct, edgy and nostalgic, mixing Eastern European classical music and folk traditions with angular string writing and heart-breaking Czech vocal melodies. Musicians: Robert Black - Bass; David Cossin - Drum Set, Percussion; Lisa Moore - Piano; Mark Stewart - Electric Guitars, 12-string Banjo, Hohner 48-chord harmonica; Wendy Sutter - Cello; Evan Ziporyn - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

Djungelmusik med sĺng - Rudiger Carl and Sven-Ake Johansson - 16.99
Swedish experimentalists Rüdiger Carl (accordion, clarinet) and Sven-Ĺke Johansson (accordion, drums and voice) push the limits on this 1997 recording, made live in a Stockholm bookstore. Their free-association approach to music makes this challenging for those in need of a countable beat, but the mood is elegant, bizarre or beautiful at each turn and the results are nothing short of unique.

The Aerial #1 - a journal in sound - various - 17.99
The Aerial is published periodically and each issue includes an informative color booklet in which the artists discuss their work and/or present other ideas suitable to the printed page. Artists in this volume: David Moss, Christine Baczewska, Richard Kostelanetz, Rich Jensen, Loren Mazzacane and Suzanne Langille, Malcolm Goldstein, Lost Souls, Floating Concrete Octopus, Jerry Hunt, Stuart Sherman and Bern Porter.

The Aerial #3 - a journal in sound - various - 17.99
The Aerial is published periodically and each issue includes an informative color booklet in which the artists discuss their work and/or present other ideas suitable to the printed page. In this edition: Ellen Fullman, Marc Barreca, Nicolas Collins, Peter Cusack, Tom Guralnick, Johanna M. Beyer, Zae Munn, Myra Melford and Marion Brandis, William Hooker and Leslie Dalaba.

Radius #1 - transmissions from broadcast artists - various - 17.99
Radius series was inaugurated to present experimental works made for radio broadcast. Curated by Helen Thorington, director of the New American Radio series. Includes works by Sheila Davies, What is the Matter in Amy Glennon? - a witty, fast-paced and well-written merger of science, mythology and philosophy in relation to the Self; Helen Thorington, Partial Perceptions - an exploration of relationships between nature, machine and woman made possible by recent technologies - (with vocalist Shelley Hirsch and musician Joseph Celli); Terry Allen, Bleeder, - a fictional biography about an enigmatic Texas gambler, faith healer, gangster and hemophiliac (with performance artist/actress Jo Harvey Allen - of David Byrne's True Stories film - as the storyteller.)

Radius #2 - transmissions from broadcast artists - various - 17.99
Radius series was inaugurated to present experimental works made for radio broadcast. Curated by Helen Thorington. Features works by L.A. performance artist Jacki Apple, Voices in the Dark - a look at the cosmos as repository of information broadcast from the earth - (with vocalists Anna Homler and David Moss); Donald Swearingen, Salvation at 1 AM - cannibalizing late night television; and Gregory Whitehead, Pressures of the Unspeakable - an investigation into the nervous system of the city of Sydney, Australia.

Radius #3 - transmissions from broadcast artists - various - 17.99
Radius series was inaugurated to present experimental works made for radio broadcast. Works by Kathy Kennedy, Christol Migone, Chantal Dumas, Dan Lander

Radius #4 - transmissions from broadcast artists - various - 17.99
Radius series was inaugurated to present experimental works made for radio broadcast. Works by Hildegard Westerkamp, Darren Copeland, Algojo and Robert Normandeau.

Ethnology - Sketis Music - various - 13.99
14 track sampler of the Russian Sketis lable features Reel, Volga, Drobinska, Samosad Band, Ivan Smrnov, Namghar, Tellen Gwad. A mix of ethnix and modern-roots derivitives from Russia and central Asia.

The Well-Tampered Accordion - Guy Klucevsek - 16.99
The centerpiece of composer/accordionist Guy Klucevsek’s new solo recording is a collection of 12 short pieces that consist of etudes, preludes, chorales, songs without words, dances and a fantasy. In his most ambitious solo composition to date, inspired by J.S. Bach’s 'The Well-Tempered Klavier,' Klucevsek draws on all the elements of his previous music and ventures into new territory as well: hints of Bartok, Copland, Gottshalk, Eastern European folk music, Middle Eastern melodies and minimalism. Features 'Accordion Misdemeanors,' which Klucevsek wrote to accompany E Annie Proulx’s novel Accordion Crimes, and 'Four Portraits,' inspired by Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer-winning novel The Hours.

Uumen - Kimmo Pohjonen and Eric Echampard - 17.99
Kimmo Pohjonen (accordion)/ Eric Echampard (drums) joined forces in 2001 with the goal to make totally improvised music, live on stage with no rehearsals. They have succeeded in their aim to ride the edge of melody, counterpoint, energy and tension as proven by the enthusiastic audiences at each performance, as well as by the satisfaction and exhilaration of the two players.

Pan - Rinneradio - 17.99
The 2004 release by this innovative Finnish ensemble of Tapani Rinne - saxophone and clarinet; Verneri Lumi - electronics and Juusonik - percussion.

Tre - Archimedes Badkar - 18.99
Reissue of a 1977 recording by a Swedish jazz-folk-rock fusion outfit that was pretty pioneering for their time, and still sounds fresh all these years later. It combined a raw jazz attitude with a flair for more folky melodies, all twisted around with attitude and energy. Fans of Arbete-Fritid and David Amram will get it right away, but you have to love long jazz solos!

list of lights and buoys - Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - 17.99
Norwegian duo of Susanna Wallumrřd (vocals) and Morten Qvenild (keyboards) features nine low key, sparse and austere original songs (sung in English) plus highly personal interpretations of Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' and Leonard Bernstein's 'Who Am I'. Unique contemporary pop music from Scandinavia.

