In 1985 I was working on an adventure cruise ship taking wealthy tourists up and down the coast of West Africa.  I was 23, single and fresh from 2 years in the Peace Corps when we stopped in the port of Praia, Cape Verde on the first night of Carnival.  I spent the night drinking beer, speaking pidgen Portuguese and dancing like a fool under the stars to some of the best music Ive ever heard.  You may have heard of Cesoria Evora; this recording introduces us to a broad array of Cape Verdean artists.
Amadou and Mariam were two young musicians who met at the National School for the Blind in Mali West Africa and discovered they could make incredible, hypnotic, dreamlike acoustic music together.  Their music blends voice, guitar, arabic flute and african hand drums together in a pleasing mix perfect for late nights with a candle flame dancing on the wall, a nice bottle of wine and an old friend to catch up with.
I am a member of the Herd.  I discovered Donna the Buffalo at the Rhythm-n-Roots festival in Rhode Island and am hooked.  With influences as diverse as Steve Riley style Zydeco, Jamaican Reggae, and Grateful Dead electric blues (hear them all in the 13 minute long Conscious Evolution) , and a female vocalist who reminds me of both Eddie Brickell and Chrissy Hynes and plays accordian, fiddle and washboard, these guys are a blast.  My favorite tunes on this live album are Family Picture and Conscious Evolution.  Get on the bus.  Join the herd.	Add your content here

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Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca were born in Congo (formerly Zaire) but grew up listening to Cuban records (which were themselves derived from the music of Africa that was imported with the slave trade).  This 'musical round tripping' has resulted in a fascinating blend of Zairois Soukous music with its multiple driving electric guitars and Cuban Son Montuno.  If this CD doesn't get your dance party going, then you should give up, send everyone home and turn on the Red Sox game.

Paolo Conte sits in a small cafe in the Northern Italian town of Asti smoking his cigarettes and feeling a vague longing for far away adventures in Madagascar and Zanzibar and other "nameless post-colonial exotic locales".  Perfect for sitting in your rattan chair and drinking rum punches as the summer shadows lengthen and the insect sounds drift in from your screen porch.  Don't forget the mosquito netting.

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