Search - Steve Waddell :: Waltzing Matilda

Serving as an introduction for American audiences to the Peregrina label from Germany, these 14 cuts present many artists from the label's roster performing selections from the 13 albums released by Peregrina to this point. The music is more a symbiosis of world, jazz, and ambient elements than ethnologically "correct" music, and nearly all tracks contain indigenous elements from such diverse sources as the Caribbean, Greece, Turkey, and Brazil blended in different ways with contemporary genres like folk, soft jazz, and even some classical elements. Mikis Theodorakis, Maria Farantouri, Sema and Taksim, Gringos, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and Rosanna and Zelia are a few of the acts presented in the set, nicely packaged in a metal box. Much emphasis is given to recording quality and musical excellence, and while the CD may not appeal to the world-music purist, it does provide high-quality easy listening for those who favor an exotic flavor to the soundtrack of their lives. --Derek Rath