music of the world m part 2

songlines magazine reckon there are 50 distinctive or maybe noteworthy music styles in the world
according to their own expert writers and reviewers at least
i suspect there are many more but i'm a relative novice so i'm going with them
in previous blog postings i have transcribed 24 from the article in their july/august 2006 edition
so now about half-way with this very interesting exercise

mbalax (senegal)

throbbing, syncopated cross-rhythms played by traditional sabar drums
in an eloquently chattering dialogue with electric guitars, blaring saxophones and full-blooded wolof vocals
it can only be mbalax the dominant sound of modern senegal
pioneered by the incomparable youssou n'dour
that has become one of the rhythmic glories in the rich patchwork of pan-african music

songlines recommends lii by youssou n'dour
esne notes that this particular recording was made for his senegalese fans so is pure mbalax

merengue (dominican republic)

the national dance music of the dominican republic, merengue moves to a driving 2/4 rhythm
originally acoustic and rural and involving guitars, accordians and percussion
and marimbula (box thumb piano), bubbling tambora drum and sharply slashed metal guiro (scraper)
it was adapted for 50's society bands by the dictator-president trujillo
and subsequently influenced by rock and salsa by johnny ventura and wilfrido vargas

songlines recommends el decreto de by kinito mendez
esne notes lack of knowledge on whereabouts etc of the country let alone the music

morna (cape verde)

sitting several hundred miles off the coast of west africa
the cape verde islands' unique geographical location has fostered a rich set of hybrid rhythms
combining african and brazilian elements with strong hints of portuguese fado
most famous of all is morna - a slow, blues-like minor key shuffle that is both poetry and dance
and the soundtrack to the nation's soul

songlines recommends miss perfumado by cesaria evora
esne notes cesaria evora is well loved but never knew her style was labelled morna

a perfect excuse to dig out the concert dvd of cesaria evora live in paris
it's been a while so it will be interesting to watch it again in light of the comments above