Ludo - Bendik Hofseth, Anne-Lise Berntsen, Helge Iberg - 18.99
A strange and challenging recording by three Norwegian artists - jazz saxophonist, classical singer and innovative keyboardist/programmer. 'Dramatic verve and delicate beauty intertwines. This chamber musical play is intelligent, inspired, and captivating. Once you subject this recording to the cerebellum, chances are it will take over the entire brain. If you swear to pure music, a CD like this would serve as a source for the most delightful vexation!' - C. Terje Mosnes, Dagbladet, Norway

Shadows - Sabbath Hela Vecken - 17.99
An instrumental sextet based in Sweden with members from Sweden, the US and Finland. They call it 'a musical and visual experience in Klezmer, Gypsy and east-European music.' It's done with energy and wit.

Zarani - Zad Moultaka - 18.99
Lebanese pianist and composer Zad Moultaka with Fadia Tomb el Hage (contralto), Pierre Rigopoulos (percussions), Jihal Al Chémaly (oud)

Dancin' Roots - Simone Guiducci Gramelot Ensemble - 17.99
Joined by acclaimed jazz clarinetist Don Byron, guitarist Guiducci and his ensemble of accordion, percussion, horns, reeds and bass experiment with jazz and roots.

Chorale - Simone Guiducci Gramelot Ensemble - 17.99
The Italian guitarist and his ensemble of accordion, percussion, horns, reeds and bass experiment with jazz and roots, joined by a small bevy of guest artists.

Siempre Hay Algo Nuevo - Luis Di Matteo - 25.99
Di Matteo is one of the last great bandoneonistas and composers of the Rio de la Plata, born in Uruguay but musically bred in the bands of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This 2 CD anniversary collection of one of South America's new music heros shows how much more there is besides tango on the Argentine landscape. One CD (Retrospectivo) is a collection of his work from 1976 to 2000. The other CD (Tango y mas allá) presents brand new recordings.

Pictures at an Exhibition - Trio Fratres - 16.99
A Finnish accordion trio of Raimo Vertainen, Heikki Jokiaho and Toni Hämäläinen tackles the classic Mussorgsky work, plus some piece by Tchaikovsky and Jokiaho. A must have for anyone interested in the extremes of the accordion!

Kalevi Aho (Black Birds) - Marjut Tynkkynen - 16.99
Solo works for accordion from Finland: 'Sonata for accordion No.1' and 'Sonata for accordion No.2 - Black Birds'

Niskavuoren Nuori emanta - Maria Kalaniemi - 17.99
This is the music for The Finnish National Theatre production of Niskavuoren Nuori emäntä (The young bride of Niskavuori), composed by Maria Kalaniemi and Olli Varis. Most are new pieces for accordion written for the play, with two tracks previously released on earlier recordings.

Inky Joy - The World Mankeri Orchestra - 16.99
The Finnish etno-pojat returns with their 2004 release of edgy winds, subtle percussion, bass and strings. Heikki Syrjänen and Pekka Westerholm - winds (including lira and mänkeri) and kantele; Olli Penttilä - bass; Markku Penttilä - percussion and bass; and Petri Pentikainen, percussion and drums.

Deep Silence / gagaku - Toshio Hosokawa / Stefan Hussong - Mayumi Miyata - 18.99
Music,' says Toshio Hosokawa, 'is the place where notes and silence meet.' This identifies his aesthetic concept as a genuinely Japanese one. It is found both in Japanese landscape painting and in the music, such as the courtly gagaku, in which audible sound always stands in relation to nonsound, i.e. to silence. In their rhythmic proportions Hosokawa's compositions are oriented around the breathing methods of Zen meditation, with their very slow breathing in and very slow breathing out: 'Each breath contains life and death, death and life.' Mayumi Miyata (sho – the instrument of the universe or of tradition) and Stefan Hussong (accordion – the human or contemporary instrument) are among the most important interpreters of Hosokawa's music, which here is framed by four traditional gagaku pieces.

Psappha, Rebounds A and B, Okho pur trois djembes - Iannis Xenakis - 19.99
Contemporary wors for percussion ensembles, composed by Xennakis and performed by Pedro Carneiro (percussion and djembe) and Mathew Rich and Stephen John Gibson (djembes). This is a two sided disc. One side is CD audio tracks, the other is a DVD with performances, a 'making of...' video and other additional informational tracks including an interview with Xenakis.

TranceDance - Christer Bothen and Bolon Bata - 17.99
One the new Resonans imprint from MNW records, this is a numbered edition (limited to 1000 copies) digipack of a classic recording. Bolon Bata with Christer Bothén (Archimedes Badkar) and Bosse Skoglund (Arbete and Fritid, Fläsket Brinner). Moving between classic Afrobeat and avant garde Swedish jazz, this is a unique recording with an unusual perspective.

Motet - Anitas Livstrand - 17.99
Mötet is one the new CDs on the Resonans imprint from MNW records, a numbered edition (limited to 1000 copies) digipack of a classic recording. Livstrand (best known for her work with her 80s band Anitas Livs) is joined by a remarkable cast including Coste Apetera and Lasse Hollmer from Samla Mammas Manna, the exceptional percussionist Bengt Berger, Thomas Mera Gartz from Träd Gräs and Stenar, Bill Öhrström from Fläsket Brinner

Force Majeure - Jokke Schreurs - 17.99
Elegant Belgian guitarist, accompanied by upright bass and guitar, performs straight-ahead jazz in the lineage of Django, but certainly not hemmed in by the Gypsy's legacy. 9 pieces, most originals, with works by Piazzolla, Tchaikowsky, Coltrane and one trad tune filling out the set.

Heart of Andes - Guy Klucevsek - 16.99
A series of solo accordion pieces by a master of the instrument, compositions by Klucevsek, Philip Johnston, Dave Douglas and Dmitri Shostakovich.

