REGINA CARTER
Genres: Post-Fusion Contemporary, Hard Bop, World Fusion, Third Stream, Swing, RnB • United States

When preeminent violinist Regina Carter made the decision to record an album primarily of African folk tunes, she created a great challenge for herself: how do you take beautiful traditional music and infuse it with a contemporary feel while remaining true to its past -- and then, not compromise its beauty? Her newest release, Reverse Thread, due out on E1 Entertainment on May 18th brilliantly responds to the challenge. To achieve the uplifting and stirring result, Regina added an accordion and kora-- the West African harp traditionally played by village storytellers -- to her longstanding rhythm section. Kora virtuoso Yacouba Sissoko was brought on board to help recreate the spirit of passing stories from generation to generation. The result -- unlike anything previously heard -- is a haunting and beautiful compliment to Regina's sumptuously seductive violin. Without the support of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation, which "awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals," read more...