music of the world t

coming up to the conclusion of this very interesting exercise
quoting verbatim from songlines magazine of jul/aug 2006
documenting 50 rhythms of the world

taiko (japan)

nobody really knows its true origins
but it is believed taiko has been part of japanese culture since 600ad
the thunderous drums have been used in temples
traditional theatre, warfare and japan's summer matsuri festivals
traditionally taiko, which vary from handheld tambours to the giant odaiko were solo instruments
but since the 1950's they have been played in troupes which has led to a musical innovation
the father of modern taiko was a jazz musician daihachi oguchi
who was the first to combine different types of drum and overlapping rhythms
to create the exciting modern ensemble style

songlines recommends best of kodo volume 1 by kodo
esne notes memories of taikoz an australian/japanese ensemble presenting a thunderous set at womadelaide

tango (argentina)
the dance groove of buenos aires lowlifers was given glamour by carlos gardel and virtuosity by bandoneon supremo anibal troilo but is was bespectacled pianist osvaldo pugliese who emphasised the strident beat of the dos por cuatro (or 2/4) as argentinians call tango his 60-odd year career bridged the golden age and the evolutionary explorations of astor piazzolla last year beunos aires tangueros dedicated the whole year to pugliese born 1905 died 1995

songlines recommends ballando tango by osvaldo pugliese (all instrumental)
esne notes surely the direct descendants of pugliese would be the gotan project

tango (serbia)
the tango may have been born in beunos aires but it very soon found adoptive homes in paris, berlin, russia, finland and turkey it's the only dance we've chosen to feature twice (songlines) to reflect the extensive tango diaspora

songlines recommends the last balkan tango by boris kovac and ladaaba orchestra
esne notes this album depicts the demise of yugoslavia as a dance of death with dark sax and clarinet-let tangos

teental (north india) it means a 16-beat cycle - that's 4/4 but there's nothing square about the flying fingers ingenious cross-rhythms, competitive exchanges and frantic build-ups that feature in this most popular of north indian structures all classical music operates within cycles of various lengths which are easiest to follow in percussion the tabla being the dominant instrument performers often recite their compositions in rapid bursts of syllables before playing them and traditionally the bowed sarangi accompanies a solo recital
songlines recommends memorable tabla duet by ustad alla rakha and zakir hussain
esne notes i'm sure i saw this father-son duo at womadelaide - total experts as far as i could tell

township jive (south africa) is it a rhythm, a genre or simply a way of life in downtown soweto? whatever the definition, from the pennywhistle of spokes mashiyane to the jazz-influenced swing of hugh masekala township jive became the dominant beat of south africa in the 50's and in a myriad of off-shoots and variations remained a resilient and uplifting response to adversity during the apartheid era

songlines recommends hope by hugh masekela
esne notes paul simon's graceland concert surely took township jive into the mainstream

next part v-z and the conclusion of this (not) little exercise