Nia maro - Daniele Sepe - 18.99
I know I say it almost every time he does a recording, but there really is no one like Sepe in the musical world, a composer and musician with a unique vision of his world, both musical and social, and an artist both global and local simultaneously. This recording is one of his more adventuous, and yet it is remarkably also one of his more 'rooted' although those roots spread all across the Mediteranean basin.

The New Village - Enzo Favata Tentetto (featuring Tenores di Bitti) - 18.99
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.

Suite per bandoneon e orchestra - Daniele Bonaventura - 19.99
The bandoneon master performs two new major compositions, a suite for bandoneon and orchestra, and Piccolo Requiem for Solo Bandoneon.

Sentimental Streak - Catherine Russell - 18.99
A collection of songs that hightlight this jazz singers vocal range. 14 tracks of jazz, blues and torch songs recorded at Levon Helm Studios by producer Larry Campbell (who has recorded Dylan, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, and Abbey Lincoln and adds his own mandolin, guitar, resonator guitar, violin, and pedal steel). Matt Munisteri on guitar and banjo, Lee Hudson on acoustic bass, and Larry Ham or Mark Shane on piano with guest musicians include Byron Isaacs of Ollabelle on acoustic bass, Rachelle Garniez on accordion, James Wormworth on drums, Howard Johnson on tuba, and from the Levon Helm Band, Steven Bernstein on trumpet, cornet, and slide trumpet, Erik Lawrence on saxophones, and Brian Mitchell on piano.

Fuori dal Paradiso - Piero Brega - 17.99
One of the most beautiful voices of Italian popular music, winner of the Ciampi Award in 2005 with his debut record "Come Li Viandanti", is back with his second work, "Fuori dal paradiso", a record of original songs written by Brega and Martire, arranged by Mark Hamlyn and produced in collaboration with the Gianni Bosio Club. The record, twelve tracks, expresses the origins and the relevance of Brega's music, who, since his beginnings in the '70's with the Canzoniere del Lazio, has always loved the contamination of the tradition with the driving force of the rhythmic instruments. Also in "Fuori dal paradiso" music and words flow in a series of tales and colours, moving from waltzes to ethnic suggestions. Brega is in love with Rome and with its dialect, and gives us a well-balanced record in which personal stories mix easily with fantastic tales.

Uccelli - Teatro Settimo - 17.99
The soundtrack of the theatre version of Aristophanes' "The Birds" presented at the Spoleto Festival in June 1996 as performed by Banda Osiris, Aringa & Verdurini, Paolo Pizzimenti, Anna Coppola and many other singers and musicians from the Italian music world.

Baqshish - Francesco Banchini - 17.99
Banchini's previous works have taken him from the study of classical and Medieval music to music therapy to southern Italian folk music to the traditions of Balkans and the Mediterranean. This is a CD bursting with colour and flavour, where original compositions blend with traditional Mediterranean songs and melodies. As well as various types of clarinet he plays nay, flute, chalumeaux, piano, while his own voice broadens the sound further. Accompanying him on the record are a group of fine musicians including Davide Della Monica (guitar), Cristiano Della Monica (percussion), Francesco Migliaccio (accordion) and Manuela Salinaro (darabouka, cajon, frame drums).

Bellemeade Sessions - Michael Hurley - 17.99
Some rough and tumble sessions by Hurley and a few friends made between between 1994 and 1998 are, as Hurley puts it, 'a return to the Land of Lo-Fi.' It's the real (raw) deal.

Tribal Musette - Les Primitifs du Futur - 15.99
2008 recording by Dominique Cravic and his outsized, wildly eclectic multi-ethnic Parisian ensemble, including mandolinist, cartoonist and illustrator Robert Crumb (who did the artwork for the CD), plus interesting guests: Sanseverino, Flaco Jimenez, Raul Barbosa, Mieko Miyazaki and many others. Highly recommended

Anatomy of a Coup - Sacha Silva - 12.99
An unusual ensemble mixes flamenco, Indian classical and modern music with heady questions of personal and political issues, music, as the band says, 'that reads the newspaper.' An original sound, adventurous but rooted in traditions from around the world, and not a hint of "world-beat' or 'world fusion.' Highly recommended

Notefalls - Guy Klucevsek and Alan Bern - 17.99
In 2000, accordionist Klucevsek recorded for the first time with Alan Bern, widely known through the Jewish group Brave Old World. The two met again to play original compositions written for dance companies and found common ground in such genres as tone poems, songs with folk and jazz elements, and sound sculptures that play with reverb and special room reflections.Guy Klucevsek: accordion, piano; Alan Bern: accordion, melodica, piano, MIDI keyboard

Rosenang - Elise Einardotter and Lennart Hellsing - 17.99
One of Cliff's quirky choices... This is vocal pop music from Sweden, performed by pianist/composer Einarsdotter and singer Hellsing, and a small jazz ensemble and some of Sweden's most interesting singers including Lena Willemark, Olle Persson and the Voice Boys. File under 'other?'

Down In Dublin - Michael Hurley - 17.99
The king of snock, a master of overstated, under-rated, country influenced songwriting is like no one else on the planet, and these sessions from ireland are no exception. Dark, funny, disturbing and romantic, often simultaneously, Hurley is one of the few people out there who merits the accolade of 'one of a kind.'

The Jig Is Up - Peter Stampfel and the Bottlecaps - 17.99
H.M. Rounder Peter Stampfel is back again, in a series of recordings made 1989–1999 with a host of different musicians, but all pulled together by his insatiable, exploratory lust for good songs, odd ideas and bizarre juxtapositions (and a Quicktime video clip, too!).

