Zap Mama - Ancestry in Progress CD

Ancestry in Progress songs Includes an untitled hidden track at the end of THE LOVE BELOW CD. Additional personnel includes: Sleepy Brown, Jazze Pha, Jay-Z, Killer Mike, Big Gipp, Ludacris, Rosario Dawson, Norah Jones, Kelis, Cee-Lo, Lil Jon, Mello, Slim Calhoun, Kuhjo Goodie. SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW won the 2004 Grammy Awards for Album Of The Year and for Best Rap Album. "Hey Ya!" won for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. The song was also nominated for Record Of The Year. Simply put, there is no band that does anything close to what Outkast does. Big Boi & Andre 3000 have consistently managed to maintain mainstream success while obliterating the limits of what is considered to be hip-hop. Frolicking at the outskirts of language, they throw every genre into a blender and make every musical turn sound organic. SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW is actually two solo records fused together, the former by Big Boi, the latter by Andre 3000, with each mind working at an equally frantic pace to create a gloriously split sonic experience. Big Boi opens with a techno intro that fades into industrial-style grinding on "Ghettomusick," before settling into more traditional, although far from ordinary, rap tracks on "Unhappy" and "The Way You Move." His most salient moment comes on "War," an uncompromising condemnation of American politics that strikes the perfect balance of righteous rage and measured speech. When Dre takes the reins, the concoction gets wonderfully weirder with everything from the piano bar pop of "Love Hater" to the call and response of "She Lives in My Lap" to the mystery mix of the outstanding single "Hey Ya!" Following the remarkable STANKONIA, SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW cements Outkast's position as rap innovators and keeps them in the lead as the genre's primary visionaries. Includes an untitled hidden track at the end of Disc 2. 2cds.Explicit. All New Studio Album. Outkast: Andre "3000" Benjamin, Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. Producers include: Andre 3000, Mr. DJ, Big Boi, Carl Mo, DoJo 5.

Ancestry in Progress CD music Any doubts about the incongruity of jazz icon Herbie Hancock covering singer-songwriter extraordinare Joni Mitchell will be obliterated on the first journey through RIVER: THE JONI LETTERS. For starters, the premise is not especially incongruous. Hancock has had a long, adventurous career in which he's traversed genres and masterfully blended styles, while Mitchell has always been deeply influenced by jazz as both a composer and a singer. RIVER features many of Mitchell's finest songs, stunning in their own right and reinterpreted beautifully by Hancock, plus a stellar assortment of musicians and guest vocalists. Mitchell's pop and folk tendencies have been assimilated into the arrangements; the album plays like a vocal jazz outing. Hancock is joined by fellow Miles Davis alums Wayne Shorter and Dave Holland, among others, and the guest vocalists include Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae, Leonard Cohen, and--on one track--Mitchell herself. Sophisticated, soulful, and gorgeous, RIVER is a must for fans of Mitchell, classic jazz, adult contemporary artists like Norah Jones--and, well, just about everyone. Audio Mixer: Helix Hadar. Recording information: 600ft., Yorkshire, England (2006-2007); Avatar Studios, New York, NY (2006-2007); NJP Tonstudio, Zurich, Switzerland (2006-2007); Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, CA (2006-2007). Photographer: Kwaku Alston. Personnel: Herbie Hancock (piano); Wayne Shorter (soprano, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Lionel Loueke (guitar); Dave Holland (bass guitar); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums). Additional personnel: Corinne Bailey Rae, Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Leonard Cohen, Luciana Souza.

