Anura Jayasingha & the Balladeers-Welcome to Sri Lanka

a calypsonian (ceylonian )from Sri Lanka? my god what else? the cd has an adventurous life itself,as it was forgotten with a bunch of others ,with 2-3 more from Sri-Lanka among them in a friend's house some years ago 

and was repatriated beyond hope last week.as for this music is more close to (a laid back )Madagascar than Trinidad

to my ears...

**************

Music fans will remember him as part of the La Ceylonians singing those lilting calypso tunes with his trademark straw hat and guitar. Many years have passed since those memorable tunes and times but Anura Pathmasiri Jayasingha’s musical journey continued, taking him across the world carrying his brand of music to people.

He has met world renowned singers of the calibre of Harry Belafonte and Lionel Ritchie and his Sinhala songs done with his own group The Balladeers were aired on French radio and television in 1990.
He is philosophical as he looks back: the path to this successful release was not one of roses but he adds that, “It was worth all the trouble I had to go through, because today I am recognized in many countries for my music.”

Anura has presented radio programmes about the beauty of Sri Lanka to a French audience through stations such as the Tropic FM, Radio Asia and Radio France.He is now working on a new instrumental to tell the world that the war has ended in Sri Lanka and that people should visit this land of peace.
Having studied at the Royal Primary and Thurstan College Colombo, Anura with the little music training that he had gained from being a part of the school choir, joined the “La Ceylonians” in 1967. “I would not be here today if it was not for my master Noel Ranasinghe who gave me a place in his band, and Lylie Godridge who trained my voice,” he says with gratitude.
“The Balladeers” was formed shortly after Anura left the “La Ceylonians” in 1986. His close friend Stanley Welgampola named this band and wrote the lyrics for most of his songs. The original members of “The Balladeers” were Rohan Silva who played the mandolin, harmonica, pedal steel, and guitar and also sang together with Nilantha Ariyaratne who played bass guitars and vocals. The late Asoka Ratnapala was among those who played the guitar and did the vocals for the first album of “The Balladeers”-‘Welcome to Sri Lanka’.
‘Welcome to Sri Lanka’ was released in 1990, with 13 original compositions of the Balladeers.
Anura is currently creating a new style in music around the flamenco, the music of the gypsies in Spain and has even got down a flamenco guitar. “I am not a flamenco guitarist and I have never learnt it under a professional but I love this music because I have many friends who play it and I’ve decided to create a new style using Sri Lanka as my inspiration.” !!!!!!

source

Welcome to Sri Lanka 

for yummy yummy  recipes of Sri Lanka try these 2 links(and tell us what happened):

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/online_recipes/srilanka/srilanka.php

http://paradisaya.tripod.com/recipes/

:)

The Mirror of the Sky

KE KATHA KAYRE
Lalan, ca. 1775-1891

Who is it that talks to me but does not let me see him?
He moves close to my hands but away from my reach in spite of my lifetime's search.
I explore the sky and the earth searching for him,
circling round my error of not knowing myself.
Who am I and who is he?

He is both, Rama and Rahim,
he is earth, water, air and fire.
Fools cannot lead you to Him in your search for Him.
If you are unable to reach what is close to your hands, what can you find in Delhi and Lahore?
Siraj Shah says, O Lalan,
the more I see the more I am confused.

 

Song and instrumental accompaniment on the swaraj (also a lute, like the dotara, but with five sympathic strings), by Torap Ali Shah, a Sufi Baul from Jessore, East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and with ghunghur and kathkartal (wooden clappers). It was recorded in 1971 in Calcutta when Torap Ali Shah came to India as a refugee during the Bangladesh war with Pakistan.
  

source:
  

The Mirror of the Sky - Songs of the Bauls of Bengal

recorded, translated and written down by Deben Bhattacharya

  

*

Merceditas Valdés

Mercedita Valdés was born on October 4, 1928 in the Havana neighborhood of Cayo Hueso, where she assimilated from childhood, Yoruba chants and prayers, rumba and works of representative composers Creole, among others, Ernesto Lecuona, Rodrigo Prats, Arsenio Rodriguez and Eliseo Grenet, Emilio...more

...She will always be an ethnographic document that survives in the African chants and prayers embedded in national culture.

>Cantos Afrocubanos

Canciones Cubanas De Cuna

Ay Que Bueno!