L'Oste del Diau - Lou Dalfin - 17.99
Led by hurdy-gurdy maestro Sergio Berardo, the band Lou Dalfin havbe been championing Occitan music, giving it a contemporary facelift and lifting it out of the provincial ghetto to reach a wider, more culturally varied public. The ensemble and its guests present a somtimes large sound, with voices, flutes, jew's harp, bagpipe, guitar, drums, percussion, accordeon, melodeon, bass, trumpet, mandolin, whistles, a choir, harp and tuba.

Messiah: Remix - various - 17.99
One of the irresistible chestnuts of classical music gets a radical overhaul by some of the contemporary music scene's leading provacatuers. Handel's 1742 warhorse gets mashed into electronica, modernist mania, moody ambience, rough-hewn hip-hop and uninhibited nuttiness by artists like John Oswald, Scanner, Paul Lansky and Eve Beglarian.

Pretty Ugly - Knut Reiersrud - 18.99
Knut Reiersrud, Norwegian guitarist extraordinaire, creates a solo ensemble with himself and the studio recorders, and goes back to his folk, blues and R'and'B roots. His mugshot may be pretty ugly... the music is anything but!

Outer Circles - Victoria Jordanova - 15.99
An astonishing talent, more than just a harp player. Her music is haunting and heartbreaking. The tones are surreal, eerie, barely discernable as a known instrument at times. The main piece, 'Outer Circles' is a about the 9/11 tragedy. Dark, brooding, yet with a strange and shimmering beauty illuminating hope underneath it all. The second work mixes things like church bells with harp and electronics. These ancient-modern instruments meet to create depth and warmth. A unique, earthy yet other-worldly experience.

Songs of Sunlife: Inside the Didjeridu - Douglas R. Ewart - 15.99
A deeply spiritual yet innovative approach to this ancient aboriginal instrument is at the heart of the composition and performance philosophy of Ewart's work, whether it is as a soloist or when joined by poet Louis Alemayehu, percussionist Steve Goldstein and bassist Adam Lane.

Holnapig - Until tommorow - Lantos Iván - 14.99
Lantos was one of the remarkable members of the Vízönto and the Kolinda group in the 70s. This collection represents his unique work from 1992 to 2003 In his music the rootlessness mates with the limitlessness, irony with elevation and the renaissance with the postmodern. A great introduction to an important and innovative Hungarian musician.

Magony - Kovács Ferenc - 16.99
A solo album by the violin soloist of Djabe, Kalman Balogh’s Gypsy Cimbalom Band and Dresh Quartet.

Magony Vonósok (2 CD set) - Kovács Ferenc - 19.99
The Magony orchestra was formed in 2001, to perform in live Ferenc Kovács’s solo album. Their repertory has been continuously enlarged with their own compositions and special elaborations of well-known Hungarian folk songs. Their musical style can be summed up by the expression 'contemporary rustic music.' The aim of Magony, the artist states, 'is to express our ancient Hungarian emotions in a Hungarian way by melting the classical, the Gypsy and our folk traditions.'

Gronn - Qvale's Ensemble - 17.99
An unusual pop recording from Norway features a unique singer backed by an adventurous ensemble, and produced by Farmers Market legend Stian Carstensen.

Neonlys pĺ Wergeland - Ingrid Bjone, Dr. Jonas Fjeld, Ola B. Johannesen - 14.99
Neon Light on Wergeland' presents the Norwegian poet and nationalist in an unusual musical light.

Cosmic Sounds Remixed - Various - 16.99
Artists from around the world join forces to pay tribute to the Cosmic Sounds label (Italy, Austria, Croatia, England, Hungary, Australia, Japan and Serbia). Each of them chose one track from the CS catalogue and gave it a fresh touch. 8 remixes of tracks by Arkestra One, SHQ, Jerome Richardson, Dusko Gojkovic and others by DJs from across Europe and Asia.

Io (4 CD box set) - Ennio Morricone - 74.99
4 CD set in presentation box: Music for Piano; Film Music; Chamber Music; Symphony Music

Jump for George - Imaginary Homeland - 15.99
This is one of those 'what can you say?' sort of recordings. Composer, saxophonist, and percussionist David Rogers, percussionist Mark Stone, violinist Marlene Rice and funky bassist Matt Pavolka have found the non-existant link between Appalachian string bands, Ghanian percussion, downtown jazz and host of other unrelated ideas that miraculously fit together as if they had the deepest of ethnomusical roots.

Live For the Moment - Willy Schwarz - 14.99
File under: rootless cosmopolitan. For his groundbreaking first solo CD, Willy assembled 40 players, from India's master musicians to American virtuosi Howard Levy and Paul Wertico, to produce (with Warren Senders) what Rolling Stone called '...a many-layered fusion of folksong-writing, social criticism, as well as eastern wisdom, of Irish, Indian, and Caribbean blasts – all with disarming innocence'

MALIcool - Roswell Rudd and Toumani Diabate - 17.99
The outside jazz trombonist and the master of Malian kora and cool mix it all together on an exporation of sound.

Pai Nai - Methel and Lord - 17.99
Impossible to adequately describe, this unusual collaboration of peorty and music crosses a lot of boundaries, with it's mix of jazzy rock, folky blues and artsy bad attitude. 'Methel is the composer and the voice of the band, and together with Lord arranges acoustic and electric music with special electronic effects that break the natural rythm of the compositions and create a very unusual, evocative sounds.'

Djangovision - Romane - 17.99
Romane (guitar), Benoît Sourisse (organ), André Charlier (drums), Marc-Michel Le Bévillon (double bass)

Serendipity - Studio Pagol - 17.99
A mix of Indian techno, pop, and even cocktail music features a wild cover of The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows (TNK) with a remixed upbeat tempo Bollywood style. Numerous artists from widespread horizons collaborated on Serendipity from Moroccan singer Shamal'hia to Bengalese singer, guitarist and keyboard player John Liton Baroď. The result of this fusion is an album that blurs the lines between musical genres.

