Regina Carter Quintet “Reverse Thread” at Kuumbwa Jazz Center

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How do you take beautiful, traditional African/world music, infuse it with a modern feel, and stay true to its past, without compromise? Award-winning, classically trained jazz violinist Regina Carter’s latest effort, Reverse Thread (E1 Music, 2010), rises to the challenge. Lauded as one of the finest violinists of her generation, Carter captures both the essence and allure of the original music through a lens of contemporary interpretation. To achieve this end, Carter adds an accordion and a kora—the West African harp traditionally played by village storytellers—to her longstanding rhythm section for an uplifting and stirring result.