Much has been said and written about the origins and first appearances of the Gypsies. Their first documented existence in Europe dates back to the early fifteenth century and most scholars agree that they originally came from Northern India. This is based on the resemblance of their Romany language to certain languages in Northern India. Apparently, the Gypsies migrated into Persia in the 11th century and further into South East Europe around the beginning of the 14th century and from there into Western Europe. Today, Gypsies live all over the world, including North and South America and even Australia. As many Gypsies worked as musicians or entertainers, they had a considerable impact on the music of the countries in which they lived- their own particular musical style often combined with the folk music of a particular country, thus preserving the traditions over centuries. The so-called Gypsy repertoire can be described as a blend of Russian, Hungarian and Romanian influences but on the other hand the Roma have contributed their own style to many areas of music and influenced other artists in their music, such as Bizet, Brahms and Dvorak, to name but a few. In this compilation, a variety of Gypsy music has been included, from purely traditional to modern, including soloists who excel with their instruments, small Gypsy ensembles, large Gypsy brass bands, some of the greatest Gypsy singers and composers as well as travelling Egyptian Gypsies, recorded on location.

Calypso is a form of folk music and dance from the Caribbean. Historically, Calypso can be traced back to the arrival of African slaves in the Caribbean islands in the seventeenth century. It has its roots on the island of Trinidad. The words of calypso songs are witty and humorous, usually involving social or political commentary in satirical form. The lyrics are characterized by arbitrary shifts in the accentuation of everyday English words. The infectious Calypso music is set in duple meter. It is a vital component of any carnival celebration in the Caribbean, and there are annual calypso competitions which are themselves a premier aspect of the carnivals. Born in Africa in 1968, King Selewa got into music through Jamaican 70s calypso, ska, rock-steady and early reggae music which he and his elder brother, Lord Skalipsoul, then performed live all over Europe in 1995. King Selewa and Chico, his guitar player, soon formed their own band of experienced musicians- their “Calypsonians,” in order to go deeper into the roots of Caribbean music, that is to say, Calypso. As Lord Invader said: “Calypso is folklore of Trinidad, a style of poetry recounting current events in song.”

Harmonica and jazz? It would be hard to come up with more than a few names that have brilliantly combined these concepts together. The Belgian Toots Thielemans, a living legend on the chromatic harmonica would be leading the way, together with Stevie Wonder, with whom the instrument has gained access into the world of soul and pop. Then all of a sudden, Konstantin Renfeld appears; very young and a genuine talent on the diatonic harmonica, which he plays fully chromatically. He sets standards here which are otherwise only met by the US virtuoso Howard Levy. Even as a child, Konstantin Reinfeld was irresistibly attracted to music. His enthusiasm for the freedom of jazz grew equally alongside his autodidactic study of the instrument. Learning the increasingly demanding playing techniques which that kind of music requires was a unique incentive for Reinfeld, and brought him an increasing sense of self-fulfillment. ''After the release of my debut album, the common musical understanding within the band has grown stronger because of our live performances at festivals and concerts. A consequence of this was an effort by everyone in the band to carry this energy which we had developed on the stage into the studio.'' (Konstantin Reinfeld)

Macedonian bellydance music has a distinct ''Balkan'' flavour with its typical instrumentation blended with contemporary instruments - modern, exciting, quirky, and very ''bellydanceable''!

For the first time ever, a glimpse behind the scenes at the birth of a new musical comedy. Before the show could begin, production money for the budget had to be raised. And here is a unique opportunity to hear an actual backers’ audition in a fashionable East Side New York apartment with the actual songwriters performing the score. And as an added bonus, several songs were subsequently cut from the score and appear here for the first time in any medium. The extensive liner notes are written by Coleman biographer Andy Propst. Cy Coleman already could boast of hit Broadway shows such as Little Me, Seesaw, I Love My Wife and On the Twentieth Century. After the great success of Barnum, he would write the scores for the Tony Award-winning Will Rogers Follies, The Life, and others. Michael Stewart is best known for his masterful work on the libretto of Hello, Dolly! He had begun his Broadway lyric-writing career along with Cy Coleman on the hit show I Love My Wife. The two writers teamed up for their greatest success as a team, Barnum. Listening to this rare, historic recording, imagine yourself sitting in a lavish apartment plied with drinks and hors d’oeuvres and entertained by this marvelous score. Would you have invested in the show? Barnum eventually ran at the St. James Theatre for over 800 performances. It spawned a successful London production and countless regional and amateur productions since its opening night on April 30, 1980.

