Festive Fiesta

The second episode of In the Hopper will pull at your heart strings, but it's not cruel enough to leave them unmended: Chavela Vargas takes responsibility for the former, with Cecilia Villar Eljuri with Sly and Robbie and Joyce doing the necessary clean-up. The rest of the show finds us traveling on the airwaves from Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz Records release of the latest by DJ Center, in a remix by Captain Planet, to Peru's Novalima, with a track off their Quango Records release Afro; these paired with a deep dance number by Sonarpilot, remixed by Simbad. And what with tempo and temperature being in such close alignment, both rise with tunes taken from Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass' Shout Factory release Re-Whipped and Strut Records' Calypsoul 70; but first a crazy rendition of an old classic by International Velvet off The New Gold Standard Vol. 2, released by Fort Knox Recordings, along with a track by the fabulous Brazilian Girls from their album NYC, released by Verve Records. At the far end of this musical journey is a tribute to New Orleans, with a song from the Jambalaya Brass Band's album What You Lookin' At, released on their record label, It's About Music. Further thanks are due to record labels Tommy Boy Silver Label, Six Degrees Records and Manovill Records for putting out the work of such brilliant musicians.

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