Recent Symphony Space appearances by Central America's Andy Palacio Garifuna Tribute Band and the Niger-based sextet Etran Finatawa exposed New Yorkers to languages and cultural perspectives in danger of vanishing altogether before the end of this century. These artists exist specifically to fight that possibility. Practical traditionalists, they allow producers to commercialize their sound just enough to make tribal song forms more accessible to a global audience. As captured on two new CDs—one pairing the desert-crossing Tuareg with the Wodaabe people of the Sahel savannah, and the other the work of Arawak-speaking black Caribbean Indians (who call themselves the Garinagu)—use contemporary recording techniques to preserve ancient melodies, rhythms, and acoustic instrumentation before... More >>>