To help artists develop exciting projects that are difficult to realize under existing conditions is the goal of the SWR NEWJazzMeeting. This legendary sound laboratory for jazz of the SWR was founded in 1966 by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and takes place every year. The idea: musicians who always wanted to perform with one another but who, for a variety of reasons, have so far not been able to do so, develop a concert programme in the broadcaster’s studios that the SWR then presents in several concerts in its transmission area. In the course of its fifty-year history, the SWR NEWJazz Meeting has in this way served as a driving force for new trends in jazz. “I see a particular value in exploring the music of my South African homeland and making it fit for the future.” Kyle Shepherd, born in 1987, is the most innovative and important pianist of the contemporary South African jazz scene. His sound boldly makes reference to the roots of township jazz and the Goema Beat of his hometown of Cape Town. Nevertheless, he refuses to be put into a pigeonhole; his horizon extends far beyond his beloved Cape Jazz. “It’s cool to choose the African thing in conceptual questions. But just as cool to choose something else.” Kyle Shepherd, the most innovative and important pianist of the contemporary South African jazz scene, is the curator of the 2016 SWR NEWJazz Meeting. At his wish, four young jazz musicians from South Africa and the Benin-born guitarist and singer Lionel Loueke (who since 2001 has been living in the United States) met in November 2016 at the SWR’s Baden-Baden radio studios. The musicians named their project “Sound Portraits From Contemporary Africa”. The African improvisers experimented for five days and developed a concert programme that they then presented on a tour in the SWR broadcasting area.

The new Musical Explorers series from ARC Music makes available, often for the first time, a valuable range of historical films and audio recordings gathered from all over the world. The next release on this series is Music of Tibet, curated by Simon Broughton. Accompanying the album is Deben Bhattacharya’s film, Echoes from Tibet, which was shot in 1979 in Ladakh, Darjeeling and Dharamsala. This is where many Tibetan exiles and the Dalai Lama (who appears in the film) are based. The music on the accompanying album was recorded in 1975 and 1979 in the refugee communities of Ladakh, Himalchal Pradesh, Sikkim and Darjeeling, and also in Sarnath, close to Varansi where The Buddha gave his first sermon. The music on the album was recorded by Deben Bhattacharya on his Nagra in 1975 and 1979. “For the new Musical Explorers series by the British label, the world music expert Simon Broughton has raised a real treasure.”

This album features original Egyptian dance compositions as well as traditional pieces with a modern touch, by Essam Rashad. Essam Rashad was born in Cari, Egypt. He learned music from his father early in hi life. In his twenties, he worked as a composer for the national Egyptian radio station. After his father’s death, he began to study violin and joined a small orchestra, recording a great number of songs by various Middle Eastern composers. Thus he gained a great wealth of knowledge and wide-ranging experience in different musical styles and techniques. Gradually he became highly regarded as a talented musician, whereupon he was appointed to join the Egyptian National Classical Orchestra as a specialist of the oud, his first instrument. In 1981, he came to England. He then began to teach music privately, while also looking for an opportunity to release his musical works. He worked on arrangements for Indian and Western music with his special skills. At present, he is completing work on original pieces of full orchestrated modern classical music.

This new Musical Explorers series from ARC Music makes available, often for the first time, a valuable range of historical films and audio recordings gathered from all over the world. During the 20th century more people started travelling and became more aware and interested in the world’s musical traditions. And technological advances meant that the equipment necessary to record those musical traditions in their natural environment become more portable and of higher quality. In Songcatchers, his excellent book about music collectors, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart writes: “I’ve learned what it takes to be a field recordist: how you have to fight the rain, the insects, the sand, the sun. You have to drink with and eat the food of the musicians you’re recording and observe their traditions, no matter what they are. To understand the heart and soul of a music, to earn the right to hear it, you must respect and honor the culture that creates it.” All the musical explorers in this series did exactly that. The recordings on this album were made in Taiwan in 1973 when mainland China was undergoing the destruction and upheaval of the Cultural Revolution. Musical Explorer Deben Bhattacharya was fascinated by the traditional Chinese culture he found in Taiwan. The accompanying film includes not just music, but other traditional arts and crafts.

