EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD: Birigwa - Njabala
Yes. This is absolutely 100% as rad as it looks. And let's get it said right away, before the sweaty histrionics get underway, that you'd be a fool to pass up this deep slice of pristinely soulful African folk jazz. Also, come to think of it, let's skip the histrionics. Because even when this ultimate, nylon-plucked smoothness devolves temporarily into frenzied screams and crosswalk whistle-blowing, histrionics are ill-suited for the float away ease of its effortless grooviness.
Birigwa, at the time of "Njabala," was a 23-year-old studying jazz at the New England Conservatory. The self-titled stunner that resulted from his time at the conservatory stands up tall and hustles as sweet as any Veloso, Joao or Jobim. Brazilian bossa nova at its honey-thickest and mellow-yellowest, informed by the energy and rhythm of African folk. Total treasure. Definitely pick up the full-length, reissued on Porter Records.