Ancestry in Progress buy CD music Six years after cutting his musical teeth as a teen, tickling the ivories on the classic Lauryn Hill single "Everything Is Everything," John Stephens popped up everywhere in 2004, going by the bold name of John Legend. His ubiquity was unsurprising, since he was taken under the wing of Kanye West, the year's breakout success, who tabbed Legend "the future of hip-hop." It's an interesting label for a man whose elegant voice and schooled songwriting conjures up Bill Withers and Al Green, but sometimes the future intersects with the past in a manner transcending revival. Legend drops his debut, GET LIFTED, into the center of the neo-soul universe, and it's a charming, earnest record. Sometimes he dives into a contemporary slow jam, as on "Let's Get Lifted;" other times he finds a groove the Delfonics would be proud of, as on the West-driven "Number One." On the gently gorgeous "Ordinary People, " however, it's just the man and his piano. Whether he's truly the future direction of any genre or not, Legend is an artist to watch, and GET LIFTED offers the first major taste of his talent. Recording information: Sony Music Studios, New York, NY; Sound Images, Cincinnate, OH; Studio Crash, Philadelphia, PA; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA; The Stechia, Los Feliz, CA; The Stewchia, Los Feliz, CA; WEstlake Studios, Los Angeles, CA. Photographers: Patricia Tyree; Danny Clinch. Unknown Contributor Role: Matt Hueneman. Arranger: Miri Ben-Ari. Personnel: John Legend (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, keyboards); John Legend; Kanye West (vocals, rap vocals, programming, drum programming); Tarrey Torae, Vaughn Stephens, MBalia Singley, A. Wayne Stephens, Ronald Stephens, Kashaan Stephens (vocals, background vocals); Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson, Lenesha Randolph, Tarey Torae, James Roston, Na2, Candace Anderson, Tara Michel, Candice Anderson (vocals); Dave Tozer (guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, programming, drum programming); Glen Jeffery, George Pajon, Curtis Jay, Jayme Kelly Curtis, Sharief Hobley (guitar); Corey Hogan (saxophone); Steve Tirpak, Jenee Dixon (trumpet); Elizabeth Lea (trombone); Horn Dogs (horns); will.i.am (Clavinet, Moog synthesizer, programming, drum programming); Jeremy Dyen (synthesizer); Swiss Chris Flueck, Jimmy Coleman (drums); Ted Chung, Shvona, Ronald "Bumper" Stephnes (hand claps); Brett Stephens, Marjorie Stephens, Brandy Stephens, Vada Stephens, Phyllis E. Stephens, Doris Stephens, Dionne Stephens, Phyllis Y. Stephens (background vocals); Snoop Dogg (vocals, rap vocals, spoken vocals); Miri Ben-Ari (strings); Tim Izo (flute, saxophone); Printz Board (trumpet). Audio Mixer: Manny Marroquin.

Ancestry in Progress album for sale The absence of piano is significant--Waits's jazzy harmonic underpinning is entirely dismantled here, leaving only the most basic, blues-oriented structures atop which Waits hangs his distinctive poetic imagery, at once surreal and highly detailed. There's an overwhelming sense of darkness ("How's It Gonna End," "Dead and Lovely"), but there are also moments of pure unfettered glee "Metropolitan Glide," "Shake It"), which are often goosed along by Waits's son Casey on turntables and percussion. A perennial romantic, Waits does let in a little melodic sunshine on the poignant closing ballad, "Day After Tomorrow," but for the most part, REAL GONE is a deliriously wild ride. There have been many incarnations of Tom Waits--the boozy piano balladeer, the arch Kurt Weill acolyte, the bold sonic experimentalist--but the one that pops up on REAL GONE is probably most akin to the raw, howling, modern primitive of BONE MACHINE. As he did on that 1992 album, Waits gets in touch with his inner Captain Beefheart on REAL GONE. Instead of employing arrangements that merely suggest the accompaniment of a FAT ALBERT-style junkyard band, Waits actually sounds like he's hooting and hollering in the middle of a Salvation Army scrapyard, albeit one populated by junkmen with an inherent simpatico for his medium. Personnel: Tom Waits (vocals, guitar, chamberlin); Marc Ribot (guitar, banjo); Larry Taylor (guitar, bass guitar); Harry Cody (guitar); Les Claypool (bass guitar); Casey Waits (drums, percussion, turntables); Brain (percussion); Mark Howard (bells).