On Mexico's west coast, inland from the tourist zone of Acapulco and Huatulco, the Costa Chica is an isolated region of towns and villages in the foothills of the Sierra Madre. It is a region known, from the outside, for violence and poverty, but, as the boleros in this album reveal, has a deep feeling for poetry, a love of music and constant parties where it all comes together far from the recording studios and the concert halls of Mexico City. In 2016, after several journeys to the area, these five remarkable bands were recorded. The groups, each in their own way, are masters of the bolero tradition, inherited from the local musician and composer Alvaro Carrillo. This collection includes very well known boleros like 'Sabor a mi' and 'Luz de luna' as well as contemporary boleros from the Costa Chica, recorded for the very first time.

Influenced at a very early age by the music of the Middle East, trained in classical music and jazz, Omri Mor is a young virtuoso pianist with a flourishing style and multiple influences. Spotted very early in his career by Avishaï Cohen (double bass) who was impressed by Omri’s great knowledge of Arab-Andalusian, Chaabi and jazz, the music is sure to shine as this trio performs together on the biggest stages of Europe and the rest of the world in 2018. It is under the artistic direction of drummer / percussionist Karim Ziad that he records this first album "It's About Time!", surrounded by the exceptional line-up of Avishaï Cohen on the double bass, Michel Alibo on the electric bass and Karim Ziad on the drums. The repertoire is composed mainly of originals and displays the great talent of Omri Mor as a composer who also possesses an incredible sense of performance and melody. The piece "Marrakech" (Hamid Zahir) leads the listener to new lands and wild rhythms, giving his piano style a unique combination of swing and freedom.

This album is a retrospective that is a must-have for all lovers of musical theater. Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt first won fame as the creators of The Fantasticks- the longest-running musical in the history of the world, with more than 21,000 performances given in New York over a period of 58 years. But the Jones & Schmidt musicals also include Broadway classics such as "I Do! I Do!," "110 in the Shade," and "Celebration." Selections from these and 12 other shows are included in this deluxe release, which features many previously unreleased "demos" by the songwriters themselves. Jones & Schmidt worked closely with Producer Bill Rudman for over two years to ensure that this album would best represent their legacy. "The purpose of theater is always to reveal us to ourselves. To help us perceive the 'poetry' beneath the prose and the minutiae of our lives. To make us exalt. To make us feel. And not least of all, to make us laugh." (Tom Jones)

GOTTIORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACKMusic by Pitbull & Jorge GomezFeaturing Leona LewisSony Music proudly announces the release of GOTTI (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), starring John Travolta in the title role. The album features the film’s original score music by GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-platinum international music icon, business entrepreneur and motivational Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, and his long-time Grammy-winning producer Jorge Gomez. The project marks Pitbull’s first assignment scoring a motion picture soundtrack.The soundtrack also includes three solo Pitbull tracks, one of them being the single AMORE featuring Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Leona Lewis.“Everything about Pitbull - his style, creativity, and culture make his scoring of Gotti - the perfect marriage of the artist and the material” stated John Travolta.“It’s a true honor to be involved with this project and working with icon John Travolta on the legendary story of Gotti,” said Pitbull. “By default, we were underdogs in our own right and found ways to survive against all odds.”Leona Lewis says about the soundtrack: “I love working with Pitbull.  It’s always so much fun and his energy is just infectious. This record was really interesting to put together as it was something new for me.  Being a big movie fan, the fact that the song is in the GOTTI movie is so exciting.”ABOUT GOTTI:John Travolta (Academy Award® Nominee) stars as the legendary mobster John Gotti who was head of the largest and most powerful crime organization in North America, the Gambino Family. His flamboyant style, charm and ruthless personae made him the most famous mobster in the 20th Century. The story, told through the eyes of his eldest son John Gotti Jr., delves into the past and explores Gotti’s epic rise and fall in the mob. Gotti earned the name “Teflon Don” by the media, whom he did not shy away from, due to the FBI’s numerous unsuccessful attempts to convict him. Eventually he was sentenced to life in prison, and a young 24-year-old Gotti Jr. becomes the acting Boss of the Family. Gotti Jr. is also investigated and arrested by the FBI for his own connections to crime. Gotti Jr. ultimately rejects the legacy he was born into and walks away a “civilian.”The film is directed by Kevin Connolly and stars John Travolta in the title role, alongside Kelly Preston, Ella Bleu Travolta, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Stacy Keach, Chris Mulkey, Lydia Hull and Spencer Lofranco.            ABOUT PITBULLFrom Mr. 305 to Mr. Worldwide, Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, rose from the streets of Miami to exemplify the American Dream and achieve international success. His relentless work ethic transformed him into a Grammy®-winning global superstar, business entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Landing # 1 hits in over 15 countries, 10 billion YouTube/VEVO views, 70 million single sales and 6 million album sales, Pitbull does not stop. In addition to the United States, his sold-out world concert tours have taken him to North and South America, Europe and the Far East. He has also completed headlining tours in China and Japan. Along the way in his journey, he has co-headlined with Enrique Iglesias, spoken to thousands as part of Tony Robbins’ motivational seminars, and will open for Britney Spears in the U.K. and Europe this summer. Pitbull ushered in 2018 with his fourth annual New Year’s Eve event at Bayfront Park in Miami and capped off another stellar year in 2017 that included the release of his 10th full-length album, Climate Change, a second co-headlining U.S. tour with Enrique Iglesias, the release of his first-ever Greatest Hits, and a new Spanish single. Whether it’s his Voli 305 Vodka, currently in the process of becoming available nationally and has its own signature cocktails at multiple Sugar Factory American Brasserie locations, or the fragrance line “Pitbull,” his influence has catapulted. His first Las Vegas residency, “Time of Our Lives” at the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, has now accomplished multiple consecutive runs with spring 2018 dates recently completed at the newly renamed Zappos Theater. Pitbull has unveiled plans for the Summer 2018 opening of iLov305, a new restaurant and nightlife concept on Miami's famed Ocean Drive. In addition to his music for Gotti, starring John Travolta, Pitbull has signed on to the STX UglyDolls franchise, based on the ubiquitous pop culture Uglydoll characters. Pitbull will write and perform an original song for the film UglyDolls, slated for release in 2019, and lend his voice talent to one of the film’s key characters. Norwegian Cruise Line handpicked him as Godfather to Norwegian Escape, one of the most innovative cruise ships ever built. He recently completed his second Pitbull Cruise in March 2018. Globalization, his 24/7 commercial-free channel on Sirius XM (Ch.13), has become one of the platform’s fastest-growing channels following its 2015 launch. Pitbull also serves as ambassador to the Sports Leadership Arts and Management (SLAM!) charter schools he has helped to establish. Launched in the Little Havana section of Miami where he spent some of his youth, the SLAM! model has now expanded to Las Vegas and West Palm Beach, Florida, and has plans to launch the first student-run national radio broadcast.ABOUT LEONA LEWIS:The British singing sensation has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and reached #1 in over 35 countries with her hit single “Bleeding Love.”  A vocal powerhouse who is renowned for her vocal range and ability, Lewis is a 3-time GRAMMY Award nominee, 7 -time BRIT Award nominee,  MTV VMA and World Music Award winner and has been nominated for MTV EMAs and Billboard Music Awards. Lewis became the first British female solo artist to top the US Billboard 200 album chart in more than 20 years with her debut album Spirit.Leona is an extremely passionate humanitarian and animal rights activist working with a number of organizations including MTV Staying Alive. 2016 saw Leona nominated for a CMT Award and was recognized with the Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.  Recently, Leona has made her Broadway debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS playing the highly prestigious role of Grizabella, performing the world famous song “Memory’’. Currently Leona is back in the studio recording and most recently released a duet with Calum Scott of “You Are the Reason” in February 2018.

