http://cwstoneking.com

http://www.myspace.com/cwstoneking

Origine du Groupe : Australia
Style : Blues , Country , Folk , Jazz
Sortie : 2008

Jungle Blues (2008) est un album à la croisée des chemins entre blues, jazz et jungle music. Un disque contemporain qui semble provenir d’un autre temps, signé par C.W. Stoneking, un artiste talentueux et réellement original.

Accompagné de son banjo et parfois de quelques cuivres, C.W. Stoneking chante du blues à l’ancienne, du blues originel comme on en entend parfois en illustration sonore dans des documentaires sur la ségrégation aux États-Unis. Sur cet album, C.W. Stoneking aborde aussi la jungle music, musique exotique en vogue avant guerre et qui n’a bien sûr rien à voir avec le dérivé de techno qui porte la même appellation.

On est d’abord surpris par cette musique aux sonorités très rétro puis, une fois la surprise passée, on est séduit par cette atmosphère, souvent festive, et par la voix de vieux chanteur noir américain de ce trentenaire blanc australien. Les plus belles réussites de cet album sont sans doute « Jungle Lullaby », « Brave Son Of America » et « The Love Me Or Die » mais il est difficile de détacher des chansons de cet album très cohérent, inspiré par un naufrage au large des cotes africaines. On ressent aussi un certain plaisir intellectuel à l’écoute de ce disque unique qui ne ressemble à rien de ce que l’on entend habituellement. L’envie est donc grande de faire découvrir cet artiste à ses amis ce qui fait de Jungle Blues le cadeau idéal.

Rédacteur en chef : Boris Plantier
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Tracklist :   
1 - Jungle Blues
2 - Talkin’ Lion Blues
3 - Jungle Lullaby
4 - Brave Son Of America
5 - Jailhouse Blues
6 - Housebound Blues
7 - I Heard The Marchin Of The Drum
8 - The Love Me Or Die
9 - Early In The Mornin
10 - The Greatest Liar

http://aleciachakour.com

Origine du Groupe : North America
Style : Soul , Blues , Psychedlic
Sortie : 2010

From Official Site :
Brooklyn-based singer Alecia Chakour is a soul siren. Armed with a bellowing voice, she wraps her vocal chords around weighty issues of love, heartbreak and struggle with the timelessness of an old soul reincarnate. Using soul’s great arrangement styles of yesteryear as fodder, Alecia coalesces punchy horns, gospel harmonies and an ardent R&B sound to make remarkably honest music.

Backed by a stellar band, Alecia keeps it all in the family. Alecia Chakour & the Osrah (family in Arabic), brings together Alecia’s closest friends and family – all serious forces on the music scene. Alecia’s brother plays guitar, her close hometown friends play drums, bass and keys, and the other guys are like brothers from another mother. This isn’t the Jackson 5, and there are no choreographed dances (yet), but man, is there soul.

Born in the small town of Amherst, MA, home to five colleges and a quirky musical community, Alecia grew her musical roots within an intellectual and nurturing environment. Her father, Joe Cocker’s former musical director, and an influential soul and blues musician in his own right, opened Alecia’s world to the soul greats. Alecia spent time with her father at sessions and shows taking in powerhouses such as Ray Charles, BB King, Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Bonnie Raitt. At home, Alecia found comfort listening to artists like Candi Staton and Otis Redding on her family’s record player. “In soul, you never feel like folks are trying to be too slick or sexy or too anything. They are just singing to let it out,” says Alecia.

Deemed a vocal wunderkind, Alecia was nearly signed to a major label at age 16. When asked to sing gimmicky pop songs instead of the gritty soul she loved, Alecia realized their intentions were more rooted in sales than music. With her big dreams dangling seemingly within her reach, Alecia made the difficult decision to forgo a major label relationship and instead forge her own path.

Alecia went on to become an educator, teaching tap dance and music at Brooklyn schools and programs throughout the Northeast. She collaborated with musicians across all genres– from rappers to psychedelic rockers, Broadway divas to legendary blues crews, crooners to jazz heads and opened for the legendary James Brown and KRS-One. She has been featured on Fader.com, BlindifortheKids, SoulCulture, Nu-SoulMag and more.

