We’d returned to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. We’d ridden a paddle-wheeler on the Mississippi River. It was good to be back, and why we’ll go back every chance we get: to life.
World Music
Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project – Celebrating a Great Year in Music (January Entry)
Arts Fuse writers finish their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. This month’s triumphant list includes John Lennon, Cat Stevens, Fela Kuti, Laura Nyro, Judee Sill, and Lou Harrison.
Album Review: Arca — Getting Her KICKS
The Kick album cycle drives home the essence of Arca’s musical vision: constant, relentless transformation.
Arts Feature: Music That Sustained Us Through (Another) Year of the Pandemic
Canadian singer/songwriter Allison Russell’s Outside Child made two lists. And so did Little Simz’s Sometime I Might Be Introvert.
Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project – Celebrating a Great Year in Music (October Entry)
Arts Fuse writers continue their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. This month’s diverse list includes Los Tigres Del Norte, Santana, Gentle Giant, Sparks, and T-Rex.
Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project — Celebrating a Great Year in Music (July Entry)
Arts Fuse writers continue their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and this month’s list includes Little Feat, Jonathan Edwards, Hot Tuna, The Red Detachment of Women, and Jimmy Witherspoon & Eric Burdon.
Short Fuse Podcast #41: Finding Home Through Song: A Conversation with Naledi Masilo
Naledi Masilo is a South African musician who explores the beauty and power of music and song to expand our sense of place.
World Music Album Review: Michael Wimberly’s “Afrofuturism” — Journeying Forward Through Diversity
We need more recordings like this. This is a diverse and imaginative album that draws on a wide range of influences: rap, old-school funk, Afropop, traditional West African music, and R&B jam sessions.
Music Review/Interview: Falle Nioke’s “Youkounkoun” EP + 2 Songs — Africa In Any Language
Falle Nioke has evolved into a kind of cultural ambassador. In the English coastal town of Margate, Kent, he has been praised for his performances of original and traditional compositions on West African instruments.
Concert Review: Singer/Songwriter Michael Kiwanuka — He Will Fill You With Light
Michael Kiwanuka blends singer/songwriter with funk and soul, the energy of Afro-pop with the intensity of psych and prog.