Music by Oscar Winner Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water, The Grand Budapest Hotel)Starring Joe Alwyn, Golden Globe Winner Oscar Isaac, Mélanie Laurent & Oscar Winner Ben Kingsley MGM’s razor-sharp thriller, Operation Finale, brings to life one of the most daring covert operations in modern history. Starring Golden Globe® winner Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ex Machina) and Academy Award® winner Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List), and the film vividly captures the ingenious and brilliantly executed mission to capture Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust.Fifteen years after the end of World War II, acting on irrefutable evidence, a top-secret team of Israeli agents travel to Argentina where Eichmann (Kingsley) has been in hiding together with his family under the alias “Ricardo Klement” and execute an extremely dangerous abduction. In attempting to sneak him out of Argentina to stand trial in Israel while being pursued by the country’s right-wing forces, agent Peter Malkin (Isaac) is forced to engage Eichmann in an intense and gripping game of cat-and-mouse with life-and-death stakes.Operation Finale is directed by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Twilight Saga: New Moon) from a screenplay by Matthew Orton. Oscar Isaac is also a producer, along with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger under their Automatik company and Jason Spire’s Inspire Entertainment.Alexandre Desplat says about the soundtrack: “Writing a score for the abduction of Adolf Eichmann has been a tremendous challenge. Chris and I tried to bring the audience into the mind of the Mossad squad, struggling to succeed in one of the most famous chases of a Nazi official; a criminal with no regrets or remorse whatsoever, hidden in Argentina. Organizing the train transports of Jews throughout Europe and supervising their systematic killings in villages or forests were some of Eichmann’s tasks. The music I composed tries to modestly capture these elements of tragedy and madness. A group of 10 percussionists leads the London Symphony Orchestra into a Mephistophelian dance.”ABOUT ALEXANDRE DESPLATComposer, orchestrator and conductor Alexandre Desplat is a two-time Academy Award® winner, nine-time Academy Award® Nominee, with over hundred scores and numerous awards to his credit and is one of the most worthy heirs of the French film scoring masters.A true cinephile, his approach to film composition is not only based on his strong musicality but also on his understanding of film which allows him to intimately communicate with directors. Inspired by the works of Maurice Jarre, Bernard Herrmann, Nino Rota or Georges Delerue, he expressed his desire to compose for film early on but really made his decision after listening to John Williams’ score to Star Wars.After scoring 50 European films, with legendary French directors such as Philippe de Broca and Francis Girod, he burst in 2003 onto the Hollywood scene with his evocative score to Peter Webber’s Girl With A Pearl Earring earning him nominations at the Golden Globe Awards®, BAFTAs and European Film Awards.His singular and remarkable scores for the films of Jacques Audiard showed a new musical voice and his composition for The Beat That My Heart Skipped in 2005 earned him the Silver Bear at the Berlinale as well as his first César.Alexandre Desplat then started to expand his U.S. career keeping his European collaborations.In 2007 he received his first Academy Award® nomination for Stephen Frears’ The Queen which earned him his first European Film Award. The same year he won the Golden Globe, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award and the World Soundtrack Award for his score to John Curran’s The Painted Veil, performed by Lang Lang.He composed in 2008 for Florent Siri’s Intimate Enemy, Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, and David Fincher’s The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which earned him a second Oscar nomination and a fourth BAFTA and Golden Globe® nomination.With his score for Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer in 2010, starting an inspiring relationship, he won a second César and a second European Film Award. The same year, he wrote the music for Twilight-New Moon by Chris Weitz, a platinum record, Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel and for Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech for which he won the BAFTA, the Grammy Award and receives his fourth Academy Award® nomination and his fifth Golden Globe® nomination. In 2010-2011 Alexandre Desplat scored David Yates’ films Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2, which became the third most successful movie of all time.As eclectic as prolific, he wrote nine scores in 2011 including Terence Malik’s Tree Of Life, Roman Polanski’s Carnage, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Daniel Auteuil’s The Wells Digger’s Daughter and George Clooney’s The Ides of March.In 2012, keeping his artistic exchange with European directors, Alexandre Desplat collaborated with Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Matteo Garrone for Reality, Gilles Bourdos for Renoir, Jérôme Salle for Zulu, Wes Anderson for Moonrise Kingdom and Jacques Audiard for Rust And Bone, the latter of which he won a third César. He also scored Argo by Ben Affleck, which was awarded the Oscar for best film and earned Alexandre Desplat a sixth nomination at BAFTA, as well as a fifth nomination at the Golden Globes® and the Academy Awards®.In 2013 he scored George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, Roman Polanski’s Venus In Fur and Stephen Frears’ Philomena, for which he received his seventh BAFTA and his fifth Oscar nominations.In 2014, he scored Gareth Edwards’s blockbuster Godzilla and received a rare double Academy Award® nomination for his scores of Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, which earned him a BAFTA, a Grammy Award® and his first Academy Award win.In 2018, Alexandre Desplat won his second Academy Award®, second Golden Globe® Award and third BAFTA for Guillermo del Toro's The Shape Of Water. ​​​​​​​TRACKLIST: 1. Operation Finale2. Sacrificed Children3. Nazis Rising4. Malkin's Memories5. Setting Up Operations6. Stakeout7. Death8. Killing in the Woods9. Race to Airport10. Solingen Blade11. Number 4532612. The Monster13. Lost Children14. Air Control15. To Israel16. Operation Finale (Orchestral)17. Sorrow

Continuing with Harbinger Records’ acclaimed series of albums devoted to jazz pianist, composer, Broadway songwriter, and black music pioneer Eubie Blake, we proudly present the original demo to the proposed Broadway musical ‘Shuffle Along of 1950.’ Harbinger’s recording of Sissle and Blake singing the score to the original production of ‘Shuffle Along’ won the Grammy Award for its brilliant liner notes by Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom, authors of an upcoming biography of Eubie Blake to be published by Oxford University Press. They are repeating their assignment for this recording. Also included is a bonus track featuring remastering of the only surviving acetate of a historical “Salute to Ruth King.” Ruth King was a famous Cleveland DJ who celebrated black musicians. And such notables as Sissle and Blake and the legendary WC Handy, composer of St. Louis Blues, play for Ms. King. Several songs from the original ‘Shuffle Along’ are included as are new songs written especially for this production. Later, other musicians augmented the score, and these songs are also included in this rare recording.

