Conscious Choice: Reviews

July 2007 | Art & Soul

Reviews

MUSIC

Voices Have Eyes
Eccodek
(White Swan)

With More Africa in Us, Canadian multi-instrumentalist/producer Andrew McPherson gathered an impressive roster of African musicians and applied their sonic heritage to his already well-formed jazz and electronic history. Influenced by the dripping, dubby bass techniques of Bill Laswell and the clean and sharp treatments of the kora and talking drums, he continues this intercontinental survey with the equally impressive Voices Have Eyes. Returning is his love of reggae-inspired production and low-end, with the addition of India (via the beautiful vocals of Kiran Ahluwalia) and Fiji (most notably vocalist Akuila Qumi on the outstanding title track). McPherson’s jazz upbringing rises in the form of various saxophone appearances, with a host of African vocalists and percussionists rounding out the global celebration. The grooves are tight and spacious; McPherson leaves room for each element to breath as needed. Additions to the original Canadian release showcase his remixing ability: one for National Geographic’s GeoRemix initiative of his own “Juju in Those Strings,” and a biting and mercurial take on Malian vocalist/guitarist Vieux Farka Toure’s “Wosoubour.” If voices have eyes, then McPherson’s hands profess a sturdy and able tongue capable of many languages. Visit eccodek.com. — Derek Beres

Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions
George Winston
(RCA/Victor)

George Winston isn’t generally thought of as a rollicking, barrelhouse piano player, but the destruction of New Orleans (and the continued lack of a real federal response to it) has lit a fire under a musician whose work has more commonly been referred to as “impressionistic,” “autumnal” and “quiet.” Winston has always been a more varied pianist than many believe (the guy can swing) and here he tackles the uniquely upbeat New Orleans piano sound associated with everyone from Fats Domino and James Booker to Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. That said, Winston also plays strikingly beautiful ballads (“Gulf Coast Lullaby” and “Creole Moon”) and anguished laments (“Blues for Fess, Beloved”), making for an album that plays like a celebration and remembrance of the life of a tragically departed friend. Winston’s real life friends, such as Henry Butler, have lost their homes in New Orleans, and Winston is donating all of his earning from this heartfelt album to various relief agencies in the area. Find out more at georgewinston.com. — Nick Dedina

FILM

Motherland Afghanistan
Directed by Sedika Mojadidi

Originally aired February 14, 2007, on PBS’s “Independent Lens” series, Motherland Afghanistan, directed by Sedika Mojadidi, profiles her father, 2002 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Qudrat Mojadidi, as he returns to his homeland to train OB/GYN medical doctors who are struggling with a medical system that was completely replaced following the mid-’90s Taliban uprising.

Afghanistan currently has the second-highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world — byproducts of thirty years of war (Soviet occupation, Taliban uprising and the 2001 U.S. invasion). Dr. Mojadidi joined a U.S.-supported program in 2003 that sent him to train doctors at the Rabia Balkhi Hospital, the largest women’s hospital in Kabul, serving over 36,000 patients a year. The tragedies he encountered there illustrate Kabul’s deplorable medical facilities and incredibly undereducated staff — and implicate the United States for deceptively touting its influence in Afghanistan as “progress” — including dedicating part of Rabia Balkhi the “Laura Bush Gyne & Obstetrics Ward.”

DVD extras include interviews with Dr. Mohammed Amin Fatemi, Afghan Minister of Health and Medina Qasimi, assistant director of The Shuhada Organization. — Jim Norrena

BOOKS

Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism
By Patricia Aburdene
(Hampton Roads)

In Megatrends and Megatrends 2000, both number one bestsellers, authors John Naisbett and Patricia Aburdene predicted the shift from an industrial to an information economy. In Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, Patricia Aburdene puts a mirror to the heart of business and concludes that the spirit, ingenuity and integrity of the people will drive performance. In the wake of corporate scandal, recession, record deficits and terrorist attacks, more and more consumers are turning inward to determine where their true values lie. Likewise, more and more companies are discovering that placing social and environmental values ahead of the bottom line is actually helping to boost profits. Aburdene investigates “corporate social responsibility” and identifies seven new megatrends that will redefine business in the coming years. She discovers that significant numbers of both new-economy and old-guard companies such as AOL, GM and Xerox are tapping into the wave of conscious capitalism by bringing meditation into the workplace, enforcing stricter environmental controls on their vendors and donating both time and money to social causes. — Seamus Presley

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