Various artists ‘Yele Brazil” HemisphereWorld music labels...

Various artists ‘Yele Brazil”

Hemisphere

World music labels are proliferating, and some are better than others. One latecomer that’s beginning to make a mark is Hemisphere, which in the last year has put out a series of tasty compilations.

The latest is “Yele Brazil,” a collection of wide-ranging popular music from Bahia, a region in northeastern Brazil where nearly 80% of the coastal people are descendants of African slaves.

That African connection is announced in the first song on the album, “Yele Congo.” Ara Ketu started as a troupe of traditional drummers, something like the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro, and the rhythms here are complex and insistent. But the song is essentially Central African-style soukous, complete with spidery double-time guitar break.

The cross-cultural pollinations continue with several examples of a style called samba-reggae, which is Bahia’s distinctive take on the samba rhythms of southern Brazil. “Kizomba, Festa da Raca” by Banda Reflexu’s is a prime example: modern, driving, danceable and downright funky.

In fact, there’s nothing precious or frail about the music here. Bona fide international stars--Marisa Monte, the late Clara Nunes--are represented here among lesser-known up-and-comers. Their approaches vary, but together their songs offer a sturdy blend of earthiness and polish, of Afro-Brazilian rhythm and pure, melodic vocals that have long been the hallmark of Brazilian pop and jazz. There’s nary a dud in this bunch.

The fine liner notes and song selection can be attributed to Gerald Seligman, who pulls the same duty on Hemisphere’s other excellent new release, “Celtic Graces: A Best of Ireland.” Three cheers for a man of eclectic expertise.