#4429, Wish I Were There...
Take an hour for a collection of audio postcards that mostly say, “I wish I were there.” Hear Albanian accordion on a trip to Japan, Japanese band Minyo Crusaders takes on Colombian music, and a now-classic collaboration between Malian and Cuban musicians, Afrocubism.
Listen to the Japanese band Minyo Crusaders in collaboration with the Colombian cumbia experimentalists Frente Cumbiero. Recorded in Bogota, hear “Cumbia Del Monte Fuji” – a song based on an early Colombian cumbia tune called “Cumbia Del Monte” (the cumbia of the mountain) and one which references Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji. Then, hear work by the innovative Albanian accordionist Raif Hyseni who pairs flutes and percussion with accordion on a musical trip to Japan.
Plus, listen to the richly rewarding collaboration between Malian and Cuban musicians, AfroCubism, featuring Cuban cowboy-hatted guitarist Eliades Ochoa, singer of the Buena Vista theme "Chan Chan" and kora genius Toumani Diabaté, among so many other talented players. As a reminder, their first attempt at collaboration was thwarted by travel restrictions, but yielded the lauded Buena Vista Social Club record.
There’s also an ambient, fourth-world take on “Caravan” (Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol) from Jon Hassell on trumpet and electronics, along with “Caravans of Gold” by British Nigerian composer, cellist, and kora player Tunde Jegede. And more. -Caryn Havlik
Program #4429, Wish I Were There... (First Aired 11/12/2020)
ARTIST: Duke Ellington Orchestra
WORK: Caravan [1:00]
RECORDING: The Complete RCA Victor Mid-Forties Recordings (1944-1946)
SOURCE: RCA #63394
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, AppleMusic
ARTIST: Jeremy Wilms
WORK: Elegy for the Agora [3:24]
RECORDING: Large Format
SOURCE: System Dialing Records
INFO: market.systemdialingrecords.com
ARTIST: Andy Statman
WORK: Flatbush Waltz [5:52]
RECORDING: Ancestral Steppes
SOURCE: Rounder #C-0116
INFO: rounder.com
ARTIST: Raif Hyseni
WORK: An Albanian in Japan [9:55]
RECORDING: Raif Hyseni
SOURCE/INFO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19diiV_t544
ARTIST: Minyo Crusaders
WORK: Cumbia del monte Fuji [4:25]
RECORDING: From Tokyo to Bogota EP
SOURCE: Mais Um Discos
INFO: minyocrusaders.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: AfroCubism
WORK: Mali Cuba [5:37]
RECORDING: AfroCubism
SOURCE: Nonesuch 525993
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Jon Hassell
WORK: Caravanesque [7:19]
RECORDING: Fascinoma
SOURCE: Water Lily Acoustics #70
INFO: waterlilyacoustics.com
ARTIST: Tunde Jegede
WORK: Caravans of Gold [5:37]
RECORDING: Lamentation
SOURCE: tundejegede.org
INFO: Available at AppleMusic
ARTIST: Mukdad Rothenberg Lankow
WORK: Once upon a time in Damascus [2:18]
RECORDING: In the Wake of Memories
SOURCE: Clermont Music
INFO: clermontmusic.com/mrl-memories
