music of the world s part 2

songlines magazine published a fascinating article in jul/aug edition of 2006
50 rhythms of the world itemised and summarised
now up to the s's

sama'ai (middle east)
though the name originally comes from turkish (saz semai) the development and refinement of this mecurial 10/8 pattern with strong beats on 1, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 is steeped in the arab classical tradition the way in which a player interprets this during a taqsim (solo improvisation) is an acid test of musicianship too heavy an emphasis on the strong beats and the piece becomes leaden too light a touch and the inner pulse is lost

songlines recommends the road to baghdad by ahmed mukhtar
esne notes lack of exposure to this one so more investigation required

samba (brazil)
samba was created by bahian emigres in rio de janeiro at the beginning of the 20th century
capeiristas, practitioners of the afro-brazilian religion of candomble
and festival troupes all brought their musical styles together
when they fused with portuguese instruments samba was born
like most brazilian rhythms, samba is in 2/4 and is driven by a deep pounding surdo drum
with an overlaying syncopated 'rat-a-tat' from a chorus of timbales
it remains at the heart of the music of rio's carnaval

songlines recommends da vile isabel by martinho da vila
esne notes another brazilian style that will need further investigation

ska (jamaica)
sixties jamaican dance music, ska, has a jerky, see-sawing beat and matching 'shanking' dance the underlying shuffling rhythm derives from the mento folk style and shares calypso's catchy lilt milly small's 1964 ska-pop hit 'my boy lollipop' coincided with the more musically sophisticated former jazz and r&b bands whose classics were recorded in the kingston sound system studios coxsone dodd immortalised the magnificent skatalites prince buster brought ska to london inspiring the two-tone ska of madness and the specials

songlines recommends guns of navarone by the skatalites
esne notes damn - had forgotten about the lollipop song - now resurrected in the memory

soukous (dr congo) in the west it is still referred to as soukous music but it's really just modern congolese music a hybrid of classic old congo rumba with sumptuous vocal harmonies and multiple interwoven guitars and the faster sebene section of the song where the guitars let rip underneath vocal animations that encourage the sexy swivel-hipped movements of the dancers
songlines recommends haut de gamme by koffi olomide
esne notes they also state that this chap is africa's largest selling contemporary vocalist

that's 42 down and 8 to go
nearly there - then to review and search 'em out