Music from the Coffee Lands

Putumayo Presents (Series), Putumayo Presents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 1997)
• Original Release Date: September 22, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Putumayo World Music
• ASIN: B000003EKA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,794 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > World Music > South & Central America > Peru
  • #1 in Music > World Music > South & Central America > Costa Rica
  • #1 in Music > World Music > Africa > Zaire & Congo

Track Listings

1. Guajira Bonita - Julian Avalos

2. Soltarlo - Claudia Gomez

3. Wasuze Otya? - Samite

4. Maria Lando - Susana Baca

5. Below the Bassline - Ernest Ranglin

6. M'Ban Samba - Raimundo Sodre

7. Hanzvadzi - Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited

8. Dilema - Los Tradicionales De Carlos Puebla

9. Esa Noche - Cafe Tacvba

10. Gabby Kai - James 'Bla' Pahinui

11. Kothbiro - Ayub Ogada

12. Este Son (Costa Rica) - Juan Carlos Urena

13. La Milonga de Ricardo en Cha-Cha-Cha - Ricardo Lemvo / Makina Loca

Editorial Reviews

VARIOS INTERPRETES MUSIC FROM THE COFFEE LANDS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Musical Education Should be This Painless, April 22, 2003

By 

Stephen Foster (Seattle, WA United States, via Scotland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Music from the Coffee Lands (Audio CD)

I was walking past an upscale clothing store that was using this album as sonic wallpaper. It stopped me in my tracks. I walked in and demanded the album from the startled saleswoman.

And that was just one track. This is a true sampler album, designed to expand the listener's musical horizons. It succeeds spectacularly. The track that transfixed me was Thomas Mapfumo's "Hanzvadzi." That has led me to purchase every piece of music Mr. Mapfumo has ever recorded, has led me to travel several hundred miles to see him in concert, has led me to appreciate all the varied kinds of Zimbabwean music (try the classical mbira master Dumisani Maraire) and even to appreciate the ongoing troubled history of Zimbabwe.

The sampler would have done a fine job right there, but Susana Baca also sings here. Boy, does she ever. I'd never heard of her: the only South American singer I was familiar with was Astrud Gilberto. After swallowing Ms. Baca whole, I moved on beyond Peru and into other South American music.

So, I've developed a love of the music of two continents, all for the cost of a single CD. The "Coffee Lands" gimmick is mostly just that: the only thing that Susana Baca and Thomas Mapfumo have in common is that they both use notes, but that doesn't matter at all.

Disclaimer: Your experience may differ, but there is not a dud track on the album, and at least one track is going to jump out at you and land in your lap.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coffee never sounded so good, August 5, 2002

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Music from the Coffee Lands (Audio CD)

I was tempted by this CD because I am a lifelong coffee addict. And, I love World Music, especially Latin American and African music, which has cross-fertilized each other back and forth since Africans were kidnapped and carried as slaves to the New World up to the Cuban influence in parts of Africa.

My favorite on here is "Maria Lando" by Susana Baca. She is big in Peru, her homeland, and a friend of David Byrne-- but unknown here in the US. What a shame. Her voice is clear and emotional having what the liner notes refer to as "sufferation"--that emotional outpouring of the downtrodden. You cannot listen to this and not be moved.

I also love the Ugandan Samite's "Wasuze Otya?". Samite survived the insanity of the Idi Amin regime in Uganda, ended up as a refugee in Kenya. He combines traditional Ugandan music with other sources such as, of course Jazz. It's wonderful--you can listen to a clip here, along with the Baca cut.

I was somewhat disappointed in the Brazilian "M'Ban Samba." This music is from Bahia, the African-rich north part of Brazil so of course quite different than the sambas and bossa nova of urban Brazil and the Cariocas. You can clearly here the strong African strain in the Bahian Sodre's music, and for that, it is interesting. It just is not my favorite cut on this album.

This is one wonderful CD for just listening or for dinner party background music. It casts such atmosphere, and is easy to listen to, yet not cliche in any way. The liner notes are prolific--there's a small booklet attached to the inside cover, and the cover has attractive artwork. I just love it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my new favourite!, June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Music from the Coffee Lands (Audio CD)

I bought this CD on a whim, after hearing only two bars & have never regretted it. The percussion in particular is amazing & the music is so infectious, it's impossible to keep from smiling, let alone dancing!

Note: Maybe it's my computer system, but the sound clips on this website really don't do justice to the depth of this music.