New Reviews: November 9, 2002
Reviews by Matthew J. Forss
Portals Of Grace
Azam Ali
Narada
Iranian born, Azam Ali, is best known for her vocal performances in
the group Vas. Her solo effort, Portals Of Grace, combines instrumental
and lyrical compositions that are inspired by early medieval songs and
European traditions. Azam executes beautiful vocal performances that
are atmospheric, operatic and evocative. Some of the early music sung
originates from France, Brittany and Sweden. Greek, Arabic, Galician
and European instrumentation characteristic of early music ensembles
accompanies Azam’s vocals. Fans of early music from the 12th to 14th
centuries and vocal music should acquire Portals Of Grace.
Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars - Brotherhood Of Brass
Boban Markovic Orkestar & Hasaballa Brass Band
Piranha
Brotherhood Of Brass is an enthusiastic recording of Klezmer brass music. The
music on this disc draws upon Jewish, Romanian and Balkan roots. Most of the
songs are similar to Hungarian gypsy rhythms and tunes. Each instrumental
song reflects a big band sound from a rather small brass ensemble and orchestra.
The album also has some vocals along with the brass percussion. Overall,
Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars - Brotherhood Of Brass is also an excellent
recording of Klezmer brass band music and should be enjoyed by fans of brass
and Klezmer music.
Matthew J. Forss is currently a full-time student at Lakeland College-Sheboygan,
Wisconsin. He is majoring in Biology and German Language/Culture. Since 1998,
he has collected numerous musical instruments and CDs from around the world.
Also in 1998, he wrote a paper on Mongolian Ethnomusicology, titled:
How Does Music Play An Important Role In The Life And Culture Of Mongolia?
Currently, he has collected over 100 CDs that represent dozens of different
countries. His general interests include ethnomusicology journalism and
researching the traditional/contemporary ethnic music of various cultures
from around the world. His specific, geographic areas of study include the
traditional and popular music from Central Eurasia (especially Mongolia, Uzbekistan,
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.) In November of 2000, he accepted the position of
writing world music CD reviews for this site.
