Ska Cubano - ¡Ay Caramba! (2006)

¡Ay Caramba! is the second album by London based group Ska Cubano. The band was brought together by manager Peter A. Scott, who "decided to create an alternative history in which Cuban ska had emerged". He travelled to Santiago de Cuba with Top Cats singer Natty Bo (Nathan Lerner) in 2001 and there they rehearsed and recorded the Ska Cubano album over a two-year period mainly with local musicians including singer Beny Billy (Juan Manuel Villy Carbonell).

In late 2004, Scott and Bo decided to go for a less Cuban sound and formed a line-up in London mainly using UK-based Cuban and other Caribbean musicians (three of whom were/are also members of Top Cats, Natty Bo's traditional ska band ). After some experimentation, with Natty Bo as leader and vocalist, the permanent core of Ska Cubano became :

Natty Bo (Nathan Lerner) - vocals

Carlos Pena - vocals and minor percussion

Beny Billy (Juan Manuel Villy Carbonell) - vocals

Miss Megoo ( Megumi Mesaku ) - alto and baritone saxophones

Trevor Edwards - trombone

Kico Cowan - tenor saxophone and flute

Rey Crespo (musical director) - double bass and marimbula

Jesús Cutiño - tres (Cuban 3x2-strung guitar)

Ernesto Estruch - piano, organ and violin

Oresta Noda - congas and pailas

Dr. Sleepy (Reuben White) - drumkit

Tan Tan ( Eddie Thornton ) - trumpet

Jay Phelps - trumpet

In 2006 Carlos Pena gradually took over as co-lead singer, although Beny continued to record and occasionally tour with Ska Cubano. Upon it's release ¡Ay Caramba!, was nominated for a BBC World Music Award in the "Culture Crossing" category. The album was described as "imaginatively crafted, brimming with melody, wit and a joyous fusion of rhythms, this album’s about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on". A statement which I wholeheartedly would second. Enjoy!

Leave it to a British band to combine Latin rhythms, Jamaican mento, and ska beats, all dressed in retro zoot suits. The group is fronted by Cuban vocalist Ben Billy and London-born singer Nathan "Natty Bo" Lerner, with Jamaican trumpeter Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton, Japanese saxophonist Megumi Mesaku, and Havana bassist Ray Crespo. For the most part, the music is a surprising melange of Beny More-type vocals and upbeat ska rhythms made famous by The Skatalites, as evidenced by the snappy instrumental "Jezebel," the hypnotizing mid-tempo "Soy Campesino," and the humorous title track. Also included are the Colombian cumbia "Tungarara" and Miguelito Valdes' "Babalu." Before purists attach the gimmick flag to the ensemble's second CD, they should please note that a few of the creators of ska were born in Cuba, and since African descendants are the prime creators of Caribbean music, this effort represents a reunion of kindred rhythms.
-- amazon.com

"Altogether a triumph: if Ska Cubano didnít exist, it would be imperative to invent them, and these public-spirited musicians have saved the world the trouble. Sincere gratitude is in order."
-- SongLines

"A triumph of musical imagination!"
-- London Independent

Tracklist:

01 Istanbul (Not Constantinople) 02:34
02 Tabu 03:32
03 Oye Compay Juan 03:35
04 No Me Desesperes 03:34
05 Tungarara 03:50
06 Big Bamboo 02:59
07 Cachita 04:31
08 Soy Campesino 03:42
09 Jezebel 03:20
10 Marianao 03:52
11 !Ay Caramba! 03:02
12 Chispa Tren 03:22
13 Bobine 04:57
14 Cumbia En Do Menor 04:41
15 Natty No Dead 02:36
16 Jezebel (Instrumental) 03:18
17 La Boquilla 03:14

Download Link - Mediafire (.mp3)
Download Link - Mediafire (.flac)

Ye Banished Privateers - Songs and Curses (2013)

Ye Banished Privateers be a band, a crew an’ a soup kitchen who think that gettin’ new interesting bruises,
mixin’ the perfect tar “perfume” an’ getting’ the audience to vocally overpower them is at least as important as hittin’ the right notes.

Ye Banished Privateers play original songs inspired by traditional sea shanties, bastardized irish folk, old scandinavian ballads, plays and court protocols of the pirate era and puttin’ it into a cracked and homemade 17th century punk mold.

This album was distributed for free by means of TPB, Grooveshark and a number of other file sharing media.

