Stuff We Like

Jazz Album With Marshall Islands Roots {cd}

Eleven years ago, Andrea Lindborg enjoyed fame as the best swimmer at the Micronesian Games in Guam, winning too many medals to count and the 'Outstanding Woman Athlete of the Games' award. Today, with her first music CD out, she's looking to make her name in the international jazz music world of New York City. Lindborg grew up on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands from age three, and then moved on to Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.

Since the early 2000s she has been playing and recording music in the U.S. She has toured with bands in the U.S. and Europe, and just recently released a CD. Though New York is a long way from home, her new album shows her Marshall Islands roots, from a photo of a woven Marshallese belt she's wearing to the title, Bõro Song - which translates as Song from the Heart (Marshallese say song from the 'throat'). Lindborg uses the name 'Solade', a blend of 'sol' (sun) and musical notes 'sol-la-de'. It reflects an upbeat style of jazz. This album is enjoyable-the range of her voice, for example, is surprisingly pleasing; the sometimes-haunting melody of her trumpet; percussion with island rhythms. She's a trumpeter that the New York Times says "has the goods." But she's much more than a trumpeter as her vocals on the 12 tracks demonstrate. >>> The CD can be ordered directly at mssolade@yahoo.com or via www.fmgroove.com. It's $15 plus shipping.

A World Of Music {website}

Calabash Music bills itself as "the world's first fair trade music company". It has now established a great music website featuring music from around the world, including Oceania. Featured artists range from the very famous such as Te Vaka and Fiji's Black Rose, to the lesser known Wasi Ka Nanara from the Solomon Islands.

Calabash says it is intent on providing a "global platform for independent musicians" and that its "music downloads are fair to you, fair to our artists and legal…whenever we work directly with an independent artist they earn at least 50% from every sale."

Calabash staff attended the 'World Music Festival" in Savusavu, Fiji this year and are on the lookout for more Pacific talent.

You can order cds from the Calabash site, or download songs onto your MP3 player if you are that way inclined, and equipped. One of the funkiest features on the site is the opening page, where your cursor can cruise across a map of the world, giving you a virtual tour of the world music scene from continent to continent.

There's a free song to download each Tuesday and Friday, and most downloads cost 99 cents each. >>> http://calabashmusic.com

The Contemporary Pacific Delivers Again {book}

This issue of The Contemporary Pacific (Vol 17, Number 1) has been out for a while but it's still a worthwhile and relevant read. The 'articles' section deals with Hawaii- the political status of native Hawaiians, Hawaiian poetry, and a really fascinating article on Tongans in Hawaii and their links to the homeland. There is also an insightful 'dialogue' on "Governance, Corruption and Ethics in the South Pacific" by Elise Huffer.

The always useful 'political reviews' section looks at Micronesia and Polynesian issues and events between July 2003 and June 2004 and the 'book and media reviews' section deals with art and literature from Albert Wendt, Samoan artists, Papua New Guinea poet Russell Soaba as well as issue-based literature on the small arms trade in the Pacific and Pacific Islands tourism.

As always, The Contemporary Pacific is a resource you will find yourself dipping back into over time. >>> The Contemporary Pacific costs $15 for individual issues, plus postage. http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals/cp/CPorder.html

5 Years Ago In Pacific Magazine Fiji was once again the center of the Pacific five years ago when self-proclaimed Fijian nationalists executed that nation's third coup in 13 years. George Speight, the coup's ostensible leader, was literally a cover boy for a divisive revolt whose aftereffects are still impacting Fiji. Speight, of course, is locked away on an island prison. A number of his cohorts have also been jailed, and the national debate now focuses on whether the remainder should be forgiven. It may be some time before that question is fully answered. o Solomons Revolt: "It took just one hour - that's all the time Malaitan rebels, a group called the Malaita Eagle Force, needed to gather up all the weapons in Honiara, set up roadblocks, strip three patrol boats of their armament and go to the prime minister's residence to put him under house arrest. o Tuvalu Tragedy: "The death toll from the fire that destroyed a girls' dormitory at Motufoua Secondary School in Tuvalu in early March has been placed officially at 19, according to Saufatu Sopoaga, secretary to government. Perishing in the fire were 18 girls and the house matron. The dormitory was known as Toaripi House. The school is on the island of Vaitupu. o Sinking Feeling: "There was a dramatic decline in business activity in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands last year. Business gross revenues fell by more than $132 million to $2.1 billion in 1999. The decrease was blamed on a slow economy that forced businesses to close or to continue taking losses because of weak consumer confidence and a radical change in visitors' spending habits.