MUSIC TIDBITS

Caribbean Entertainment News

Source: www.eurweb.com - By Kevin Jackson

(August 28, 2008) Luni Sparks and Electrify retained the title of 2008 Soca Monarch champ of Grenada. The Grenada Soca Monarch finals took place two weekends ago. The main prize was EC$30,000.  The winners have now qualified for the 2009 International Soca Monarch Finals which will be held in Trinidad and Tobago next February. His name is Skinny Fabulous and he’s from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He currently has the number one song on the charts in Trinidad and Tobago with the song Head Bad On the Spot. But just who exactly is Skinny Fabulous? His real name is Omar Doyle and he recently completed a diploma in Media and communications at the UWI Mona Campus. He is currently pursuing his Bachelors Degree. Over in Antigua, the top 10 finalists for the Antiguan Digicel Rising Stars competition have been selected.  Among the finalists are two duets as well as previous top 10 finalists from 2006 and 2007. The series began on August 11 with a recap show broadcast on ABS television. Antigua’s audition show is due to air on September 14. Voters from Antigua and across the Caribbean will have a week to select their top two for the regional series. 

Shine Through It: Terrence Howard

Source:  www.thestar.com - Ashante Infantry

(SonyBMG)
(out of 4)

(September 02, 2008) Anyone who picks up actor Terrence Howard's debut disc on the basis of his smouldering Oscar-nominated onscreen presence will be pleasantly rewarded with the sensitivity and sophistication of the singer/songwriter/guitarist's muse.  His distinct, but limited husky vocals (a scratchier Seal) are nothing special; but Howard, 39, succeeds by varying their delivery – from halting whisper to swaggering rap to urgent cry – of the highly confessional, self-penned poetry set to jazzy arrangements he had a hand in.  Despite a stellar complement of musicians on the rich blend of Latin, folk and soul, the Cleveland native tosses in a few unnecessary gimmicks – phone interludes, whistling, a ticking clock. Otherwise, he's an effective storyteller, serving up autobiographical dissections of love – an off-limits neighbourhood girl ("Mr. Johnson's Lawn"), the ex-wife he divorced twice ("No. 1 Fan") – as well as the spirituality resonating in the title track and the political closer ("War"). Top Tracks: I'm partial to the ones with the fewest words: flamenco instrumental "Spanish Romance" and "It's All Game," in which Howard introduces a relationship theory called "Least Interest Involved" then gives the listener four minutes of music to ponder it.

Join the Band: Little Feat

Source:  www.thestar.com - Greg Quill

(429 Records)


(September 02, 2008) That Little Feat still works the club and concert trail after 40 years is a credit to the resilience of band members Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett (guitars), Bill Payne (piano), drummer Richie Heyward, percussionist Sam Clayton and bassist Kenny Gradney. With soul/gospel singer Shaun Murphy they've managed to keep alive and in reasonably good condition the fusion of New Orleans funk, blues and country that was the singular contribution of the late Lowell George, the band's founder/guitarist/composer, to American rock. Brilliant musicians all, even if they've never really been able to surpass the benchmarks they set in the 1970s with the likes of "Dixie Chicken," "Willin'" and "Let It Roll." Those classics are revisited (yet again) on this collaborative effort, which brings in peers, long-time admirers and old friends, including guitarists Dave Matthews, Sonny Landreth and Brad Paisley, banjo master Bela Fleck, singers Bob Seger, Chris Robinson, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Dunn and Vince Gill, and they're given some unusual contextualization with the inclusion of a few unexpected items – Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," Robbie Robertson's "The Weight" and the primordial rock `n' roll relic "See You Later, Alligator." It's all a bit of a dog's breakfast, though well intentioned and refreshingly organic. If the result is less than stunning, the material is well served and the performances earnest and musically unimpeachable.

The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali: Various Artists

Source:  www.thestar.com - John Goddard

(World Music Network)


(September 02, 2008) A track from the most recent world-music album-of-the-year, as chosen by BBC Radio 3, kicks off this rich collection from the West African country of Mali. The winning album was Segu Blue. The song here is "Bala." The group is Ngoni Ba and the front man is Bassekou Kouyate, a long-time side man to several top Malian artists until he decided to take the limelight with his three-stringed acoustic instrument, the ngoni. Elsewhere in the collection, such big names as Oumou Sangare and Rokia Traoré appear alongside such lesser known ones as Babani Kone, a praise singer from the Niger River town of Segu. New songs mix with back-catalogue gems, such as a laid-back jazz number from top 1970s band Les Ambassadeurs Internationales. Late guitarist Ali Farka Touré collaborates with his son Vieux and kora master Toumani Diabaté. In a delightful conclusion, one of the country's best-loved musicians, Keletigui Diabate, performs a Mande balafon (wooden xylophone) version of George Gershwin's "Summertime."