What can I say? Putumayo's doing such an excellent job in what they do best: compiling the best music in genre, specializing in world music. I have a couple I wanted to mention:

PUTUMAYO PRESENTS RHYTHM & BLUES
Sit back and relax - no, wait, get up and groove, as these twelve songs were handpicked by the Putumayo people, guaranteeing some amazing R&B songs. A great mix of old 70s boogie music (The Emotions' "Me and My Honey") to modern artists (Irma Thomas' "River is Waiting"). Especially the later, I couldn't believe that some of these songs were produced last year.

As with the old/new mixture, the choice in songs ranges from "sad" songs (losing your girl and looking for a new one on "Before I Find the Right Girl for Me" by Rockie Charles) to "funny" songs (the line "Does anyone know what a 'Wang Dang Doodle' is?" from Sam Moore, Keb' Mo' and Angie Stone) to "feel good" songs (the feeling of burning love on Lavelle White's "I've Never Found a Man to Love").

One song that I wasn't surprise to see on this compilation, was Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings' "100 Days, 100 Nights" on this compilation. If you recall, I had picked that song as my Top Five for 2008. I'll admit that the song's lyrics are simplistic, but the soulful voice and horns made this song an instant classic for me.

Although there are some great artists on this compilation, I was hoping to see Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials making it on - maybe next year? I would love to read what Putumayo has to write about him, since every Putumayo comes with a biography written about the artist in the language of North America (English, Spanish, and French).

Putumayo Presents Rhythm & Blues will be released in a few week on February 9^th. Head over to Putumayo to preview three songs - and get a free song! Personally, I always recommend buying the physical disc as it comes with photos and booklet. See the photograph I've attached.

PUTUMAYO PRESENTS JAZZ AROUND THE WORLD
This album was release pre-Christmas, to have a nice stocking stuffer for the jazz fan in your family. Unfortunately, due to the holidays I never got around to reviewing it (however, I did manage to cover A Family Christmas).

I did listen and made some jazz fans I knew have a listen to the album, and they gave me feedback on the album. First of all, everyone I spoke to said that they like the booklet that came with the CD (they also all asked if they can have it...)

While all these songs are from different parts of the world (Canada, USA, Cameroon, Guinea, France, Africa, Cuba, Mexico), they all share the common language of Jazz. The "accent" from the African jazz songs stood out for me, particularly the usage of the balabon from Keletigui Diabate with Habib Koite & Bamada's "Summertime at Bamako" to the rhythmic beats of Kora Jazz Trio's "Chan Chan".

The most interesting song on here is the New Zealand song "Te Reo o Papatuanuku" by Kataraina Pipi, which actually is more Pacific Islander in origin.

My favorite song, is Heather Rigdon's "Young and Naive" (and it's not because she's the only American on this compilation). What I generally like is the sensual voice of Rigdon, which exuberate of experience - yet at the same time she also sounds youthful and vulnerable. The song is about not being so young and naive, combined with the piano - I just think this would make such a great song for a dark & smoky movie soundtrack.

If you're interested in finding out more about World Music, here's additional information: General information at putumayo.com. Read their blog, follow their twitter, and connect them them on facebook.