M�nica Giraldo is a woman walking two paths. The first one is taking her deeper and deeper into the heart of Colombian music, surrounded by the power of her native land's traditional rhythms. The other one leads her out and away, following melodies and harmonies from the world. M�nica is a singer-songwriter who released two independent albums before earning a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2008 Latin Grammys. Born in Bogot�, Colombia, Giraldo studied music at Unviersidad de los Andes in her hometown and subsequently studied further at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since her return to Colombia, she recorded several albums: Muy Cerca in 2005, Todo da Vueltas in 2008, which earned her a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2008 Latin Grammys. She also released Que venga la vida with Polen Records in 2014, and Bajo el mismo cielo in 2017. This new release features her very best work.

'Daa Dee' is the first groove a baby learns in Ethiopia as it takes it's first steps. It is the sound the mother makes to help her baby in it's first attempt into independence. Minyeshu explores her own upbringing and the resulting positive changes in this uplifting album of strength, vulnerability, faith and doubts overcome. Daa Dee is Minyeshu's fourth album, a collection of dance songs exalting love, spiritualism, and what it means to be a woman- especially a mother and daughter- in today's times. Drawing from her cultural life experiences in Africa and Europe, Minyeshu has sculpted her signature tone- a hypnotic and modern hybrid of Ethiopian grooves and melodies, delicately mixed with Western instruments and styles. "Minyeshu manages to sound both accessible to a wider audience yet still authentically and proudly Ethiopian at the same time." (Songlines) "... brave and new musically stimulating and exciting experience." (NetRhythms UK)

Oscar contender Roma goes beyond history: it captures the perception of time, everyday life and the history of Mexico

Directed by Academy Award and Golden Globes winner Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Y tu mamá también, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Curated by the director Alfonso Cuarón and the soundtrack producers Lynn Fainchtein and Randall Poster, the soundtrack of ROMA brings us back to the sonic Mexico of the 1970s, when the famous XEW, a reference of Mexican radio, transmitted English pop and rock, while gradually introducing the new Mexican pop, through performers like José José, Juan Gabriel, and Rigo Tovar, musical icons that in the present, have remained as references of Mexican and Latin American music.

The music of ROMA portrays the musical diversity of those years, from rock as the nascent symbol of the counterculture, to a few months of the Avándaro Festival, to the tropical rhythms and pop that marked the decade.

This emotional musical compilation narrates in itself many stories of the Mexico of those years, immersed in sociopolitical and cultural transitions that seem to oscillate between the impetus of change and resistance to it. That is why ROMA is the portrait of the great mosaic of sounds that face and complement each other in a clash between the past and the possibility of a future; between the world and Mexico and among the many Mexicos that the film shows us.

ROMA, is the most recent production by Alfonso Cuarón and the first Mexican film to win the "Golden Lion" as best film at the Venice International Film Festival; considered by critics around the world as one of the best movies of 2018 and of recent years.