Out of the spotlight, Alecia is strongly informed by her cultural heritage. “I come from a very mixed background,” says Alecia. Particularly when speaking about her father’s Arab background and her mother’s Jewish background, “I feel so connected to all sides of myself, and I think it’s beautiful to be able to celebrate these two very similar yet distinct cultures. I feel compelled to step out and be proud of my heritage and represent our powerful diversity.” (NR)

Tracklist :   
1.Walk On 03:47
2.Ghost 05:16   
3.Down 03:26   
4.Hard Times 03:34   
5.Like You Me 04:11   
6.Giving Up 06:58

released 18 October 2010
Alecia Chakour (vocals)
Alex Chakour (guitar)
Sam Cohen (guitar, pedal steel, percussion)
Makaya McCraven (drums)
Jaron Olevsky (bass, guitar, rhodes)
Igmar Thomas (trumpet)
Darby Wolf (organ, wurlitzer, clavinet)

Special guest appearance by papa Mitch Chakour (piano)

Engineered at Bank Row Recording by Justin Pizzoferrato
Additional recording by Sam Cohen at Bozo's and Alex Chakour at The Chak
Mixed by Justin Pizzoferrato and The Osrah
Mastered by Ian Kennedy at New Alliance East

http://www.robertrandolph.net

http://www.myspace.com/robertrandolph

Origine du Groupe : North America
Style : Blues Soul , Alternative Rock , Funk
Sortie : 2010

Hot, young guitarists spring have sprung forth every few years for more decades than I can be bothered to count. Each generation spawns a new crop and while many are momentarily interesting, “guitar god” is a cannibalistic business and very few have much shelf life. There are exceptions and Robert Randolph has taken a bold step forward, daring to join the few and the proud.

Randolph is a unique talent as anyone who has listened to the work of his first three albums with his Family Band or his collaboration with John Medeski and the Dickinson boys of North Mississippi Allstar fame can attest. There is more to Randolph than a dazzling command of the steel guitar, or Sacred Steel as it is referred to in the Church Of God where he first learned the instrument.

There are a host of things that set Randolph apart and one of them becomes obvious in the liner notes he wrote for We Walk This Road. After completing the tour for the Colorblind album, he went in search of a producer with special ears and knowledge; someone who understood the connections of his rock and gospel roots and who would, as Randolph puts it, “help us put those things in their most compelling context.” He found that producer in T Bone Burnett.

I’ve heard people described as having “old souls.” It’s an expression I’ve never much liked but it is an effective bit of shorthand for Randolph. He is still a very young man but his musical upbringing is quite old, having learned his instrument through the traditions of his church. The crafty, versatile Burnett was able to speak Randolph’s language, having studied an impossibly vast scope of American and world musics. When artist and producer got on the same page, they brewed something special blending blues, roots, gospel, soul, and spirit into a potent, magical cocktail.

“If I Had My Way” incorporates a portion of Blind Willie Johnson’s “If I Had My Way” into an original composition Randolph co-wrote with Burnett and an assist from, Ben Harper and it is a magnificent, soaring piece of music fusing gospel and blues with folk. Randolph uses Johnson’s original as a jumping off point and actually “samples” a piece of that original and uses it to segue in and out of his own composition. The segue concept is one used throughout the record with the idea being to tie the music Randolph is making in the present with its roots. There are times these segues are effective bridges between songs but there are times when they do more to distract than connect.

Randolph’s re-imagining of Bob Dylan’s "Shot of Love" hits with the weight and force of a heavyweight’s fist. Dylan is so easy and obvious to cover that nearly everyone does it but so few capture the essence and power of his songs, settling to merely sing them "better” or “prettier.” This version takes the power of the Dylan original and amplifies and magnifies.

The beautiful “I Still Belong To Jesus” opens with more than a passing feeling of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” The airy, ethereal intro gives way to a more substantive, anthemic song that not only proclaims Randolph’s devotion but also delivers a unifying message of social justice. This is another of Randolph’s achievements in the material on this record, both the songs he wrote and those he’s chosen to interpret on the record. There is a theme and a message on this record but it’s one that uplifts rather than preaches. Even John Lennon’s “I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier,” which can be delivered as scathing, anti-war screed, is a plea for peace and understanding rather than heated rhetoric in Randolph’s hands.

We Walk This Road is soul music in nearly every connotation of the word and its title is instructive. This is the kind of deep, rich, authentic music the world needs and the music contained therein should be experienced as a journey from beginning to end; he wanted his music to have context and We Walk This Road exquisitely provides that. With this album Randolph has made a record worthy of his immense gift and that is cause for celebration and repeated listens.

by Josh Hathaway
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Tracklist :
01.Segue 1 (0:25)
02.Traveling Shoes (3:48)
03.Segue 2 (0:10)
04.Back To The Wall (3:31)
05. Shot Of Love (5:36)
06.I Still Belong To Jesus (6:02)
07.Segue 3 (0:27)
08.If I Had My Way (5:35)
09.Segue 4 (0:22)
10.Don't Change (4:47)
11.I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama (5:50)
12.Walk Don't Walk (4:06)
13.Segue 5 (0:20)
14.Dry Bones (3:42)
15.Segue 6 (0:17)
16.I'm Not Listening (5:03)
17.Salvation (5:59)

http://www.little-axe.com

http://www.myspace.com/littleaxesound

Origine du Groupe : North America

Style : Blues , Alternative , Soul

Sortie : 2010

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte
Origine du Groupe : North America
Style : Jazz , Soul , Blues
Sortie : 1958