The Fog of War - Original Soundtrack - Philip Glass - 17.99
Glass' subtle soundtrack to Errol Morris’ documentary film about he career of Robert S. McNamara, US Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. With this film, his seventh documentary, Morris intertwines 26 hours of interviews with Mr. McNamara, archival footage, filmed recreation, and newly declassified White House recordings.

La Luz Prodigiosa - Ennio Morricone - 17.99
Music for the film by Miguel Hermoso and featuring the title song sung by Dulce Pontes

Smiling Men with Bad Reputations - Mike Heron - 16.99
One of my guilty pleasures: the reissue of a bizarre, quirky and often quite funnny 1971 'solo' recording by Incredible String Bander Mike Heron includes The Who's Townsend and Moon, Richard Thompson, Jimmy Page, Dudu Pukwana, Elton John, various Fairporters and Dr Strangely Strange. Pop-powered flower-power folk-rock-jazz-silliness. Irresistible!

Organic Oboe - Joseph Celli - 14.99
features the music of composer/double reed virtuoso Joseph Celli and was originally released in 1978 on vinyl as a small, independent edition. The impact of the recording in 1978 was significant with DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE writing, ...boldly experimentalstartling... and composer Anthony Braxton claiming, I was shocked to first hear this music, very advanced, ...a surprising use of instrumental techniques.

Love and Fear - Song and Turner - 14.99
Vocals and kayagum performances from Jeff Song, and celli performances by Matt Turner. The CD was taped live in a recording studio with each piece a complete improvisatory effort.

Crux - Stuart Saunders Smith - 14.99
Explores the insights and sonic discoveries of new music composer, Stuart Saunders Smith. Pieces range from Smith's early composition, Here and There using short-wave radio, flute and piano interior, to the opening tour de force Tunnels for musician/actor. oodiscs #11, Crux, features some of America's most noted new music performers including the redoubtable bassist Burt Turetzky, piano virtuosi Paul Hoffmann and Thomas Moore and singer/actor/percussionist Thomas Goldstein.

Steel and Bamboo - Dick and Gorn - 14.99
Ethno-techno' Interface of World Music and Revolutionary Flute Sounds. - Robert Dick and Steve Gorn are both virtuosi flautists and the duo name, Steel and Bamboo, reflects their choice of instruments. Dick performs on the world's only stainless steel flute and Gorn plays bamboo flutes from India and the Orient.

Hocus Opus - First Avenue Ensemble - 14.99
An electro-acoustic music ensemble formed in 1982 by classically-trained musicians dedicated to expanding their art through improvisation, theater, extended techniques, performance art and the integration of advanced technologies with acoustic instruments.

State Of The Bass - Robert Black - 14.99
The contemporary bass master performs on the traditional doublebass, the electric bass guitar, the electronic upright bass and the MIDI base. Black strums, picks, slaps, hugs and plucks music out of these instruments with both a wild emotional abandon, as well as an intellectual control. The recording includes the compositions Two in the Hand by Robert Zvonar, Composed Improvisation for Steinberger Bass Guitar and Snare Drum by John Cage, Radio Sonata by James Sellars, Piece #1 for Doublebass and Tape by Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Big and Cheap by Amy Knoles, Mirrors by Paul Dresher and Trio by Richard Zvonar and Robert Black.

A Decade - Zeitgeist Plays Rzewski - 14.99
For the past ten years one of America's most influential and important composers has been collaborating with the extraordinary Zeitgeist contemporary music ensemble of Minneapolis. Their work together has helped to define one of the most important and provocative new music collaborations of the past decade.This recording is the cumulative result of this most fortunate artistic liaison.

The Piano Music - Frederic Rzewski - 14.99
includes the composer's dramatization of Oscar Wilde's years in prison for homosexuality, as well as four ballads concerning the working conditions in textile mills in North Carolina in the 1930's. Rzewski never backs down, never compromises. He is dangerously political, with a vision that is at once steadfast, honest and courageously innocent.

Act Of Finding - Thomas Buckner, Tom Hamilton, Ratzo Harris, Bruce Arnold - 14.99
The experimental New York-based improvising quartet creates sophisticated and compelling musical relationships on its debut recording. The quartet is comprised of veteran new music pioneer Thomas Buckner (voice); America's foremost performing composer of analog electronics, Tom Hamilton; innovative jazz bassist Ratzo Harris; and processed guitar wizard Bruce Arnold.

Machine For Making Sense - Machine for Making Sense - 14.99
A cooperative venture between five of Australia's most interesting sound artists, creating a powerful interactive organic machine that explores the parameters of sense. The machine's synthesis of polemic and chaos has found the group acclaim in Europe, the USA and Australia as one of the most original developments in contemporary performance. Dispersing at the intersection of music and speech, text and improvisation, function and use, Machine for Making Sense explores distinctions between language, sound and music, as well as code, sign and meaning.

No World Improvisations - Jin Hi Kim and Joseph Celli - 14.99
Korean-American composer/performer Jin Hi Kim and composer/double reed virtuoso Joseph Celli in five works that seem to cross the borders between new, experimental and world music.

Banter - Bailey and Bendian - 14.99
Pioneering guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Gregg Bendian in a lively game of musical ping pong. It startles and plays with sound images that are so alive they walk into the room and announce themselves. They don't take off their hats. They don't bother to sit down. They just appear--with an attitude.

Chris Mann and The Impediments - Chris Mann - 14.99
Play it, shuffle it and rearrange it. This 'interactive sound game' was made especially for the intellectually adventurous listener who is ready to take part in the creative process. Chris Mann, internationally reputed master of deconstructionalist sound poetry, has brought post-modern language, manipulated voices and mind-bending acoustics altogether on one huge shuffle board CD. Eighty tracks lend this disc to a new kind of sound-surfing, sitting back with the remote control and riding the waves of such heady concerns as the meaning of existence, what is language, is there such a thing as reality? By switching from track to track, the listener becomes part of the artistic journey, jumping into the textural sounds, forever making up new sound/word combinations that change and evolve according to the listener's whim. Chris Mann has created the ultimate interactive sound game, where there is no limit to what is heard and understood and ultimately created.

