Featuring musical guests such as Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Dave Holland, Nguyên Lê and more. Street of Minarets continues to spotlight Dhafer's seamless ability to build a bridge between Indian, Arabic, and Western classical and jazz music.
On this album, Street of Minarets, Dhafer offers a gift for the dreamers, the lovers, the fighters, and the obscure. What was once an unfinished project that he felt was missing the soul his music usually has, overcoming obstacles of anxiety and vocal surgery during the pandemic would go on to rekindle his eternal love of music and provide him with the motivation he needed to rewrite and rearrange the record. The result is a relatable journey of sufferings and successes, ultimately spotlighting Dhafer’s inspiring resilience.

A griot in many West African countries is a storyteller, singer and musician; it could be roughly translated as troubadour. One of the best known active griots is the Malian Baba Sissoko. Through participation in an opera project in Paris, he got to know Madou Sidiki Diabate and Lansiné Kouyaté, players of the kora and balafon respectively - both traditional West African instruments. The three musicians quickly built a strong musical bond, playing together incessantly before and after opera rehearsals, even during breaks. Almost imperceptibly, the material that can be heard on the album Griot Jazz was created. They decided to look for a recording studio in Paris and ended up with keyboardist Jean-Philippe Rykiel. However, during the preparations in his studio, Rykiel also became involved in the project as a musician. For Western ears, his additions counterbalance the traditional African instruments and make the album very accessible. Griot Jazz was recorded in one day and therefore possesses a wonderful organic spontaneity.

Singer and oud player Dhafer Youssef is one of the most appealing stars of world music, yet his music still resists categorisation within that vague genre. Last year we heard him in a "supergroup" with Omar Sosa and Anga Diaz, but he sounds more comfortable accompanied by the talented crop of Norwegian musicians loosely associated with "nu-jazz". This cool style of playing, loose-limbed and hard-edged, provides the perfect backdrop to the Mediterranean warmth of Youssef's compositions. The most significant collaborator is producer-guitarist Eivind Aarset, who supplies backdrops of wide-ranging style and density, while remaining empathetic to Youssef's musical personality. Youssef can be deep, light-hearted, complex, funky and achingly romantic, sometimes all within one song. The album's pace is leisurely, full of atmosphere, groove and great playing, but rarely self-indulgent; you never forget whose album it is. By taking the most positive aspects of nu-jazz, Aarset and Youssef have forged a thrilling new sound that could make Divine Shadows a crossover hit.

Siwan, the transcultural, trans-idiomatic musical collective led by Norwegian keyboardist/composer Jon Balke, continues along its special path, with new music inspired by the creative spirit of Al-Andalus. The ensemble weaves lines of communication between musicians from multiple traditions and locations. Among the texts set by Balke on Siwan’s third album and persuasively sung by Algerian vocalist Mona Boutchebak are verses by Ummayad princess Wallada bint al-Mustakfi (1010-1091) and contemporaries including Ibn Zaydun (1003-1071) and Ibn Sara As-Santarini (1043-1123). Hafla was recorded in May and June 2021 at Village Recording Studios, in Copenhagen.

Roraima, by Norwegian bassist and composer Sigurd Hole, was commissioned by Oslo World for the festival in 2020. The work reflects themes such as solidarity and ecological vulnerability and draws inspiration from the creation myth of the Yanomami people and the sound of the Amazon rainforest.

The new album by the world music ensemble Quadro Nuevo is dedicated to the wintry mood. The musicians, who have already released three Christmas albums in their long band history since 1996, do not see December as another work of this genre, but they nevertheless interpret melodies of religious or spiritual origin on it.

On their debut album, the Lahore band blends the free-form improvisation of Hindustani classical and jazz with sample-heavy production creating a musical dialogue about faith, spirituality, and the self.

In April 2019, 22a boss and multi-instrumentalist, Tenderlonious embarked on a trip to Pakistan to work with Lahore based instrumental quartet, Jaubi. Following on from the highly acclaimed, three track limited edition 10” vinyl release of ‘Tender in Lahore’ earlier this year, 22a presents the full suite of improvised ragas from a one day recording session in Lahore, Pakistan. The pure sounds of Indian and Pakistani classical music act as a framework for deep and spiritual improvisations between Tenderlonious on flute & soprano saxophone and Jaubi band members, Kashif Ali Dhani on tabla and vocals, Zohaib Hassan Khan on sarangi and Ali Riaz Baqar on guitar. This cross cultural collaboration also features Polish composer and keys player Marek Pędziwiatr on synth drone.

