Various Artists
"Kwanzaa Music"
Rounder Records
Kwanzaa, a Swahili term meaning "first fruits of the harvest," is the name given to an increasingly popular African-American holiday, which annually unfolds from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. Though aspects of it are synthesized from African tradition, it is an infant as holidays go. Kwanzaa was originated in 1965 by Dr. Maulana Karenga (now Chairman of Black Studies at CSU Long Beach).
It is a blessing that this holiday hasn't yet been targeted by the mawkish tunesmiths who have buried Christmas in confectioners sugar. But what's a holiday without music? Much as Dr. Karenga appropriated existing traditions for his holiday, this album compiles existing music from "the African diaspora," as the liner notes put it. And it makes for one funky holiday.
There is a tremendous variety here: contemporary African music from its Arab regions to its South African tip; American soul and funk songs, as well as New Orleans carnival music; Caribbean and South American music; and a pan-cultural rap-jazz hybrid. Yet, for all the diversity, there are also connections in the music, and it all pulses with the rhythms of life.