Video Ears-Music Eyes - Joseph Celli - 14.99
Post-Minimal Music for Video: featuring 74 minutes of Joseph Celli's music for video, with written commentary by Tony Conrad, and poster art created by artist/designer, Robert Appleton. The performances include Jin Hi Kim, komungo; Brian Johnson, percussion; Grupo de Musica Folklorica del Peru; Ulrich Krieger, saxophones, and Malcolm Goldstein, violin. It strips away instruments to their most minimal form. We hear the violin bow in a constant 360 degree rotation, Peruvian musicians playing through their instruments, the endless glissandi of mallets, and new innovations on the ancient komungo. This system of organizing sound is part of Celli's long-standing investigation into generating sound that relates solely to the instrument that is being played, rather than to pre-established notions of Western, Asian or African scales.

The Good Book's - David First - 14.99
First calls it 'North American Teahouse Music.' But there is nothing polite or quiet about it. In his passionate liner notes, First states, 'The creation of a deeply joyous, ecstatic, environment that people could fall into, and revel in, has always been most important to me.' First invites us into the home of glissando, vibrato, tremolo, timbral modulation, trilling and panning. The room is set spinning, careening and flying into a whirling dervish of tone and vibrational resonance. Sound swoops into the very fiber of the listener's being, and soars up the spine, directly into the cerebral cortex.

Living Tones - Jin Hi Kim - 16.99
A rare mix of traditional Korean music with a modern American sensibility that includes Robert Dick on flutes; Thomas Buckner, baritone; National Living Treasure Chung Jae-Guk, Park Jong-Sol and Yang Myung-Sok on piri; as well as Joseph Celli playing the oboe and English horn. With this new release, Jin Hi Kim champions the cause of cross-cultural communication through four unique compositions that skirt, weave and dart across and between Asian-American microtonal sound chambers. The results are at once spiritual, artistic and illuminating--decidedly Korean, and subtly American. Jin Hi Kim's LivingTones ushers in a new era of East-West aesthetic understanding through the creation of a new place where subcultural investigations are allowed occur and grow freely. Please note: This is a CDR, produced by the artist, with commercially printed booklet and J-card. The music and notes are exactly as the original published CD.

Subterranea - Ken Field - 14.99
This was recorded in several underground rooms in Roswell, New Mexico. Ken Field, a member of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, has composed eleven tracks ranging from overdubbed saxophones, sticks on juice cans, sticks on suitcase, and lots of percussion. The music is improvised music, but not in the traditional jazz sense of solos over chord changes. Field has stated, 'Each track is a spontaneous response to the previously recorded tracks with no preconception at the outset of the final outcome.'

Off-Hour Wait State - Tom Hamilton - 14.99
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Edible Black Ink - Arthur Jarvinen - 14.99
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Coastal Traces - Eleanor Hovda - 14.99
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Turn Pain Into Power - Fred Ho and the Afro Asian Music Ensemble - 14.99
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Wind In The Channel - Stuart Saunders Smith - 14.99
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Overstepping - Eve Beglarian - 14.99
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Emanations - Steve Peters - 14.99
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Come Night - Loren Mazzacane and Susan Langille - 14.99
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Go Guitars - Seth Josel - 14.99
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Indigenous Music - Stephen Mosko - 14.99
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No World (Trio) Improvisations - Celli and Kim - 14.99
Features the music of composer/double reed virtuoso Joseph Celli and Korean-American composer/performer Jin Hi Kim, in collaboration with five brilliant new music/world music improvisers, resulting in five uniquely individualistic trio improvisations. The music crosses the borders of new, experimental, and world musics, with each work developing a distinct musical statement. This is the second No World Improvisations release by the Celli and Kim duo, who are joined by adventurous improvisers Adam Plack, didgeridoo; Mor Thiam, African percussion; Shelley Hirsch, voice; Malcolm Goldstein, violin; and Alvin Curran, electronics. All of the pieces reflect the strong individuality of the musicians creating them, ranging in sound from a meditative trance state to hyper downtown improv

Komunguitar - Jin Hi Kim - 14.99
Contemporary music for the Korean komungo music performed in duet with guitarists Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, David First, Henry Kaiser, Hans Reichel and Elliott Sharp

Thousand Year Dreaming - Annea Lockwood - 14.99
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Celestial Voices - Orlando Jacinto Garcia - 14.99
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Broken Dances - Tom Guralnick - 14.99
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From The Other Side - Electroacoustic Arists from Latin America - 14.99
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Ariadne Music - Eleanor Hovda - 14.99
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Sounding The New Violin - Malcolm Goldstein - 14.99
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Erase The Fake - Arthur Jarvinen - 14.99
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Shreds Of Evidence - First Avenue Ensemble - 14.99
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Border Music - Peter Garland - 14.99
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Exquisite Corpses From Ps 122 - Exquisite Corpses - 14.99
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Dancing In Place - Elizabeth Panzer - 14.99
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Meshes - Teiji Ito - 14.99
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The Glass World - Annea Lockwood - 15.99
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The Beauty Of Silence - Orlando Jacinto Garcia - 14.99
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Go, Blue - Blue Gene Tyranny - 14.99
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Illud Tempus - Jocy DeOliveira - 14.99
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Play Nice - twisted tutu - 14.99
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Caught By The Sky With Wire - The Maya Beiser/Steven Schick Project - 14.99
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Electricity - Neil Rolnick - 14.99
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Ground - Jerry Hunt - 14.99
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Saalas - Jouko Kyhala - temp out of stock-17.99
Harmonica master Jouko Kyhälä (of Svang) is joined by Piia Kleemola (violin), Pekka Lehti (bass), Janne Lappalainen from Varttina (bouzoki) and Abdissa Assefa (percussion) for a wide ranging musical tour.

