Download and listen to "My Culture" from this CD (MP3 format) Download and listen to "Braided Hair" from this CD (MP3 format) 1 Giant Leap Amazon.com The U.K.-based musician, film director, and Faithless cofounder Jamie Catto and producer Duncan Bridgeman coproduced this impressive multimedia CD, which boasts an eclectic array of artists ranging from Senegal's Baaba Maal and New Zealand's Maori artist Whirimako Black to the king of ambient, Brian Eno. This project, the fruit of a six-month, five-continent recording spree, is a funky, folkloric, and futuristic mélange of sampled indigenous instruments and electronica. "Braided Hair" teams the rap-country vocals of Arrested Development's Speech with the daring pop diva Neneh Cherry. The South African mbaqanga vocals of the Mahotella Queens provide the Afro-rave underpinnings for vocalist Ulali's poetic pleas for African unity. The tantric trances of the South Asian syncopated tabla drums pepper the synth-laden "When You Dream," which features R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and the Indian star Asha Bhosle. Boundaries of nationality, time, and musical genre meld into grooves for the head, hips, and heart that need no translation. --Eugene Holley Jr. More info, listen to more samples Listen to a 30 second sample! Bobby McFerrin - Medicine Man Review by CMJ New Music Report In the early `80s, Bobby McFerrin was one of those figures who just came along from somewhere and - boom! - all of a sudden the yardstick by which an entire realm of music was judged seemed suddenly that much longer. Nowadays, he has to live with the onus of having been responsible for one of the dumbest, most mundane accidental hits of the last decade, but there isn't anything nearly as yuppified (except maybe "Sweet In The Morning") to be found on Medicine Music-in fact, mostly, it's much more sombre and downright spooky in its intensity and seriousness. In these certain moments-when he just does what he does, simply and spiritually-we're reminded that yes, beneath the cashmere sweater exterior, McFerrin can be and still is one of the most exciting jazz vocalists around, and when he opens up that unparalled talent, as on "Baby," the gospelly "The Garden," "Common Threads" (reminiscent of the Beach Boys) "He Ran All The Way" or "The 23rd Psalm" (note the curiously altered pronouns), that's when he's truly at his best. More info, listen to more samples Listen to a 30 second sample! Bobby McFerrin - Circles Songs Review by Fanfare Circlesongs is a set of eight vocal pieces created out of improvisations by Bobby McFerrin and the assembled twelve voices. According to the notes McFerrin would set up a figure which the chorus would then develop while McFarrin soloed over the resulting ostinato chant. The music covers a fairly wide range of styles. Circlesong One is essentially scat singing, while Circlesong Four evokes the African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. There are no words, although the singers use many different syllables and inflections (including the vocal clicking associated with many African languages) that increase the music's expressive potential. Although there is occasionally additional melodic improvisation from members of the chorus, the principal soloist throughout is McFerrin, the guiding light and the source of most of this release's pluses and minuses. More info, Listen to more samples Joan Armatrading - Best of Favorite songs are: Down to Zero, Willow, Love and Affection. Listen to a 30 second sample! More info, listen to more samples Listen to a 30 second sample! Eva Cassidy - Songbird Amazon.com Songbird cherry-picks tracks from the three locally released albums of Eva Cassidy, whose hauntingly beautiful vocals went virtually unheard outside her native Washington, D.C., during her short 33 years with us. Lost to melanoma in 1996, Cassidy sang with an unaffected purity and an astonishing ability to make both classic and contemporary songs sound like they were written just for her. Sting's "Fields of Gold" finally lives up to its title through the alchemy of Cassidy's transcendent rendition, while other tracks on this anthology showcase her ease in the realms of pop (Christine McVie's "Songbird"), soul ("People Get Ready"), gospel ("Wade on the Water"), and traditional standards ("Autumn Leaves" and "Over the Rainbow"). Framed by understated jazz and pop arrangements, Cassidy's clear, soulful voice and exquisite phrasing make her that rarest of vocalists whose interpretations are a complement to any song. A fine introduction to a true talent. --Billy Grenier More info, listen to more samples Listen to a 30 second sample! Nikka Costa - Everybody Got Their Something CDNow.com She might be the goddaughter of Frank Sinatra, but with a rich, sensuous voice that recalls Chaka Khan or Tina Turner, Nikka Costa's debut CD, Everybody Got Their Something, ably demonstrates she has no need for nepotism. Experimental songs such as the heady, sexy "Hope It Felt Good" fit easily alongside the more straight-ahead funk-heavy soul of the title track, while the expansive "Push & Pull" suggests Costa owes a small debt to Pink Floyd: The track utilizes classical strings and horns with a choir as Costa wails mournfully in the distance. Packed with classic R&B and making clever use of electronic/dance, blues, and rock, Everybody shies far from the bloated vocalizing and obvious production that have marked the genre of late, helping put the soul back into a previously moldering art form. --Linda Laban More info, listen to more samples