More information : www.yebanishedprivateers.com

Tracklist:

01 - Bottle of Rum
02 - Welcome to Tortuga
03 - Yellow Jack
04 - 'Bout Me Father
05 - It Matters Not
06 - Color of Sin
07 - Waves Roll High
08 - Fire Down Below
09 - When ye Dead Come Sailing Home
10 - Drowned Walz

Download Link - Mediafire

Babatunde Olatunji - Drums Of Passion (1959)

Babatunde Olatunji was a virtuoso drummer who became a sensation in the '60s with his albums of traditional Nigerian drumming and chanting. If Olatunji debuted in today's environment, he would be subjected to much tougher scrutiny and evaluation regarding "authenticity" than he received in the '60s. His heralded albums, particularly Drums of Passion, weren't quite the innovative event some claimed. They were fine LPs, but also contained a heavy dose of show business and sanitized playing that would be duly noted today, particuarly in the specialist press. Still, his albums reportedly were very influential on John Coltrane. They were among the few international releases to not just make the charts, but remain on them for years.

The popularity of Drums Of Passion and More Drums Of Passion predated the '60s black nationalist movement and Afrocentricity of the '80s and '90s. They also had some impact in jazz circles, though they weren't as significant as the Afro-Latin revolution initiated by Mario Bauza, Machito and Chano Pozo.

Album Review from allmusic:

Having come to the U.S. from his native Nigeria to study medicine, percussionist Babatunde Olatunji eventually became one of the first African music stars in the States. He also soon counted jazz heavyweights like John Coltrane ("Tunji") and Dizzy Gillespie among his admirers (Gillespie had, a decade earlier, also courted many Cuban music stars via his trailblazing Latin jazz recordings). And, in spite of it being viewed by some as a symbol of African chic, Drums of Passion is still a substantial record thanks to Olatunji's complex and raw drumming. Along with a cadre of backup singers and two other percussionists, Olatunji works through eight traditional drum and chorus cuts originally used to celebrate a variety of things in Nigeria: "Akiwowo" and "Shango" are chants to a train conductor and the God of Thunder, respectively, while "Baba Jinde" is a celebration of the dance of flirtation and "Odun De! Odun De!" serves as a New Year's greeting. The choruses do sound a bit overwrought and even too slick at times (partly due to the fact that most of the singers are not African), but thankfully the drumming is never less than engaging. The many curious world music fans who are likely to check this album out should also be sure to look into even better African drumming by native groups like the Drummers of Burundi and the percussion outfits featured on various field recordings.

Download Link - Mediafire

Hiromi - Voice (2011)

Hiromi Uehara (born 26 March 1979), known as Hiromi, is a jazz composer and pianist born in Hamamatsu, Japan. Hiromi started learning classical piano at age five, and was later introduced to jazz by her piano teacher Noriko Hikida. At 14, she played with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. When she was 17, she met Chick Corea by chance in Tokyo, and was invited to play with him at his concert the next day. After being a jingle writer for a few years for Japanese companies such as Nissan, she enrolled to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.There, she was mentored by Ahmad Jamal and had already signed with jazz label Telarc before her graduation.

In 2011, Hiromi initiated her Trio Project with English drummer Simon Phillips and American bass player Anthony Jackson with whom this album has been recorded. Simon Phillips has been drumming for rock or heavy metal acts since the mid-1970s while Anthony Jackson (and his custom made six-string bass guitar) is a seasoned jazz and fusion session musician. As a result, Hiromi’s trio music appeals to a much wider audience that goes beyond the traditional jazz circles.

“I don’t want to put a name on my music,” she says. “Other people can put a name on what I do. It’s just the union of what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been learning. It has some elements of classical music, it has some rock, it has some jazz, but I don’t want to give it a name.” Yamaha Jazz Pianos – Hiromi

“Voice”, the title track of her 2011 recording by the same name is emblematic of the live performances of Hiromi and the Trio Project: a long piece lasting over ten minutes, complex melody lines, a high octane rhythm section and relentless virtuoso soloing to the constant cheers of an enthralled audience.

As Hiromi says, "I called this album Voice because I believe that people’s real voices are expressed in their emotions. It’s not something that you really say. It’s more something that you have in your heart. Maybe it’s something you haven’t said yet. Maybe you’re never going to say it. But it’s your true voice. Instrumental music is very similar. We don’t have any words or any lyrics to go with it. It’s the true voice that we don’t really put into words, but we feel it when it’s real."

Tracklist:

01. Voice (9:13)
02. Flashback (8:39)
03. Now or Never (6:15)
04. Temptation (7:54)
05. Labyrinth (7:40)
06. Desire (7:19)
07. Haze (5:54)
08. Delusion (7:49)
09. Beethoven's Piano Sonata N°8 - Pathetique (5:13) (Written by Ludwig van Beethoven)

Download Link - Mediafire - Part 1

Download Link - Mediafire - Part 2