Past Programs
Guitar - 2008
George Kuo
07/12/2008
George Kuo is a virtuoso, but very relaxed, always lyrical. That remains true on O Ke Aumoe, nothwitstanding that it finds him in a Bordeaux mansion, rather than in Hawaii where his favourite playing venue is ‘outside on my porch, late at night.’ As its title suggests his new CD was at least recorded at the right/night time, when ‘You can hear the spirit of all the ancestors.’ George is a master of ki ho’alu - the Hawaiian style of finger-style acoustic guitar, known in English as ‘slack-key’ guitar.
Discover more about George Kuo and his new CD, here:
www.winterandwinter.com/index.php?id=1505
For a brief overview of ‘ki ho’alu/slack key’ go to:
www.dancingcat.com/about-hawaiian.php
For the ’full monty’, in depth, start here:
www.dancingcat.com/skbook-tableofcontents.php
Raphael Rabello { repeat: 1st aired on 20.10.07 }
12/07/2008
Pat Metheny regards Raphael Rabello as ‘one of the greatest guitarists who has ever lived.’ Antonio Carlos Jobim said ‘Raphael is Brazil’s finest guitarist’. Rabello died in 1995, aged 32. Seven months earlier, over just two afternoons, he recorded Cry, My Guitar. Very few guitar albums are in the same league as this posthumous release. Its astonishing, subtle, beautiful nylon-stringed acoustic guitar solos incline to choro, but draw on many sources. There are no over-dubs.
Discover a little more about Raphael Rabello here:
www.allbrazilianmusic.com/en/artists/Artists.asp?Status=ARTISTA&Nu_Artista=492
Debashish Bhattacharya
29/06/2008
Tonight’s main man is the world’s greatest slide guitarist. He’s also the inventor of a ‘trinity’ of decidedly-different slide guitars. This singular artist says ‘I am a big fan of Robert Johnson.’ He also expresses ‘great respect for Ray Charles and his Indian contemporary, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.’ Kolkata is home-sweet-home to our featured artist. Debashish Bhattacharya’s musical home-base is older than the blues: Hindustani {north Indian} classical music. Bhattacharya’s Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey is very beautiful, highly eclectic and inventive.
Debashish Bhattacharya’s site: www.debashishbhattacharya.com
Discover more about his new album, specifically, here:
www.worldmusic.net/wmn/news/item/debashish-bhattacharya
Bill Frisell/ Eilen Jewell
14/06/2008
Tonight revolves around two intriguing new American releases. Their makers see ‘connections’ where lesser artists see ‘divisions’. Guitarist Bill Frisell leads an octet on his unassuming-yet-ambitious double-CD. History, Mystery is all-instrumental, but a highlight is Frisell’s version of one of the 20th century’s seminal songs. Letters from Sinners and Strangers is the first international release from Eilen Jewell. She is a remarkable singer: you’ll understand why ‘Eilen’ rhymes with ‘feelin’. She and he are gifted composers and also fine interpreters of existing songs. Both know how to use space. Each has a keen sense of history. Both are grown-up. Each is still growing.
Bill Frisell’s site: www.billfrisell.com
A revealing interview with him is here:
www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22930
Eilen Jewell’s site: www.eilenjewell.com
Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara
29/03/2008
Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara recorded their Soul Science in two (very) English places. You would never guess! It is, however, easy to hear why it has been hailed as ‘an album to make the word fusion respectable again’. Juldeh Camara is a Gambian griot - an arresting singer whose ritti (one-string African fiddle) also really ‘sings’. He first heard his English friend’s guitar, unwittingly, on a tape dubbed off an Adams solo album. Camara remembers asking himself ‘who is this African? Where is he from?’ Their striking, passionate, assured CD ought to especially delight lovers of African music and the blues.
Justin Adams site:
http://www.myspace.com/justinadamsproducer
Juldeh Camara site:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=8165610
Doug de Vries and Mauricio Carrilho {first aired on 4.8.07
05/01/2008
Jacaranda is a notable new Brazilian CD collaboration between quietly-spoken leaders/guitarists/composers. One guitar hero is from Rio De Janiero. The other is Melbourne’s Doug de Vries. Mauricio Carrilho is a major figure in choro. That singular Brazilian genre is both a refined/‘chamber’ and an earthy/‘street’ music. Mauricio believes all the best popular Brazilian music is choro, or drawn from it. This album is no small compliment to the Australian. Choro, says Mauricio, ‘definitely isn’t music for beginners.’ Mauricio, Doug and some of Rio’s choro elite have made beautiful, new music.
Discover the nature of choro, here: www.geocities.com/sd_au/samba/choro
Doug De Vries site: www.dougdevries.com
Discover very much more about Mauricio Carillho and friends, here:
www.brazzillog.com/pages/musapr00.htm
