Past Programs
Music - 2008
CD of the Week - Katie Noonan
24/11/2008
To record Blackbird, her new CD of 15 Lennon/McCartney classics, singer Katie Noonan and pianist Sam Keevers travelled to New York to record with the cream of US Jazz players - Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Ron Carter and Lewis Nash.
Recorded in a day and a half, the group quickly gelled, with Joe Lovano’s sax work slinking in and out of Katie’s vocals which are informed by classical, pop and jazz musics for a unique take on these great songs. Katie deliberately left out George’s songs because she plans to devote an entire CD to him someday. She plans to devote 6 to 8 months to exclusively performing the Blackbird repertoire, starting with shows in Eastern Australian capital cities in December.
Silk and Bamboo
17/11/2008
Simply titled Traditional Chinese Music , the new CD from UK-based The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble delivers exactly what it promises ... beautifully.
Silk and Bamboo music gets its name from the fact that the instruments use both materials in their construction, and comes from an ancient (8th Century BC) classification of musical instruments according to their construction. This CD features 5 virtuosi on a wide range of instruments including erhu (upright fiddle), pipa (upright lute), guqin (unfretted zither), Guzheng (plucked zither), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), sheng (mouth organ), guanzi (oboe or shawm), dizi and xiao (flutes) and hulusi (gourd-based reed pipe)
CD of the Week - Taj Mahal
17/11/2008
40 years as a significant figure in the diverse worlds of blues, soul, reggae and world music is no mean feat, and rather than just compiling a greatest hits retrospective, Taj Mahal has celebrated this milestone by putting out a brand new album Maestro.
In keeping with recent trends, he has decided to include many tracks which are collaborations, and so has joined up with a very fine list of well-known acts for this record, including Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Toumani Diabate, Angelique Kidjo, Los Lobos and Ziggy Marley. As you’d expect, the result is a CD which covers everything from hard-edged blues through reggae and soul to West African sounds.
CD of the Week - David Sanborn
10/11/2008
If you've listened to popular music over the past 30 years chances are you've heard the alto saxophone of David Sanborn. His list of session credits is impressive and diverse. And he's also managed to record more than 20 albums under his own name in that time. Here and Now is the latest.
This new disc is a fine collection of jazz tinged with blues and soul, with David leading a band including Christian McBride on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, Russell Malone on guitar and producer Gil Goldstein on various keyboards. There are some lovely duets including with Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks and Sam Moore. Not bad for someone who took up the sax after a doctor told him it would help with his rehabilitation from polio.
Solas
10/11/2008
American Irish band Solas has been described by the Washington Post as ’one of the World’s finest Celtic folk ensembles’, and by the Austin American Statesman as ’the standard by which contemporary Celtic groups are judged’. That may or may not be a bit of jingoistic hyperbole, but there is no doubt that they are the real deal ... no pun intended.
They’ve been around for enough time to have had both a "best of" CD and a re-union concert, which means that they’re veterans of the scene. They now how to perform, how to write and arrange, and how to make really good records. Their new disc For Love and Laughter is no exception. It features the fine tune writing of multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan, accordionist Mick McAuley and fiddler Winifred Horan, and has special guest appearances by Canadian roots-and-beyond band The Duhks.
Omara Portuondo
03/11/2008
From the title (Gracias = thank-you), her age (78) and the retrospective photo album in the CD book, you might think that Buena Vista Social Club veteran Omara Portuondo is about to retire, but her latest CD proves that there are still plenty of good songs left, even after her long and illustrious career-to-date.
She came to the world’s attention a decade or so ago as the only female performer in the Wim Wenders/Ry Cooder project that brought Cuban music into the spotlight and launched (or rather re-launched) the careers of many wonderful musicians. The new disc features a star line-up of latin and jazz musicians including Swami Jr. on guitar, Roberto Fonseca on piano and keyboards, Trilok Gurtu on percussion and Avishai Cohen on bass, along with duets with Chico Barque, Pablo Milanes, Jorge Drexler and Richard Bona.
Visit Omara Portuondo’s website
