The Blue Moon Awards for music are bestowed only on truly superior, original releases that combine excellence of performance, material, production values and recording quality to create unqualifiied recommendations for the intrepid world music lover. Click on covers to access reviews.
  | Diego AmadorScherzo Flamenco by Diego Amador is an unusual crossover between Flamenco piano and classical composers like Bizet, Borodin and Mussorgsky whose works are recognizably quoted in cuts dedicated to them though made over with Iberian stylings including cante jondo and palmas. This concept is vaguely related to how Jacques Loussier gave Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Mozart and Ravel the Jazz makeover. That the piano is a fully 'Flamenco certified' instrument we already knew from David Peña Dorantes and Pablo Rubén Maldonado, » Read more about: Diego Amador » |
| Sevara Nazarkhan: Sen For Perfect Balance of Old and New in the Silk Road Ambient category |
| Roberto Fonseca: Zamazu For Transcending Boundaries in the Cuban Piano category |
| The Cracow Klezmer Band: De Profundis For The Sacred Heart Of The Tradition in the Polish Hasidic category |
| Hossein Alizadeh: Endless Vision For The Spirit Of An Ancient Country in the traditional Iranian category |
| Göksel Baktagir: Hayalgibi 2 For Masterful Instrumental Moods in the kanun, piano & cello trio category |
| Renaud Garcia-Fons Trio: Arcoluz For Taking Us Across The World & Beyond in the bass trio category |
| Chris Rea: Blue Guitars A Compelling Personal History of the Blues through time |
| Hüsnü Şenlendirici: Hüsn-Ü Klarnet A Premium Showcase of the Art of the Turkish Solo Clarinet |
| Kaloomé: Sin Fronteras Fire, Passion And Drive in the Perpignan Gypsy category |
| Beyond The Pale: Consensus A Very Juicy Live Performance in the Modern Klezmer category |
| Romane & Stochelo Rosenberg: Double Jeu For Swing As Hard As Mike Tyson's Fist in the Jazz Manouche category |
| Grey de Lisle: Grateful Ghost For Elegance & Beauty in the Traditional American Country category |
| Maria del Mar Bonet: Reixa For The Spirit Of Pure Heart Incarnate in the Catalonian Folk category |
| Dorantes: Sur For Evocactive Mediterranean Soundscapes in the Spanish Piano category |
| Bebo & Cigala: Lágrimas Negras For Daring Concept & Brilliant Execution in the Flamenco/Cuban Jazz category |
| Wrasse Records: World 2004 For Coolacious Groovosity Factor in the WorldBeat Compilation category |
| Renaud Garcia-Fons: Légendes For Legendary Performances & Compositions in the upright solo bass category |
| Joscho Stephan: Django Forever For Front-Rank Successorship in the Gipsy Swing guitar category |
| Renaud Garcia-Fons: Navigatore For Musicianship of the Very Highest Order in the upright bass category |
| Buenos Aires Madrigal For Brilliant Juxtaposition and Stylistic Merging in the Italian Baroque & Argentine Tango categories |
| Morelenbaum/Sakamoto: Casa For Perfect Capture of Brazil's Night-Time Spirit in the Jazz Trio category |
| Louis Winsberg: Jaleo For Most Successful Genre Modernization in the Flamenco category |
| Dulce Pontes: O Primeiro Canto For Visionary Masterpiece Jewel in the 'Nouveau Fado' category |
| Solomon Burke: Don't Give Up On Me For Coolacious Groovosity By a Soul Legend in the Deep Blues Live category |
| Debashish Bhattacharya & Bob Brozman: Mahima For An Inspired Meet of Two Greats in the Indian/Hawaiian slide guitar category |
| Natasha Atlas: Something Dangerous For Ulta-Hip Intoxicating Genre Crossing in the Shaabi/Dance/Ambient Dub category |
| Tomatito: Paseo de los Castaños For Adventure, Style & Mastery in the Modern Flamenco category |
| Sevara Nazarkhan: Yol Bolsin For Tribal/Modern Vocal Arrangements in the Uzbek WorldBeat category |
| Barrio Chino: Mediterra Nostra For Recording of the Year 2002 in the Mediterranean WorldBeat category |
| Salif Keita: Moffou For A Triumphant Return To Greatness by one of Africa's elder voices |
| Anouar Brahem: Le Pas du Chat noir For Atmospheric Beauty & Compositional Elegance in the World/Ambient oud category |
| Django Reinhardt: NY Festival Live at Birdland For Concept, Execution & Raw Musicianship in the Gipsy-Swing, Jazz Manouche category |
| Zawose & Brook: Assembly For Tribal/Modern Vocal Arrangements in the African WorldBeat category |
