Hey, nearly everyone
mellows out eventu-
ally. On Emotion &
Commotion the former
Yardbirds guitarist mixes eloquent
renditions of “Somewhere Over the
Rainbow” and “Nessun Dorma” with
the electric menace of “Hammer-
head” and “I Put a Spell on You.”
Global Blend
Take a salsa-tinged
world tour on Ziguala,
from Brooklyn’s Las
Rubias del Norte.
Fronted by classically
trained singers Emily Hurst and
Allyssa Lamb, the combo blends
South American sounds with French
opera, Greek folk, and Bollywood.
Country Throwdown
With a dozen or
so acts on three
outdoor stages,
fans should get
their money’s
worth at the 23-city Country Throw-
down Tour, May 14 through June 20.
Acts include Montgomery Gentry,
Little Big Town, and The Lost
Trailers ( countrythrowdown.com).
Boss of ’Nova
Brazilian household
names such as Seu
Jorge and Carlinhos
Brown join bossa nova
icon Sergio Mendes for
a dance party on Bom Tempo (Good
Time). Mendes returns to his roots,
connecting the funky sound of Bahia
to contemporary R&B.
Leela James
Baring Their Souls
For her third album, My Soul,
Leela James concocts a brew
of raw emotion and slick party music.
James may well mature into a soul
powerhouse like fiftysomething
Sharon Jones, whose latest, I Learned
the Hard Way, boasts some of the
most impassioned singing since Etta
James’s heyday. —Richard Gehr
