BALENGU VILLAGE (BW2136)

Recorded in Cameroon and mixed in France, 'Balengu Village' has, in it's vocal and rhythmic textures, retained the heat and spontaneity that define so much African music "I wanted to make sure that we kept a certain amount of looseness," emphasises Brice. "In traditional music you don't count time, the tracks can last twenty five minutes. If jazz is about improvisation then myself and many other African musicians are jazz players. Improvisation is one of the most intergral features of our music."
Kevin Le Genre, Now's The Time, Echoes
Mixed by Brice Wassy, Chris Lewis and Richard Edwards, Mastered by Ray Staff at Whitfield Recording Studios.

NGA FUNK (BW036)

Mention Cameroon and Makossa music comes immediately to mind, along with its principal exponent, the celebrated Cameroonian saxophonist, Manu Dibango. But Cameroon is rich in many other traditional rhythms, particularly in the Western provinces, and the masterful drummer and percussionist, Brice Wassy, sets out to present some of these rhythms with his band, Tchokola; rhythms such as 'Manga Mbey', 'Ndanzi', 'Kou Kou', and Bikutsi.

SHRINE DANCE (BW089)

Following an illustrious career recording, producing and performing with the likes of Salif Keita, Manu Dibango, Miriam Makeba, Talking Heads, Don Cherry and Jean-Luc Ponty, drummer/percussionist Brice Wassy steps up with his second solo album for M.E.L.T. 2000."This new album is coming from the same direction as the first one, but 'N'ga Funk' was much more compositional and this is much more drum-orientated," Brice explains. "It was a great pleasure for me to play with two other drummers who I greatly respect. With Airto, he's very open. I gave him some directions and he did the rest. The same with Changuito, although the Cubans are very analytical in their music, very technical. But my music isn't like that. Even if you write it, you must feel it."

Syncopation (BW2095)

Percussion maestro and former timbal player with Los Van Van, Changuito(Jose Luis Quintana) is best known for his groundbreaking work with the legendary Cuban band. As one of the world's leading multi-percussionists, Changuito expanded the vocabulary of Latin rhythms with his seminal Songo grooves, and has taught some of the finest conga players of today including Giovanni Hidalgo. Changuito released a series of educational videos which have become a must for any up and coming percussionist playing Cuban music - for more info see: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/p/JoseLuisQuintana-1066973/

Sings Milton Nascimento (MZA 037)

I first met Milton Nascimento in 1964, when I went to the city of Belo Horizonte to participate in the inaugural show of their first local television station, TV Itacolomi.
My career was just beginning and I could not afford to take my own trio from Rio, so I decided to go one day earlier and look for the best musicians I could find locally. When I approached O Ponto Dos Musicos (the Musician's Station) at Avenida Affonso Pena, I looked around and tried to spot somebody that looked musical, since the place was really a bar/restaurant, where all kinds of artists would hang out.