Like Abou-Khalil’s other recordings, this CD is testament to the heights that can be reached, both artistically and humanely, when people from different cultures and backgrounds unite in creative curiosity and mutual respect. Without any of the musicians compromising their cultural heritage Abou-Khalil produces a music that is new yet strangely familiar, progressive yet equally traditional. With its opposites so homogeneous and natural, this music is fresh and sparklingly vivid as if it had always naturally existed in exactly this way.

Jazz bagpipes? The one master is Rufus Harley, who does about all that can be done with that unpromising instrument. After all, once one blows a note, the sound is sustained until the air empties out. This well-conceived sampler draws its music from Harley's Atlantic albums (Scotch & Soul, Bagpipe Blues, and Deuces Wild), plus his guest spot on a Herbie Mann album. Harley, who also is heard playing a bit of soprano, tenor, and flute, performs such numbers as "Feeling Good" and "Pipin' the Blues," the latter teaming him with altoist Sonny Stitt. This sampler is worth exploring.

Ibrahim Maalouf and Angélique Kidjo have announced that their new album Queen Of Sheba will be released June 24. While these two superstars of international music have collaborated before, this is their very first album together. Maalouf is a world-renowned trumpeter, composer and multi-instrumentalist who has sold out the biggest arena in his home country of France and was recently a musical guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Kidjo is a 5-time GRAMMY winner (winning Best Global Album for her latest album Mother Nature at the 2022 Awards) and recently named a Time 100 Most Influential Person.

Young Armenian born pianist Tigran Hamasyan is the next rising star in progressive and modern jazz piano, following paths of the bop innovator Bud Powell, post-Powell contemporary icon Chick Corea, and peer Eldar Djangirov. Brimming with talent so extreme it boils from his fingers, Hamasyan's second release as a leader displays all the power, chops, and verve one could want if you are into visceral, steam-powered jazz. Inspired by his bandmates, the twin Moutin brothers, Hamasyan paints an ethnic palate of music from his homeland mixed with witty fervor and no small sampling of sensitivity within measured parameters.

Jordi Soler i Galí, known by the stage name Toti Soler, is a Spanish guitarist, singer and composer, one of the most important figures of contemporary music in Catalonia. His recording career started with a "nova canço" band named Els Xerracs, and later founded a pop group, Pic-Nic in 1967. He also began recording solo singles in the late '60s under his given name, Jordi Soler. After Pic-Nic broke up he co-founded the psychedelic rock group OM in 1969. In 1971 Soler met Taj Mahal and the two performed a number of concerts together. Soler's first solo album, Liebeslied, was released by Edigsa in 1972. Since then Soler has released a long string of solo albums and collaborations. Influences in Soler's music include world music (particularly Arab and Asian influences), traditional Flamenco guitar, classical and contemporary jazz.

Samulnori is a traditional Korean folk percussion ensemble who utilizes for percussion instruments: kkaengguari, ching, changgo, and buk. Renowned changgo player Kim Duk Soo with Samulnori has put together a stunning collection of world talents who fuse traditional Korean forms with other genres that span the globe – most notably jazz and funk. The results are impressive. All of the pieces on this release maintain some facets of traditional Korean music that are unique to that culture, be it the pansori singing style on "Rabbit Stori" or the shanawi improvisational technique on "Shinawi".

Five-piece hybrid jazz outfit Black Flower are set to release new album ‘Magma’ on the 28th January via the groove-obsessed Belgian label, Sdban Ultra. Piloted by Brussels-based saxophonist/flutist/composer Nathan Daems (Echoes of Zoo, Dijf Sanders), the quintet is a vibrant, hypnotic mix of Ethio jazz, afrobeat, psychedelia and oriental influences, inspired by Mulatu Astatke, Fela Kuti and varied western musical traditions. Black Flower is a band at the peak of their creative powers. Having received glowing praise for the 2019 album ‘Future Flora’ from Mojo, Songlines, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 3’s Music Planet, Worldwide FM and Jazz FM among others, forthcoming album ‘Magma’ sees Black Flower embrace new synth and organ sounds from the band’s most recent recruit, Karel Cuelenaere.