In Traversées, it feels like the kora and the setar have always coexisted. Although the Iranian-Canadian trio Constantinople and Ablaye Cissoko – who engage in the jazz melodies of St-Louis, Senegal – may come from different regions, they are playing on the same strings. Delicate and noble. Beyond a simple exercise of style, the quartet perpetuates the soul and rhythm of nomadic poets, pilgrims, smugglers, the griots of Africa Mandinka and of the medieval Khorasan bakhshish.

Soul Jazz Records’ new Boombox features some of the many innovative underground first-wave of rap records made in New York in the period 1979-82, all released on small, independent, often family-concern record companies, at a time when hip-hop music still remained under the radar.

Harpist to Queen Victoria, the Welsh composer John Thomas (1826–1913) also wrote prolifically for his own instrument, both for solo harp and for duos of two harps or harp and piano – a combination where the different sounds of the two instruments enhance the clarity of the texture. Thomas’ original works use the elegant Romantic style of his own day, but he also left a generous legacy of transcriptions, especially of operatic favourites. Although some of his music was intended for the Victorian drawing room, other pieces require a virtuoso technique – and all of it has a thoroughly engaging melodic appeal.

With a glorious voice that sounds as if he has just swallowed a jar of cod liver oil, Winwood has the advantage of instant recognition; add to this a musicianship that has been employed in dozens of sessions over the past four decades, and the result is a prodigious talent that runs like a vein of gold through rock music since the Spencer Davis Group. Arc Of A Diver, released at the end of 1980 after a long period of self-imposed retreat, is a triumphant resurgence. With lyrical contributions by Viv Stanshall (the rich imagery of the title track) and Will Jennings, Winwood never falls into the trap of shaming the music with sub-standard words. Another musical genius.

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