Espiritu Vivo
Susana Baca
John Medeski, Marc Ribot
Engineer: Danny Kopelson,
Producer: Craig Street
Luaka Bop, 2006
1 CD
Catalogue #: 90048
EAN: 0680899004824
UPC: 680899004824
You save: 20%
Personnel includes: Susana Baca (vocals); David Pinto (arranger, bass, background vocals); Marc Ribot (acoustic & electric guitars, loops); Sergio Valdes (acoustic guitar, background vocals); John Medeski (melodica, piano, organ); Juan Medrano Cotito (cajon, background vocals); Hugo Bravo (percussion, background vocals).
Recorded at Globe Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Susana Baca.
Peruvian singer Susana Baca has done much to raise the profile of Afro-Peruvian music. True to form, ESPIRITU VIVO brings to life the rich culture of black Peru with such bubbly songs as "Caracunde" and the reflective "Si Me Quitaran." Using a combination of native hand percussion and common instruments (guitars and organ), this album features a mixture of exotic flavors and readily identifiable sounds.
ESPIRITU VIVO (and Afro-Peruvian music in general) is easily accessible because of its inherent tunefulness. Moreover, most of us are familiar with this genre's cousins. For example, the minor keyed "Toro Mata" suggests both the sleek Brazilian bossa nova and the fiery Cuban salsa. Yet, Baca's music is far from derivative. The exquisite refrains of "Afro Blue / Zum Zum" and "The Anchor Song" reveal unique instrumental harmonies, and in the case of the former, inventive rhythmical motifs. Further, Baca's own voice couldn't be more arresting. Her tone is silky-smooth and her delivery is both crafty and heartfelt.
Tracklist
Marc Ribot
The versatile, genre-hopping guitarist Marc Ribot was a fixture of New York's Downtown jazz scene for many years. Though Ribot is a well-known member of jazz's avant-garde, he's also a student of Haitian composer Frantz Casseus and one of contemporary jazz's most fervent champions of Latin music (Ribot's Los Cubanos Postizos is one of his most acclaimed ensembles). In addition to putting in time with the Lounge Lizards, the Jazz Passengers, and various John Zorn projects, Ribot frequently contributes his unique guitar stylings to various studio albums, most notably those of Tom Waits, with whom Ribot has been a long-time affiliate.
