Miami Music Blog

Jacob Katel

​Cameroon is a country partially on the West coast of Africa that is bordered by Nigeria. The name of the country originates from the portugese Rio dos Camarões, which sailors, for its abundance of prawns and crayfish, called the Wouri River when they sailed into it in 1472.

According to Wikipedia, "The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi."

Here are some image details from a Cameroon drum we saw at Majestical Lips (4600 NE 2nd Avenue) in the Buena Vista neighborhood just north of the Design District and south of the heart of Little Haiti.

Photos - Jacob Katel

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James Dunn
The Long Ride Home
www.jamesdunnmusic.com

Even the title boasts an air of familiarity, one that translates to the sound of the songs themselves. It breeds a connection that finds these muscular melodies recalling the angst-filled anthems of Bruce Springsteen as they might sound if sung by Jackson Browne. Indeed, there's a lot to like in the way Dunn applies driving determination to themes that troll the divide between love and loss. A line like, "The ghost of love lost comes to your door, reminding you of how things are not anymore" carries an emotional weight that resonates within the context of Dunn's compelling delivery. Ultimately The Long Ride Home unfolds as a riveting journey well worth taking.

The last thing the world needs is another rant by some snooty music scribe who actually believes he can peg the next Coldplay or validate some MySpace wannabe. Don't worry; yours truly doesn't make any such presumptions. You won't find any holier-than-thou prognostications here -- just good new sounds worth checking out in the pop/rock/roots/Americana/singer-songwriter/whatever vein. These artists fly well below the radar, but here's some help with tracking their trajectories.

The Matthew Herbert Big Band
There's Me and There's You
www.matthewherbert.com
Despite the name, the Matthew Herbert Big Band has as much in common with Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong as Dave Grohl does with Barry Manilow. Instead of bringing brass to the fore, it's mined in the mix, creating an ethereal ambiance that's surprisingly soulful. The band lends an alternative attitude to trad jazz, creating songs that could otherwise serve as a score for an experimental musical. Not surprisingly, "Just Swing" steers closest to expectations, while the surging, swaggering "The Story" offers instant gratification. Likewise, the overtly experimental "The Yesness" and the ambient atmospherics of "Knowing" and "Nonsounds" provide There's Me and There's You with sounds that span the divide.