AltWeeklies Wire
Bio Ritmo's Fresh Salsanew
"It's our version of the aesthetic that inspires us, that whole '60s and '70s world. It's not a tribute. It's just picking up the baton, hopefully, and running with it for awhile." -- Rei Alvarez
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
01-04-2012 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Bio Ritmo
Two Glimpses Into the Often Overlooked Musical Diversity of Durham, N.C.new
Two music scenes thrived under (most of) our noses in 2011 -- a vivid belly dance picture and accompanying Middle Eastern and Arab live music both sacred and secular, and a young, eclectic jazz scene that increasingly makes its digs in downtown Durham.
Tags: Durham Music
Charanga Carolina's La Familianew
La Familia, a combination studio and live album produced in UNC's Kenan Music Building studio, celebrates a mature moment in Charanga Carolina's history.
Tags: Charanga Carolina
Dark Water Rising's Native American heritage is an inspiration, not a limitationnew
"Working together, going the extra mile; we have that in our community, no doubt, but through our music we're trying to spread that message to everyone."
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
09-28-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dark Water Rising
Stretching the Boundaries of Jazznew
The five members of Peter Lamb's Wolves stretch their techniques—and the boundaries of their jazz
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
06-09-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Peter Lamb's Wolves
Emeline Michel's Rich Haitian Fusionnew
The nickname Queen of Haitian Song doesn't sit well with Emeline Michel: "I said, 'OK, if I'm a queen, I'm a queen of the heart. I want to have the biggest heart ever to share with everybody, and give that wherever I go to my music."
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
04-14-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Emeline Michel
Eddie Palmieri Continues to Reinvent His Pioneering Latin jazznew
At age 74 with nine Grammys and 36 albums to his credit, one of Latin music's most recognized innovators shows no signs of letting up.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
02-17-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Eddie Palmieri
Orquesta GarDel's Lo Que Tú Queríasnew
GarDel's debut EP is a tapas-size dish heaped with homemade salsa that should appease appetites hungry for a high quality, first-rate studio recording of original Latin music made in North Carolina.
Tags: Orquesta GarDel
The Ironies and Energy of La Excelencia's Hard Salsanew
Powered by old-fashioned methods and ideals, La Excelencia has attracted the label "steam salsa" from one critic—they're taking an obsolete power source and retrofitting it for the modern age.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
10-14-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: La Excelencia
Jazz Album Taps Into Plena, an Overlooked Puerto Rican Rhythmnew
Ancestral and electrifying, Esta Plena, which lost its two bids for a Grammy Award to Terence Blanchard and Chucho and Bebo Valdes, is nonetheless a milestone recording. For the first time, it creates an album-length conversation between jazz and plena.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
02-12-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Big, Brassy Sounds of Orquesta GarDelnew
Onstage, Orquesta GarDel makes salsa dura: a locomotive of energy on steel rails with endless momentum and irresistible motion.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
06-13-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Crossing the Waters' Offers a Peek into the Afro-Cuban Religionnew
The book's charismatic protagonist is Santiago Castaneda Vera, a spiritual practitioner who "works" the spirits of the dead and whose sacred oricha is Yemaya, the mother of the waters.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
04-10-2008 |
Nonfiction
Rey Norteno Sings One for the Roadnew
With their clean-cut sex appeal and yes ma'am manners, the members of Rey Norteno have become role models for an all-ages fan base, especially young Latinos who wait in long lines to get posters, hats and T-shirts signed.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
03-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Rey Norteño
Jenna Bush, Compassionate Conservativenew
Any snide suspicions one may harbor about the author's ability or her intentions are quickly swept away upon opening the book. Ana's Story deserves high marks as a dramatic, absorbing and moving read for kids and adults alike.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
11-08-2007 |
Nonfiction
Rey Norteño Makes Theme Song for N.C. Immigrantsnew
"Raleigh," the title track from Rey Norteño's 2006 debut, earned the band national airplay on Mexican regional radio stations such as the local 96.9 FM La Ley.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
09-27-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Rey Norteño
