Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and therefore, the West and the Orient. Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India was significant and opened the way for an age of global imperialism and for the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia. Traveling the ocean route allowed
From the River to the Ocean dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson and featuring Bankhead on piano and Drake chanting in Arabic. The title track and the closer, “Sakti/Shiva”, find Abrams moving to guimbri, a three-stringed acoustic bass associated with the Gnawa music. In his review for AllMusic, Sean Westergaard states "They might be known as avant-garde players, but this album is totally approachable and extremely soulful. "From the River to the Ocean" is not only among Anderson's finest albums to date, it has to be among the top jazz albums of 2007." The All About Jazz review by Troy Collins notes that "The resonant,