By Classical Editor and Jazz contributor, Rob Tomaro
Roll Over Beethoven: Finding the new Mojo in music
The new mojo (the magic touch, the new meaning) can be found in the work of artists who are trying to break through cultural boundaries to create a new form, a real World Music, who harvest the best that world culture offers in search of something not heard before.
Canadian guitarist Robert Michaels does that on his new CD "Cubamenco", a word he's coined to describe a blend of Cuban and Flamenco music. Cuban music, which has enjoyed a new prominence since the release of the documentary ‘the Buena Vista Social Club,’ is culled from several streams of Latin American folk music. Flamenco, the Spanish gypsy dance form, is laced with the haunting minor modes of the Moors, who swept up from Morocco into Spain in the ninth century. The confluence of these two traditions gives rise to a new, fertile sound.
