The Island Jazz Jamaica label set an impossibly high standard with their first two releases, Below The Baseline and Dean Fraser’s Big Up. Both stand the test of time. My favourite album of 2025 was released in […]

Yeah, loads that I must check out.

She also married Cuban trumpeter Jesus Alemany, once of Sierra Maestra and later leader of his own band Cubanismo.

Bookfinder.com will give you the price other copies of the book are currently on sale for. It doesn’t mean that it’s the price they sell for. You can use the ebay Completed Items option for that. The prices in […]

The Pharoah Sanders album is high up my wants list. My local record shop quoted me £34 for the double CD, so I passed. Also up there is another never released live set, this time by by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Seek […]

Are you checking his heart? His heart! I’m looking for his credit card..

One advantage Farage has is that most people don’t like or trust politicians. The turnout at the last election was one of the lowest ever, 60%. Labour got just under 34% of the vote, but got a huge majority. 4 in […]

Thanks. I have the Ethiopiques Vol. 4 which is as you say, superb. I also have a compilation on Strut which is really good. I think I will pass on this one.

Is Mulatu Plays Mulatu any good?

Ian Rankin was in what he described as “Fife’s 2nd best punk band”. Clear winners were the Skids.

There has been some intersting re-releases such as Grachan Moncur III New Africa, Roy Brooks – The Free Slave, and volume 2 of the BBE compilation World Jazz Grooves. I’m looking forward to the new Kahil […]

It always seems wrong to me that musicians of that quality play to hardly anyone. I’ve seen some incredible players with Winton Marsalis and the Mingus Big Band whose bread and butter is gigs like a weekly […]

That’s an absolute classic.

My favourite David Byrne solo album is his first, Rei Momo. This track is a cumbia, but the violin solo is pure country.

Apologies, you are correct.

Robert Elms is the guest on the latest Word In Your Ear podcast. He claims that that scene was anti rock. Anyone who listened to Gary Kemp’s interview on the same podcast will know that he went with his brother to […]

An Irakere song which I think KFD has posted before. This Tito Puente cover replaces the psychedelic guitar with the psychedelic violin of Alfredo De La Fe.

Here’s some violin and cello from one of my favourite current bands, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. This is their take on the Eddie Harris classic Compared To What.

Use Discogs for research for an idea of the value. It’s not always easy determining exactly which pressing you have. Even if you narrow it down by format, label, country and identifiers such as the run out codes, […]

And what power do these people have to improve the lives of the protesters?