Maahan - Alamaailman Vasarat - temp out of stock-18.99
The 2006 release by this amazing Finnish ensemble presents a clash of ideas from rock, folk, jazz and the avant garde, led by brass and wind instruments and a dramatic dual-cello section. Totally unique.

Tva zlata - Irena and Vojtech Havlovi - temp out of stock
Irena and Vojtech Havlovi present 40 short musical vignettes on Tvá zlatá ranging from 4 seconds to 5 minutes, primarily for voice, cello and piano. They range from folk-like simplicity to the extreme avant garde, from the lyrical to the brash. A number of tracks include guests artist on various reeds and horns, as well as one remarkable wordless vocal and viola de gamba piece, sung by Savina Yannatou.

Flying Dragon: Traditional music for an imaginary nation - Gao Hong - temp out of stock-15.99
Composer musician Gao Hong plays the pipa, a four-stringed pear-shaped Chinese lute. A native of China, and a familiar face on the international concert scene, she has brought along sitarist Shubhendra Rao, percussionist/tabla player Ty Burhoe, flute virtuoso James Newton, and Japanese shakuhachi player Yoshio Kurahashi.They merge culture, time and space into a contemporary exploration.

Per non parlare della Strega - Martinicca Boison - temp out of stock-17.99
Words escape me when I try to write something about this Italian band, self proclaimed as "avant-folk-roots progressives.' The ensemble includes voices, guitars, cornamuse (bagpipe), Irish flute, violin, mandolin, trombone, drums and bass as the core, with plenty of surprises. Just go listen to a few samples!

Sonos 'e Memoria - Paulo Fresu, with Elena Ledda, et al - temp out of stock-17.99
A remarkable sound track to a documentary by Gianfranco Cabiddu, recorded live as the musicians watched the film. It moves from Sardinian folk music to edgy-outside improv to structured big-band jazz, fuled by incredible musicianship - Antonello Salis (amazing accordion work!), Luigi Lai (laudennas), Elena Ledda, Mauro Palmas and many more.

Urbs - Karl Seglem - temp out of stock-16.99
The 2007 release by Norway's most innovative horn player, once again exploring the tradition without ever being 'traditional.' Rock, jazz and primitive folk all collide on this unique instrumental recording.

Outcome Inevitable - Relache Ensemble - out of print-14.99
a digital recording of the Relache Ensemble's favorite commissioned works from recent years. Beginning with the title track, composed by world-renowned American composer Robert Ashley, the disc also includes Timberline by Lois V. Vierk, ContradictionPlease! The Revenge Of Charlie Chan by Fred Wei-han Ho and the only work on the CD not commissioned by Relache, Borealis Music by Eleanor Hovda.

Ta zontana (2 CDs, live) - Thanasis Papakonstantinou and Laikedelica - temp out of stock-19.99
The legendary Greek composer, singer and musician in a full-length (and lengthy!) 2 CD program of new works, and songs from previous his two recordings given a whole new perspective by the amazing ensemble he has backing him up: Babis Papadopoulos (guitars), Alexis Apostolakis (drums), Yorgos Badouk (guitars, keyboards, bass, harmonica), Dimitri Baslam (acoustic bass), Dimitri Mystakidis (acoustic guitar, lute), Photis Siotas (violin, keyboards, backing vocals), Pandelis Stoikos (melodica, trumpet) and the amazing vocalist Martha Frintzila. One of the best rock recordings of 2004, from anywhere on the planet.

Kainuu - Sanna Kurki-Suonio and Riitta Huttunen - temp out of stock-17.99
The Sanna Kurki-Suonio and Riitta Huttunen duo´s debut and also Sanna's first recording in six years on her own name. They have restored old Finnish traditional songs and hymns from Kainuu region with a sound that is very simple but beautiful, featuring only Sanna's voice and Riitta's kantele. The 'power of less' is revealed to once again be more.

Vapaassa tilassa - Timo Alakotila and Johanna Juhola - temp out of stock-17.99
One of the fathers of Finnish chamber folk, pianist Timo Alakotila joins forces with accordionist Johanna Juhola (a member of Troka among other projects), in duets, solos and small ensemble arrangements that include Aili Ikonen, Petri Hakala, Jouni Järvelä, Pekka Kuusisto and Roger Tallroth. Excellent and highly recommended.

Miette - Johanna Juhola - temp out of stock-17.99
Yet another Sibelius graduate brings her accordion to new territory, exploring her roots while simultaneously shattering preconceptions. A member of the Finnish groups Troka and Spontaani Vire , this recording finds her in far more adventurous turf, in both solo works and some agressive ensemble work.

Wameedd - Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler - temp out of stock-19.99
Kamilya Jubran (voice and oud) and Werner Hasler (electronic instruments) have found a startling new vehicle for middle eastern texts that is both deeply ancient and human while stridently modern, not designed for the dance floor but presented in a robust, thoughtful, art-music approach. Jubran, well-known for her many years as a lead member of the Palestinian art ensemble Sabreen, finds a totally new path for her vision and voice in the unique aural landscapes created by Swiss musician Hasler.

Tarant Beat Project - Rione Junno - temp out of stock-17.99
The latest heir to Eugennio Bennato's TarantaPower movement is this young band of musicians who have learned from Bennato and moved forward into their own new territory. In the best of the tradition they are deeply indebted to the ancient songs while forging their own modern path, in the new Italian dedication to 'contamination.' Highly recommended.

