CD Picks of the Week

This week’s picks include some truly international music from the squats of Amsterdam and a 1970s jazz retrospective from CTI Records.

Caspian Hat Dance - "We Say No Talk"

The band called Caspian Hat Dance wasn’t a proper band at first, just a bunch of musicians who got together as part of what is apparently a community of squatters living in dubious circumstances in Amsterdam.  Now, they aptly describe themselves as a street band that sells out concert halls.  Describing their music is a bit tougher.  They have a strong affinity for gypsy and klezmer tunes, but feel free to draw on Latin American and southern Italian dances too. 

Caspian Hat Dance has pulled off a neat trick here – taking all these different traditions and making them friendly and accessible.  The band is still based in Amsterdam, but their all-acoustic, high-intensity approach to traditional folk dances and their own original tunes make this an album that really fits the term “world music.”  The record is called “We Say No Talk.” -- picked by John Schaefer

Various Artists - “CTI Records: The Cool Revolution”

If Santa didn’t give you everything you wanted last month, maybe those smooth and funky jazz sounds of the ‘70s you’ve been hankering for, you might consider cashing out some holiday gift cards on a recent 4-CD box set called “CTI Records: The Cool Revolution.” It chronicles jazz label CTI’s glory years as an independent, from about 1970-1976.

CTI Records was founded by producer Creed Taylor, known for his marketing savvy in the music world. In the era chronicled on the “The Cool Revolution” set, CTI released music from greats like Chet Baker, Ron Carter, Randy Weston, and the Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim - whose “Stone Flower” is just one of the 39 songs collected in the 4-CD set called CTI Records: The Cool Revolution. -- picked by Joel Meyer [Amazon]