"The collective and their artistic director’s classy multimedia project highlights the lives lost and land snatched away in building the US transcontinental railroad. Giddens has championed the marginalised or suppressed elements of American musical tradition. Now artistic director of the Silkroad Ensemble, a multi-ethnic, 13-strong troupe founded in 2000, Giddens has overseen a history of America’s coast-to-coast railroad, or more particularly the army of workers who built it. Most were Irish, African American, Chinese and Japanese, while Native Americans found their lands snatched away. Giddens, with her opera-trained voice, grabs the glory with renditions of Swannanoa Tunnel, an Appalachian ballad about a route that cost an estimated 300 lives, and Steel-Driving Man, about the fabled John Henry. The record is, however, mostly instrumental, drawing on a well-manicured mix of cellos, banjos and ethnic instruments." (The Guardian; 4 uit 5 sterren)
Recorded on the Okinawan island of Taketomi, Jin Jin/Firefly documents a rare encounter between Okinawan singer/sanshin player Takashi Hirayasu and acoustic guitarist Bob Brozman. Forming a duo, the two prove to be highly compatible and when you think about it, they're a logical combination. Hirayasu's foundation is Okinawan music, which contains both Japanese and Polynesian elements; Brozman, meanwhile, is considered a master of the Hawaiian guitar and is no stranger to the sounds of the Pacific Islands. So it isn't hard for them to find common ground on "Akata Sun Dunchi," "Chinnuku Jushi," and other traditional Okinawan children's songs that Hirayasu selected. What the duo does with the songs isn't entirely traditional, however. Brozman brings plenty of blues, rock, and Hawaiian influence to the session, and that works for Hirayasu because the Okinawa native is hip to blues and rock himself. Hirayasu and Brozman both have a lot of charisma. (Allmusic)
Debashish Bhattacharya, born 12 January 1963) is an Indian classical musician, singer, composer and educator. He is said to have introduced the first Slide Guitar Syllabus in the world. Bhattacharya redefined Indian classical music on slide guitar through the introduction of a new playing technique and sound, as well as a blending of traditional and uniquely contemporary approaches in designing his music. A music producer who plays lap slide guitar, he has taught more than a thousand students, created a new genre (Hindustani Slide Guitar), designed his own instruments (including the Chaturangui, Anandi and Gandharvi) and performed in more than two thousand concerts and workshops, with Grammy nominations and several world music awards.(wikipedia.com)|
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