Sony Music announces the release of MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE FILM ROMA, an album of music inspired by Alfonso Cuar�n's award winning film. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture. The album features songs from BECK, BILLIE EILISH, EL-P, IBEYI, JESSIE REYEZ, LAURA MARLING, PATTI SMITH, UNKLE and more, recorded exclusively for this project. Included is BECK's first musical offering of 2019, entitled "Tarantula". Beck's radical reimagining of "Tarantula," a 1982 B-Side by 4AD artists Colourbox, replaces the minimalist groove of the original with an epic arrangement by Beck in collaboration with his father, David Campbell. Produced by Beck and mixed by Tom Elmhirst, the track features a riveting Beck vocal performance at it's centerpiece with the backing of a 24-piece ensemble. After completing work on ROMA, director Alfonso Cuar�n was struck with the notion of having his favorite musical artists create songs inspired by the film. Interested in hearing what the film might inspire in artists across the globe, Cuar�n and his music supervisor Lynn Fainchtein began exploring possibilities with the help of their friend Randall Poster. They approached artists of all genres and backgrounds, inviting them to contribute either an original piece of music or a cover of one of the songs heard in the film. For some, ROMA inspired new originals, including Billie Eilish's "WHEN I WAS OLDER". Like most of the original songs contributed to the collection, it incorporates various sound elements from ROMA's dense audio tracks. From shouts of student protests to barkings of Borras to the grinding of knives, artists drew inspiration from the sonic landscape meticulously crafted by ROMA, imbuing their compositions with the day-to-day soundtrack of the streets of Mexico City. 16-year-old Bu Cuar�n makes her musical debut with her contribution "PSYCHO," opening with a dramatic audio clip from ROMA before descending into a synth-heavy, electro-pop gem. Elsewhere, British singer-songwriter Laura Marling covers the Mary Hopkin original "Those Were The Days," which is heard in the film as a cover by Ray Conniff & The Singers. The legendary Patti Smith records a new version of her 1996 track "Wing," while French musical duo Ibeyi draws inspiration from the character of Cleo and her story. From hip-hop's El-P to R&B breakout Jessie Reyez and electronic producers UNKLE and DJ Shadow, the remainder of the collection is a diverse tapestry that transcends genre, geography and age. From Sonido Gallo Negro and Quique Rangel's Mexico City roots to singer-songwriter Asaf Avidan's native Israel, and with artists belonging to five different generations, Music Inspired by the Film ROMA is a contemporary touchstone that further reiterates the film's ability to connect with audiences of all ages across the globe. Music Inspired by The Film ROMA is the latest addition to the sonic universe of Alfonso Cuar�n's semi-autobiographical film, following the release of ROMA (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack). Delivering a sonic portrait of Mexico in the 1970s, the soundtrack presents a mosaic of sounds that further encapsulate the sociopolitical transitions of the era.

John Goodman as a government official is tasked with uniting the world against a common extra-terrestrial enemyMusic by Rob Simonsen, co-composer of Academy Award Best Score winning soundtrack Life of Pi​​​​​​​MAIN CASTJohn Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane, Barton Fink, Argo),Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed, Orphan),Aston Sanders (Moonlight, The Retrieval, The Equalizer 2),Jonathan Majors (Hostiles, White Boy Rick, TV: When We Rise)INFOSet in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, CAPTIVE STATE explores the lives on both sides of the conflicts - the collaborators and the dissidents.ABOUT THE COMPOSERHaving learned to play the piano at a young age and with an educational background in jazz, electronic and traditional orchestral music, Rob Simonsen has lent his scoring talents to a wide range of film projects.  Since the early 2000s, he’s worked on an expansive list of film soundtracks, among them Love, Simon, Nerve, Foxcatcher, The Way, Way Back and The Spectacular Now.  Under the apprenticeship of composer Mychael Danna, Simonsen worked on films like 500 Days of Summer and Moneyball, in addition to collaborating with Danna on his Academy Award-winning score for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi.  In addition to his lengthy catalogue of film scores, Simonsen is the founder of The Echo Society, a Los Angeles-based non-profit artist collective.  Surrounding himself with a network of like-minded artists, Simonsen founded The Echo Society in order to connect, inspire, challenge and enrich the creative community in Los Angeles by sponsoring live, professional sonic/visual performances and offering immersive and interactive audience experiences.

Sony Music announces the release of THE CHAPERONE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by Emmy Award-nominated composer MARCELO ZARVOS. Of the soundtrack, composer ZARVOS says: "For the original score of The Chaperone I chose a more restrained chamber music approach rather than a big sweeping orchestra. There is something incredibly intimate and reserved about the character of Norma Carlisle, brilliantly brought to life by Elizabeth McGovern, that I wanted to preserve and honor in the score. The focus was always on Norma's internal world and gentle curiosity. The instrumentation of string quartet, trumpet, woodwinds, piano and harp was meant to capture the universal aspect of the story, leaving the wonderful jazzy and diverse source pieces in the film to portray the bustling 1920's New York City." Director MICHAEL ENGLER states: "I wanted the score for The Chaperone to suggest the intimacy of the artistic and emotional longings of the characters rather than reflect the period in general. Marcelo did an incredible job of crafting it with a slight nod to the chamber music pieces that Louise dances to and that her mother plays." Louise Brooks the 1920s silver screen sensation who never met a rule she didn't break, epitomized the restless, reckless spirit of the Jazz Age. But, just a few years earlier, she was a 15 year-old student in Wichita, Kansas for whom fame and fortune were only dreams. When the opportunity arises for her to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe, her mother. (Victoria Hill) insists there be a chaperone. Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern), a local society matron who never broke a rule in her life, impulsively volunteers to accompany Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer. Why does this utterly conventional woman do this? What happens to her when she lands in Manhattan with an unusually rebellious teenager as her ward? And, which of the two women is stronger, the uptight wife-and-mother or the irrepressible free spirit? It's a story full of surprises-about who these women really are, and who they eventually become. Based on Laura Moriarty's beloved New York Times best-selling novel, "The Chaperone" reunites the writer (Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes), director (Michael Engler) and star (Elizabeth McGovern) of "Downton Abbey" for an immersive and richly emotional period piece. The film also stars Campbell Scott, G�za R�hrig, Miranda Otto, Robert Fairchild, and Blythe Danner.

