Egge and Fleck

Last night at the Cactus Cafe (how many times have I said that in the past month?), Ana Egge held court in fine style. Backed by members of What Made Milwaukee Famous, the indie-folk diva ran through most of the tunes from her new disc, Road To My Love (Grace). Egge, who’s moved between Austin and Brooklyn a couple of times in the past few years, was in especially high spirits because earlier in the day she found out Rolling Stone gave her a rave review in its upcoming issue.

Speaking to her before the gig, she claimed the Chronicle’s Raoul Hernandez was partially responsible for her hooking up with the WMMF guys, as he recommended that she check them out a couple of years ago. When she did and got talking with them, she discovered the popsters were major fans of her music and thrilled at the idea of working together. While a little rough around the edges, the performance showed just how far Egge has come from the seemingly innocent folk ingenue of 12 years ago to a world class risk taker whose pop sounds rivals Ron Sexsmith or Beth Orton.

The media might want you to believe that the new U2 album is the only one released this week, but I’m just as excited by Bela Fleck’s Throw Down Your Heart (Rounder), a companion disc to the fabulous movie that was shown at last year’s South by Southwest. Forget bluegrass or jazz, Fleck travels to Africa to discover the roots of the banjo and comes back with a set of collaborations that’s as delightful as anything you’ll hear this year. Those familiar with African musicians will recognize names like D’Gary, Oumou Sangare, Baba Maal, and Toumani Diabate, but the combination of rhythms, voices, stringed instruments unusual to Western ears, and Fleck’s banjo make the CD as joyful as the movie.