On a recent March evening the members of She Said, a diverse ensemble of Miami’s best female musicians, gathered to rehearse for their first-ever performance at the upcoming Fifth Annual Women and Culture Festival. She Said’s director, Michelle “Quatro” Forman, readied her tape recorder excitedly as the musicians cheered each…
With power and finesse unrivaled by any jazz singer south of Manhattan, Nicole Henry has become Miami’s worst-kept secret. The sophisticated Japanese jazz community, for one, is on her like green on wasabi. They’ve bestowed her honors such as “Best New Jazz Artist” (2004 HMV/Japan Music Awards) and have proclaimed…
Forget the fiery performances that this Brazilian legend has staged in the past, backed by a big band playing reggae and samba. This time around, he follows in the footsteps of João Gilberto. Gil performs solo, revisiting both classic and obscure selections from his personal songbook. Gil was one of…
It’s virtually impossible to figure out how Ted Leo became, you know, Ted Leo. Born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Leo graduated from Seton Hall Prep and received a degree in English from Notre Dame. He is now a strict vegan and plays socially conscious punk music. (We didn’t think they…
Rebel music is ensconced in the DNA of Malian nomad group Tinariwen. Started in the early Eighties as a band of drifters-turned-guerrilla musicians, this septet of African blues players is essentially a group of political refugees creating its own liberation anthems one note at a time. Alchemizing traditional Tuareg blues…
“I do this for the love of music/Not for the glitter and gold,” sings India.Arie on her Grammy-winning ditty, “Little Things.” The statement itself isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but the emotion in Arie’s voice makes her words resonate. One can’t help but believe that everything the girl from Georgia sings about…
Most local clubgoers are already plenty familiar with Cedric Gervais, the French wunderkind DJ who worked his way up to practically owning the terrace at Space. After racking up a string of remix credits that includes tracks by Lenny Kravitz, Duran Duran, Dirty Vegas, and Chocolate Puma, all that remained…
By Zeus, look at the calendar! This Sunday, the Greeks celebrate the Treaty of Constantinople, which granted them independence from the Ottoman Empire back in 1832. In honor of this long-ago inking, Ink plays host to DJ Theodore, a resident spinner at the superposh Akrotiri night club, which is situated…
In 1998 I traveled to Cuba to study guitar as part of my graduate studies in cultural anthropology. I was hoping to get a better grasp of the socially conscious Nueva Trova folk music movement, but within a few weeks I was itching to discover something more intense than the…
Most artists yearn to be recognized and admired by the public. But in the cutthroat world of Jamaican dancehall, fame can lead to serious trouble, particularly if you happen to be a member of the thriving Miami collective Black Chiney. “Back in 2002 someone sent us an e-mail,” says Supa…
Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr knows a little something about dealing with strong-willed vocalists (ahem, Morrissey), so it’s no surprise that his contributions to the poppiest Modest Mouse record yet are solid. But it’s still a treat to hear how focused Isaac Brock and Co. are on the lushly arranged Ship,…
Afrobeat is an often imitated musical form, but few bands approach it with the respect and creativity that Brooklyn’s Antibalas has over the years. When the band was created nearly a decade ago, its music picked up where the genre’s architects, Fela Kuti and his son Femi, respectively, left off…
There are certain instruments folks wouldn’t ordinarily associate with jazz music, and the steel pan (used in soca and calypso) is on that list. But on Andy Narell’s latest disc, Tatoom, the pan is taken to a different level, and the jazz tunes that are created here seem abstract at…
We can safely assume that Dionne, living legend that she is, looks forward to returning to Miami under brighter circumstances. Back in 2002, you’ll recall, the singer was busted at the airport for possession of marijauna — specifically eleven joints found inside a lipstick container. (Dionne, upon landing, allegedly asked…
If you’ve paid a recent late-night visit to the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in North Miami Beach, chances are you’ve seen Bobby Washington in the parking lot. “This is when it gets really packed,” notes the 33-year-old R&B singer. Washington cuts an odd figure amid the SUVs and sedans circling this…
The sophomore album by hip-hop artist El-P portrays a world plagued by war and malevolent technology. Cities are burning under the noses of uncaring mayors. There are “rats tappin’ glass in a government lab.” It doesn’t sound happy. Then again, these aren’t happy times. “C’mon mom, can I borrow the…
Alright is a love-or-loathe proposition. Plenty of listeners will be enchanted by Allen’s defiantly casual singing, cool-girl vocabulary, and taste for hybrid pop, while others are sure to find these attributes irritating in the extreme. As for the MySpace phenom in the spotlight, she doesn’t appear to care what reaction…
Since putting their collaborative efforts on hiatus last year, the dynamic duo of Dubfire and Sharam, known more famously as Deep Dish, have each sought to create a stronger distinction between their solo recordings. While Sharam has adopted a free-wheeling aesthetic, Dubfire has taken a decidedly rootsy turn with his…
Anyone hoping that singer David Kilgour’s latest disc, The Far Now, would be a return to the streamlined, guitar-driven rush of his former New Zealand punk outfit the Clean will quickly be disappointed. Instead for this, his sixth album, he’s offering down-to-earth, contemplative jangle-rock with melodies and moods strong enough…
While many of his famous Brazilian contemporaries are reissuing hits from their lengthy back catalogs, 64-year-old singer Caetano Veloso stubbornly continues to push himself forward as evidenced on his newest album, Cê. The simple, stripped-down instrumentation here (guitar, bass, drums) is also a nice change from some of his larger…
John Digweed Long gone are the days when John Digweed needed the name of his erstwhile partner, Sasha, to draw attention to his talents. The DJ has been shining alone for a while and is now lending his skills to others, specifically Canada’s production duo du jour, MSTRKRFT. Digweed and…
Aterciopelados In the ten years since they released La Pipa de La Paz (“The Pipe of Peace”), this genre-busting duo has continued to break musical barriers, blending the folk traditions of their native Colombia with a melange of sounds picked up as they’ve toured the Americas and Europe. The pair’s…