Noa’s new musical project is entitled “Letters to Bach,” executively produced by Quincy Jones. It is comprised of 12 pieces of instrumental music written by Johann Sebastian Bach for which Noa has written English and Hebrew lyrics, inspired by subjects as diverse as technology and religion, global warming and feminism, euthanasia, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and relationships in the age of social media. The arrangements for guitar were done by Noa’s long-standing musical collaborator Gil Dor, guitarist, composer, arranger and educator. The duo’s performances are surprising and brilliant, with Noa’s voice both soaring majestically and skipping playfully between the notes, intertwining perfectly with Gil’s guitar, illuminating Bach’s brilliant polyphony. In this project, Noa and Gil strive to break the binding walls of language, religion, genre, generation, and stigma to build a bridge of musical excellence, respect and joy, a place of curiosity, courage and hope… all under the auspices of the great super-connector, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Noa, Israeli Born, NY raised singer/songwriter of Yemenite origins, is an internationally renowned artist, who has performed on the world’s most prestigious stages, including numerous performances in the Vatican for three Popes, the White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the most important theaters of Europe. She has been produced and endorsed by Pat Metheny and Quincy Jones and shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, Sting, Andrea Bocelli and many others. She is Commander of the order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Good Will Ambassador to the UN, Global Leader of Tomorrow and has received endless awards for her artistry and commitment to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Working with Ry on creating the score for The Sun Is Also A Star was a wonderful and smooth process, says composer Herd�s Stef�nsd�ttir of the soundtrack. "I immediately felt we had a musical connection, which helped create the themes for the film. I was 7 months pregnant when I started writing the score and that made the experience very special for me. I was extra emotional and focused because of my situation, which I felt helped me overall in the creative process, and was able to write the music quickly and felt inspired by the story. I needed to write music that would evolve and mature with the characters in the film and the growing feeling of love. I mostly used a mix of ukulele, harp, electronics, flutes, strings and piano. The score was lighter in the beginning of the film, but as the drama progresses I brought in deeper sounds and more emotional instruments like the piano, cello and harp." In the film, college-bound romantic Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) and Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) meet - and fall for each other - over one magical day amidst the fervor and flurry of New York City. Sparks immediately fly between these two strangers, who might never have met had fate not given them a little push. But will fate be enough to take these teens from star-crossed to lucky in love? With just hours left on the clock in what looks to be her last day in the U.S., Natasha is fighting against her family's deportation as fiercely as she's fighting her budding feelings for Daniel, who is working just as hard to convince her they are destined to be together. A modern-day story about finding love against all odds, The Sun Is Also a Star explores whether our lives are determined by fate or the random events of the universe.

Like a lot of elite, Los Angeles-based studio musicians, reedman Bob Sheppard is one of those players whose sound is more familiar than his name. Even though he’s played on dozens of albums during the past 40 years, ranging from guest spots with the likes of Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen to sideman gigs with Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard and Peter Erskine, The Fine Line is only his fourth album as a leader. Talk about a late bloomer. Sheppard offers the music here as someone with little to prove, and that casual confidence brings a low-key bravura to the playing. - DownBeat Editors' Pick

 

Click here to read the full review at DownBeat Magazine

 

Musicians from the UK travel to The Gambia in this unique cultural exchange. Under the guidance of Gambian percussionist and vocalist Musa Mboob, musicians from both countries create an inspired, energetic, tribal, West African soul music. "... captivating sounds of West Africa in it's most innovative masterpiece of artistic creativity... " (ebonyonline. Net) Musa Mboob and XamXam aim to bring you the perfect blend of traditional West African music with a modern twist. Musa has made it his aim in life to continue the family tradition of playing percussion and promoting traditional music from The Gambia. In 2017 Musa returned to The Gambia with a new set of musicians and returned with this collection of new songs that capture the exciting Gambian vibe.