News & Updates — folk

From a family of musicians, Luis Morais was born on the island of São Vicente, Cabo Verde but grew up in Dakar, Senegal, where he was trained in music theory and composition. He started playing in Dakar nightclubs in the '50s as a tenor & alto saxophonist, flautist and clarinet player, playing in a variety of musical styles including mambo, merengue, son, boleros and cha cha, as well as Cape Verdean folk music (such as coladera & mornas.). As such, he is considered a leader of the Cape Verdean folk music scene in Senegal. After relocating to The Netherlands in...

Nephew of the great Cachao, bassist for Buena Vista Social Club and an incredible musician on all fronts, Orlando "Cachaíto" López was part of the great López musical family in Cuba, son of composer Orestes López. He came from a lineage of over 30 bassists. He helped create the descarga in the '50s and played in Orquesta Riverside. Cachaíto made one classic self-titled record on World Circuit that mixed Cuban son with funk, descargas with Mingus, dub with jazz. Also hear his work he did on Angá Diaz's album Echu Mingua. Here's a short film shot for his album, produced...

Happy birthday to vocalist Jeanne Lee! From NYC, she was not only a vocalist but a choreographer for classical, modern and jazz settings. She formed a musical partnership in the early '60s with Ran Blake, but the duo had more success across the pond. In the mid-'60s she was collaborating in avant-garde, sound-art, poetry and Fluxus happenings and in the late '60s/early '70s was contributing to work by Archie Shepp, Marion Brown and Carla Bley (Escalator Over The Hill), as well as with her husband Gunter Hampel (Galaxy Dream Band, etc). She has also appeared with Anthony Braxton, John Cage,...

The father of the bossa nova, the ever-popular Tom Jobim's breezy, jazzy and poetic music became infectious around the world through songs like "The Girl From Ipanema", "A Felicidade", "Desafinado", "Samba Do Avião", "Corcovado" and more, as interpreted by Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and the man himself. He stands as a major innovator in not just Brazilian music but also as a uniquely pioneering jazz composer. Here is a nice version of "A Felicidade", with Gal Costa:

Blind Willie Johnson, the gospel blues singer/guitarist from Texas was responsible for one of the single most haunting songs in the American song canon, "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" (a song which has been sent into outer space). Allegedly blinded by his stepmother in an act of revenge against his father, Johnson's hard life included living in the streets and in the ruins of his burned-down home. While ill, he was refused admittance at a hospital due to being black and blind, dying with no treatment. Here is that deeply stirring song as we celebrate his birthday...