Ancestry in Progress CD music Meet the nu-soul--same as the old soul? Well, Dwele's debut certainly contains similarities to old-school artists such as Donny Hathaway and of course Stevie Wonder--all the evidence you need to connect the dots is here in the shimmering Fender Rhodes piano that predominates on SUBJECT. But Dwele is made of more contemporary stuff. He's a rapper who's found his singing voice, though the only time his hip-hop roots really show is in the tumbling lyrics to the coming-of-age song "Twuneanunda" and the title track. Mostly he's a smoothly sophisticated singer with a canny sense of what works in an arrangement, and while he obviously has deep ties to what is now ancient R&B history, his sound is undeniably modern, and irresistibly seductive. Most of the cuts on SUBJECT are down-tempo, though the incidence of satin sheet-oriented boudoir ballads is kept to a surprising minimum. He's a more thoughtful lyricist than that, as evidenced by the nuanced, humorous "Lady at Mahogany," about a tryst gone awry, in which he shows he's not averse to telling tales on himself. SUBJECT is both light enough in feel and accomplished enough in execution to leave you hungry for more. Personnel: Dwele (guitar, background vocals); Kai Brooks, Alfonzo Hunter (vocals); DeSabata Robinson, Dave Forman (guitar); Jake & the Phatman (drums, percussion, turntables); Karriem Riggins (drums); Eric Roberson (background vocals). Recording information: 916 Music Studios, Van Nuys, CA; Blakeslee Recording co., North Hollywood, CA; Blue Room, NJ; Global Group Studios, Detroit, MI; Koa Recording, West Hollywood, CA; Music Box Studios, Detroit, MI; Sony Studios, New York, NY; Studio A, Dearborn Heights, MI; The Outpost Recording Studio, Van Nuys, CA; Touch Of Jazz Stusios, Philadelphia, PA. Photographer: Andrew Dosunmu. Personnel includes: Dwele, Slum Village. Producers includes: Dwele, Jake & The Phatman, Ronald Estill, Dwayne Bastiany, Pete Kuzma.

Ancestry in Progress buy CD music Inspired by African and European vocal melodies ADVENTURES IN AFROPEA 1 includes traditional songs from Zaire, Syria, South Africa, Rwanda, and Tanzania. David Byrne's Luaka Bop label released Zap Mama's 1993 debut, ADVENTURES IN AFROPEA 1. With its groove-oriented, world music emphasis, Luaka Bop was the perfect home for this female a cappella group who specialize in vocal melodies and rhythms from the African diaspora. Zap Mama's music is fundamentally African, with its call-and-response sections, polyrhythmic chanting, and allusions to traditions from across the continent. But the group incorporates musical elements from the Western world, too, including European choral traditions and American pop (namely R&B and hip-hop). In both its range of sources and its execution, Zap Mama's music is unique and thrilling, a fact further bolstered by the impressive vocal talents of the group's members. Whereas later releases would push the group's sound more toward pop and hip-hop, ADVENTURES IN AFROPEA 1 stays closer to the group's primary influences while remaining utterly fresh and distinctive. Recorded at Studio Daylight, Brussels, Belgium. Zap Mama: Marie Daulne, Cecilia Kankonda, Celine 'T Hooft, Sabine Kabongo, Sylvie Nawasadio (vocals). Engineers: Patrick Hubart, Vincent Kenis, Jean-Marc Geuens. Personnel: Marie Cavenaile, Fanchon Nuyens, Frank Nuyens (vocals); David Weemaels (percussion). Audio Mixers: Patrick Hubart; Marc Hollander; Vincent Kenis. Liner Note Author: Marie Daulne. Recording information: Forest; Studio Daylight; Studio Daylight, Brussels, Belgium. Photographer: Charles Lewis. Unknown Contributor Roles: Cecilia Kandonda; Cécilia Kankonda. Arranger: Marie Daulne. Additional personnel: Fanchon Nuyens, Marie Cavenaile (vocals); Jean-Louis Daulne (beat box); David Weemaels (percussion).