Jardin d'amour - Jolie Vilaine - temp out of stock-18.99
Yann-Fańch Perroches (accordion), Véronique Bourjot (voice), Vincent Guérin (doublebass), Jean-François Roger (percussion) and Erwan Bérenguer (guitar) come together to produce an exciting new Breton sound, filled with surprises, deeply rooted and yet thoroughly new. fRoots says: 'One just has to sit back and bask in this aural beauty. No one should be surprised if Jolie Vilaine turn out to be the strongest influence in Breton music this decade.' Cliff says 'Highly Recommended!'

Jewish Music Around The World - Willy Schwarz - temp out of stock-14.99
The Jewish People, scattered across continents for 2000 years, developed as many different musical styles as the lands in which they settled, yet remain united through the texts of the Bible and the yearly festival cycle . Schwarz takes the listener on a journey through time and space, singing in 9 different languages, playing 24 authentic instruments, and retracing the musical sources of the Jewish Diaspora. From the archaic strains of an Ethiopian fiddle to a merry Irish ditty, from the mystics of Yemen to the shepherd's pipe of the Asian steppes, from the yearnings of the Jews of the Malabar coast of South India to those of the Hassidim of Eastern Europe; Rarely has one artist painted so deep a portrait with so broad a palette.

Al Qantarah - Ammaraciccappa - temp out of stock-18.99
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.

Tutti baci - Savina Yannatou and Elena Ledda - temp out of stock-18.99
The 2006 excursion by these superb Greek and Italian vocalists, includes Mauro Palmas and Primavera En Salonico. It's a bold statement, acoustic but agressively new.

Strumenti Di Pace: Live - Luca Di Volo and Claudia Bombardella - temp out of stock-17.99
A powerful recording of new music composed and performed by Di Volo (saxophones, clarinet and voice) and Bombardella (viola, accordion, voice and tuba), with a small chamber ensemble of percussion, strings, reeds, bombard, cornmuse and more.

Sett - Tonje Unstad - temp out of stock-18.99
Pure pop music from a great young Norwegian voice, this 2006 release is her debut recording. Lovingly constructed and produced by KKV's Erik Tillsted with a small band of guitars, bass, drums, piano and horns.

Banda Olifante - Banda Olifante - temp out of stock-18.99
Somewhere between an Italian municipal brass band and The Thndering Herd you will find the music of Olifante.. At home with Mediterranean tradition and jazz, Afrobeat and klezmer. Guests include horn player Frank London, accordionist Simone Zanchini, Senegalese drummer As Niang and French tuba player Michel Godard. Thoroughly unique, highly recommended.

Tuttipari - ipercussonici - temp out of stock-18.99
The "marranzano", Sicilian for jew's harp is the core of this band from Catania. In this project there is all of Sicily, the ancient Trinacria and the modern island as different rhythms and instruments intertwine with the sound of an electrified jew's harp and the beat of primitive drums. Dum dum and didjeridoo become the drum n' bass for the syncopated, psychedelic raids of the electric jew's harp; tambourine and djembč create African-Sicilian rhythms, with the voice switching between sea and urban chants, serenade and ragamuffin. Sicily is celebrated and criticized with energy, involvement, collectivity and passion.

Bastian Contrari - Patrick Vaillant - temp out of stock-18.99
French mandolinist Patrick Vaillant's unique new recording, joined by a marvelous ensemble including Bijan Chemrrani (percussion for Iran), Serge Pesce (guitar), Benjamin Novarino Giana (voice) and Lucien Massuco

Spektakel - Spektakel - temp out of stock-16.99
This Danish ensemble plays seriously crooked music inspired by traditional folk music from the Nordic countries to the Balkans, medieval ballads, moonstruck poetry and with a pinch of rock'n'roll, performed on a hodgepodge of instruments including guitar, nyckelharpa, cello, recorder, mandolin, Hungarian hurdy-gurdy, Australian didgeridoo, double bass, violin and percussion. Last but not least, the vocals are strong, expressive and up front.

Beches Brew - Bengt Berger - temp out of stock-18.99
Bengt Berger has pulled together a band together that conveys all his uniqueness as a composer, musician and band leader: The modal, the ethnic, the melodies, rhythms, the old-school, avante garde, odd meters, humour and seriousness, chastity and sex, childishness, wisdom and senility, in a word: Country and Eastern music.

Rimfaxe - Gjallarhorn - temp out of stock-17.99
The new CD (2006) from this innovative and agressively creative Finnish new-roots ensemble

Please note!

Most of our CDs have been imported from Europe or Asia. They are not all shrink-wrapped, and I am not going to con you by wrapping them here just to make you think they have been sterilized in America. I guarantee that the CDs and the contents are all brand new and in perfect condition. Whenever I can, I use recycled shipping materials. They may not look as pretty on the outside, but they save money and keep the trash dumps a little bit emptier.

Thanks- Cliff, cdRoots

If you prefer to order by e-mail, you can drop a note with your name, address and your recording choices here. I will send back a confirmation and information on how to pay by check (US orders only) or credit card via a secure server.

Some of our favorite artists:
Daniele Sepe (Italy)
Jin Hi Kim (Korea-US)
Fairy Tale Trio (Bulgaria)
World Mankeri Orchestra (Finland)
Andrew Cronshaw (UK)
Ingrid Karklins (US)
Piirpauke (Finland)
Antoni Donchev (Bulgaria)
Pekka Lehti (Finland)
Lars Hollmer (Sweden)
Sabreen (Palestine)
VeDaKi
The Danubians (Czech-US)
Dresch Quartet (Hungary)
Etnika (Malta)
ZetaBoo (Finland)
Boris Kovac and Ladaaba Orchest (Serbia)
Tesi - Vaillant - Trovesi (Italy)
Abed Azrie (Persia)
Daniel Janke (Canada)
Zig Zag Trio (Bulgaria)
Elena Ledda (Italy)
Utla (Norway)
Karl Seglem (Norway)
Niekku (Finland)
Pekka Pohjola (Finland)
Enzo Favata (Italy)
Jin Hi Kim (Korea-US)
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