Oran Etkin - Kelenia (USA 2009)

An Uncle Roddus Album Review

With all the debate and jumping up and down about the downloading of music from the Internet, let me point out that my purchase of this album is a direct result of downloading a song off the web and several others I have also recently purchased, have been because I was able to download the complete albums off some blog or torrent and was impressed enough to go and buy them, especially the African comps I have been getting recently.

 This particular album was brought to my attention  by downloading the Track  "Nama" from the "All About Jazz" web site from their daily MP3 page(they have almost 2000 sample MP3s of all types of contemporary jazz to check out). I was so suitably impressed by that song and it's smooth Afro rhythms and great Sax soloing, that I added this disc to my Amazon wishlist.

 Oran is an Israeli born Clarinet and Sax player living in the US and has made this excellent album of jazz and Mali music, with tracks evoking traditional Malian music both vocally and rhythmically with jazz styled sax and clarinet playing giving it the jazz angle. The album has a wonderfully laid back vibe with the playing flowing effortlessly out of the speakers. An excellently well produces affair and more mellow than the 70s Afro Funk/Jazz that I usually groove to. Would sit nicely with the Gasper Lawal albums I reviewed some time back.

Rating 4.5/5