If you want te hear you will have to say it is thegoodone :))

Delfino Guevara-Indian Music from Mexico

I don't  have a lot to say about the record above ,its exactly what you would expect to hear from a record with the same tittle from the Playa sound label ,fans proceed and  instead let's have the opportunity to  take a short trip into Mayan history and kitchen (these two always go hand in hand ) :

The cuisine of the Yucatan Peninsula is different from that of the rest of Mexico.  They share tortillas and boiled beans, and the general plan of tamales and the like, and the Spanish heritage is more or less the same, but all these took different local forms quite early.  Yucatecans refer to the rest of the country simply as "Mexico," as if it were a foreign nation.
Until Porfirio Diaz forced the railroad lines through to Merida, Yucatan's principal trade ties were not with "Mexico" but with Cuba.  Contact was through Campeche and (later) Progreso, by sea.  Mexico had to be reached by sea also--sailing to Veracruz.  It is not surprising that Yucatan is a museum of Cuban influences, especially in the cuisine.  Afro-Cuban influences are shared.  So are achiote, and a preference for black beans.  Noteworthy is the use of bitter orange juice where other parts of continental Latin America would use lime juice and where Peninsular Spain would usually use vinegar.  Bitter orange is a different species from sweet orange (Citrus aurantium instead of C. sinensis), and has to be grown specially.  It came with the Spanish to Cuba, very early, and became important there.  Use spread to Haiti, where it is used in vodun  as well as ordinary cooking .  Its use, especially as a thinner for achiote, is a distinctly Cuban trait.
.........
 From ancient times, the Maya made full use of tomatoes and chiles; surely k'utbi p'ak and k'utbi ik are not new.  Given the conservatism of rural ways in Yucatan, we can safely assume that the simpler recipes below, such as ts'anchak and ts'ik, date back to ancient Maya days.  For one thing, they have Maya names.  Recipes with Spanish names are likely to be newer. Most recipes have undergone "mestizoization" (yes, that is a real word) in Yucatan.  In the peninsula, the Maya became a so-called "caste," rather than an isolated minority.  Poor rural workers, and even poor urban workers, spoke Maya.  Rich people spoke Spanish.  Many Maya had appreciable Spanish ancestry; conversely, many "mestizos" have no discernible Spanish ancestry. The Maya assimilated many foreigners; I know Maya who have backgrounds ranging from African and Korean to Chinese, Lebanese, and Scandinavian. 


 A characteristic of Yucatan is the profusion of spice pastes, mostly based on chiles and achiote, known asrecados.  This is one of those Caribbean features; similar pastes occur in Cuba and other islands.  This is a local pronunciation of the Spanish word recaudo, "collection."  The Maya word for these and any spice mix is just xak', "mix."  Recados can be bought readymade in Yucatan, but elsewhere they must be made at home...


tenths of recipes and a good reading 


http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/mayan/mayarecipes.html

also a basic presentation is here

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmaya.html


Delfino & the flutes 

Ziga Koritnik - Photographer!

Listen











SlovenianPhotographer
Galleries from myspace
Galleries from homepage

From his myspace a quote :) from Gandhi "I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers."

Ziga Koritnik (on photograph left taken by Mr. Robert Balen, on July 07, 2005) has been capturing images of musicians since 1987. He lives and works in Ljubljana - Slovenia, where he is regular guest on the music scene and documents the Ljubljana jazz festival, the Druga godba festival, concerts in Cankarjev dom and various other events across Europe, both large and small, including Saalfelden jazz festival, Konrontationen in Nickelsdorf, and Vienna jazz festival in Austria, Musique Mettisses in Angouleme, France, Womad in Reading, England and the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia, Musicche sulle bocce, Sardegna - Italy, Vision festival in New York. Since 1996 he has been the resident photographer of the Skopje jazz festival in Macedonia, where each year a calender with his photos is published. In 2001 he held a major exhibition at the Skopje City Museum to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the festival, which was accompanied by a book predominantly featuring Koritnik's photographs. In 2001 he spent seven weeks in New York, where he documented the Vision Festival and became acquainted with the musical and artistic events in the city. He was afforded the oppurtunity to exhibit in the Kavehaz Gallery in Soho. His photographs are regulary published in Slovene newspapers and magazines (including Delo, Mladina, Muska and Fotografija) as weel in international publications (Time out, Jazz times, Jazziz, Signal to noise, Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik, Ballett Unternationale, Village voice, All About jazz...). ...

Chris McGregor - Piano Song & In his Good Time

I’m just a FREE musician and I like every kind of music.

****

I have this strong imaginative reference to African village music,
and the thing I know about that music is that it has a strong centre.
It builds up, a lot of people do things together that they know.

CMcG

****

Chris McGregor is perhaps best-known for his foundation and leadership of The Blue Notes, the South African sextet which included  Dudu Pukwana, Nikele Moyake, Louis Moholo, Johnny Dyani and Mongezi Feza. Equally as notable was McGregor's creation of the Brotherhood of Breath in 1969, which branched out from his work as The Blue Notes. He released three albums of solo piano performances,we'll have the two of them here today, and continued to be a major force in the music after leaving England to live in the French countryside.He died in May 1990.

some links of interest :

Chris McGregor wiki

The Blue Notes wiki

The Brotherhood of Breath wiki

PerfectSoundForever the online magazine has a tribute to Chris McGregor

the most complete site on the Blue Notes and their offshoots 

is the work of love of Mike Fowler 

highly recommended!

listen  in this order if possible

Piano Song 2  

In his Good Time

thanks to the extinct  Church Number Nine blog

Candomblé

Candomblé



found god knows where and reuped
Candomble Osun E Osala Altair Ti Ogun By Omirohumbi

Altair TÓgun - Òsún Ati Òòsààlá

and at macumbagratis.blogspot.com : 1, 2, 3 parts of Cantigas do Orixas
much more at blackstarliners
some links here
some more there
some songs written

Something on IFA, belief system of Yoruba tradition, from wich Candomble, Santeria, etc developed.
Ineresting things to read, interesting man to meet.

