Frenchy’s Fracas

General Description
Artist/Band: Buika || ||
Album Title: Niña De Fuego
Year: 2008

More than just a pretty picture..

How I Got Into This Music
I just didn’t have any choice. LadyTO kept nagging me about this artist, and I kept ignoring it. Then she gave me this CD and continued nagging me into submission. After a month or so, I decided to cave in in a manly way and listen to the album.

Reviews:
Videos: ||
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Tracks that got my attention:
La Falsa Moneda
Thirty seconds into the track and you get a clear idea of what you’re gonna get with this album: soft tones, lazy summer breeze and an incredible voice. Believe you me, I do not like the whole Spanish guitar hero & gitano traditional crap, but as usual, there are a few exceptions..

Culpa Mia
It’s that voice.. the intro of this song is beautiful and when the guitars join in, it’s also sweet!

Mienteme Bien
Some parts remind me of stuff my parents use to play when I was a kid, and I didn’t like it that much then and I still don’t..

Arboles De Agua
H O L Y S H I T ! !
The intro, when her vocals get in on the song, the whole track: wow, goose bumps!
Break both my legs and play me this song, you have a great chance I won’t be pissed at you.
This is such a great feel good track, there’s no way you can be sad or angry after listening to it.
(Still break your limbs later on, but that’s a small detail..)

La Niebla
Ohman, that voice.. Mellow work on the piano too.

Volver Volver
More of the ranchera stuff I don’t really like. The mixup with the almost jazzy trumpet is a nice touch.
By the way, don’t know if ranchera’s the right category to use.. It’s that cry-cry type of music from Mexico that this song’s reminding me of.

Mentirosa
Hmm, a nice and unexpected change of style: a bit of easy latin with some brass on the side. Works for the European crowd, I guess.

Conclusion
I saw five minutes of her show at this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival and it’s a shame I didn’t see more of her (in more ways than one, yep..). And, as I said before, I’m officially in love with that face
Macho bull aside: I really enjoy listening to this album and this artist. The way she uses her voice on this record is fantastic, the musicians are solid and the production is nice and subtle. Some tracks are just a bit too cheesy for my snobby tastes, but I can recommend the whole product.

Oh, LadyTO? You were right.

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General Description
Artist/Band: Roy Hargrove Quintet || ||
Album Title: Earfood
Year: 2008

Excellent trumpet man..

How I Got Into This Music
Been listening to his Hard Groove album for quite a while now; saw him at the North Sea Jazz Festival last year and I really enjoy his different styles, beit his groove funk mixup or his more traditional jazz work.

Reviews:
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
I’m Not So Sure
Like Last.fm’s DocterD said:
What an Intro
Short and simple, he’s right. Incredible intro setting up a great jazz groove, making you want for more. The piano is almost gospel.
The trumpet and sax solos are great.

Strasbourg - Saint Denis
Well, if you want to make jazz really accessible then a track like this would work. It’s got this complicated Walk In The Park feeling to it, that would work in any lounge bar.
Love the piano on this track.

Starmaker
Nice and simple theme, again, the piano works superbly. Just love the short choppy stuff on the keys halfway.

Mr. Clean
Hmmm.. It’s big and bad approach that dominates the track, but it doesn’t really work for me.

Style
Sweetness when Hargrove puts that horn to work. And the lovely breaks through the song..

Divine
Wow, that laidback trumpet again on this lovely ballad!

Bring It Home To Me (Live)
Great Sam Cooke tribute.

Conclusion
You want to hear a tight band perform? Listen to this album or go see them play live. Everything is performed professionally and with a lot of love. This album has a coupla tracks that really stand out but what I really enjoyed was the fact that I could put the record on and leave it to play all day long, without boring me for one minute.
Don’t lose sight (or hearing) of this artist!

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• # - music: All Over The World by ELO: a cheesy, symphrock, wannaB-Beatles band that always made music a simple&joyous thing. Still cheesy tho #
• # - music: KIng For A Day by The Thompson Twins - the 80s was a weird&wonderful time, musically speaking of course.. #
• # - Geek heart attack: first time, I let the iphone drop on the ground, 40cm. God, I need a life #

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• # - musical nostalgia: “Counting Sheep” by Jan Rot - http://tinyurl.com/64d6qf #
• # - music: listening to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”.. Still makes me very sad and very angry at the same time.. http://tinyurl.com/34g3b3 #

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# - music: enjoying the Earfood album by da Roy Hargrove Quintet, thx 2 blkbetty: http://tinyurl.com/5k4k54 and HF: http://tinyurl.com/5nxegw

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