Tea Music

 

Kizaemon Tea-Bowl, Korea, 16th Century (used for Tea Ceremony, 17th Century)
  

Traditional tea ceremonies were originally performed by Buddhist monks in sacred mountain temples. The tea ceremony strengthens connections with nature and is considered valuable for cultivating a peaceful mind. These compositions function as "a bridge between tea and music in Korean tradition."

  
Tea Music [Da'ak] Vol. 1 - 5

Tea Music 1 - Two Themes on the Fragrance of Tea - Hwang, ByungKi
Tea Music 1 - Tea Music - Leaves, Water, Light - Yi, KonYong
Tea Music 1 - Ode to Tea Fragrance - Paik, ByungDong
Tea Music 1 - Ensemble No 8 Tea Mind, Tea Music, Tea Zen Samadhi - Kim, HeeJo

Tea Music 2 - In Praise of Tea-Tao - Yi, SungChun
Tea Music 2 - Cho Il Incense - Park, IlHoon
Tea Music 2 - Su Ryong Uhm (Water Dragon Moan)
Tea Music 2 - PyungJoHoeSang - New SangRyungSan

Tea Music 3 - Dong Ta Song - Park, IlHoon
Tea Music 3 - Cho Dang - Yi, ChongKu
Tea Music 3 - Il Ji Ahm - Kim, YoungDong
Tea Music 3 - MyungSun - Bak, DongUk

Tea Music 4 - Four Seasons - Winter - Night - Kim, JongSu
Tea Music 4 - Four Seasons - Spring - Dawn - Kim, JongSu
Tea Music 4 - Four Seasons - Summer - Midday - Kim, JongSu
Tea Music 4 - Four Seasons - Fall - Evening - Kim, JongSu

Tea Music 5 - Good Time for Tea Drinking, Elegance - Cloud - Park, InHo
Tea Music 5 - Good Time for Tea Drinking, Elegance - Moon - Kim, SongKyong
Tea Music 5 - Good Time for Tea Drinking, Elegance - Wind - Park, IlHoon
Tea Music 5 - Good Time for Tea Drinking, Elegance - Star - Yi, KonYong
Tea Music 5 - Good Time for Tea Drinking, Elegance - Sun - Hwang, UiJong

source

TEA MUSIC [DA'AK]
KOREAN CREATIVE MUSIC SOCIETY

Rituals of tea-drinking are followed throughout the world. The mystical properties of tea are celebrated, mostly without thinking, in the daily lives of millions. In Korea, tea and music have a special and spiritual relationship. The Korean Creative Music Society’s Tea Music [Da'ak] explores the intricate association between Korean music the ancient art of tea-making.

Drawing inspiration from the love of tea to be found in both traditional and contemporary worlds. Tea Music [Da'ak] combines dance, art and a tea ceremony with exquisite Korean music played on traditional instruments.

These include the daegeum (a large Korean flute), danso (a small bamboo flute), gayageum (a 25 string instrument), yanggeum (a Korean zither) and geomungo (a 6 string instrument).

Take time out from the tension and stress of today’s modern life and be transported by this delicate and tranquil piece of perfection.
 

    

some more info

  

Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella

When you think of Latin percussion, think of Francisco Aguabella. Perhaps the finest Afro-Cuban master percussionist , who was while living synonymous with his instrument the conga - one of the highest compliments a musician can ever receive.
 He was a master of Bata (the sacred Santeria drumming tradition), Abaqua and Yeza, and secular Afro-Cuban jazz and salsa styles. Discover this enigmatic Cuban drummer, a virtual Rosetta stone of African culture, who has been highly influential in the growth of Latin jazz, pop and fusion in the U.S. 

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, Francisco Aguabella was a master of the Yoruba-derived bata drums and rumba as well as contemporary traditions including Cuban son, salsa, and Latin jazz. Though he has released only a half dozen albums, his work is best measured by his contribution to the Afro-Cuban sounds and the growth of Latin jazz. "He is one of the strongholds of our music and has always kept the commitment to our Cuban rhythm, that's very important, " says Cuban jazz player Israel "Cachao" Lopez. Aguabella has received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts and is the subject of a documentary film by Les Blank, Sworn to the Drum. Francisco Aguabella's passion and fire on the conga drums are absolutely contagious and not to be missed.

directed by Les Blank 1985
35 minutes

Sworn To the Drum


more Francisco Aguabella

here
amazing
&

here
amazing
:)