Since this is my last column of the year, I'll look back instead of forward.

For the third year running, the biggest-selling world music CD around the world was the "Buena Vista Social Club" (World Circuit/Nonesuch). With over 2 million copies sold, you can forget Ricky Martin and the rest. This was the real Latin music boom.

Perhaps with the release of the film in Japan next year, a moving tribute to these extraordinary and humble musicians, it's a success that will be repeated here. The film was made around the recording of the second installment, "Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer" (World Circuit/Nonesuch), released in May. Although similar to its beautifully recorded predecessor, this CD highlights the voice of 72-year-old Ferrer on romantic-style boleros.

In Europe and America anything Cuban was the flavor of the year, which resulted to a degree of Cuban overkill, especially in too many compilations. While Buena Vista may not be big news over here yet, Japan has seen it all before. This year was the 50th anniversary of Tadaaki Misago and His Tokyo Cuban Boys, and their album "Melody of Japan" (Victor Entertainment), rereleased from 1977, is worth it if only for their version of the Hokkaido min'yo standard "Soran Bushi," retitled "Samba Soran."

This year was one of the first that I didn't have to travel outside Japan to see top-class African music: Habib Koite, Femi Kuti and Youssou N'dour all gave exciting shows here. Although none of these artists had new material released in 1999, in African music it was nevertheless the year of Femi Kuti and his album of Afrobeat "Shoki Shoki" (Barclay/Polydor). Originally released in France last year, it came out elsewhere in 1999 and earned Kuti the coveted Kora Award in South Africa for Best Male Artist.

Still, the African gig of the year for me was probably Senegal's Cheikh Lo (who I saw in Africa). His album "Bambay Gueej" (World Circuit) certainly tops my list of African albums, and perhaps any genre. The CD is an addictive and glorious blend of Senegalese roots, jazz, Cuban and Afrobeat, available on import until its Japanese release early next year.

A different kind of blend emerged when American bluesman Taj Mahal teamed up with Malian kora player Toumani Diabate on the extraordinary "Kulanjan" (Rykodisc/Videoarts), which reunited the blues from its African roots.

Another American guitarist Bob Brozman joined Okinawan Takashi Hirayasu on a successful collaboration, the Okinawan album of the year "Warabi Uta" (Respect Records). At the other end of the archipelago, Ainu musician Oki from Hokkaido brilliantly brought traditional Ainu melodies to life on "Hankapuy" (Chikar Studio), doing for Ainu music what Shokichi Kina did for Okinawa 20 years ago.

It was a mixed year for Okinawan music with sales, live attendance and the number of releases at a decade low. The four singers of Nenes bowed out to be replaced by four young singers (the Shima Uta Spice Girls?) and the dreaded "Healing Music" crept into Okinawan music. High points were a young musician Yasukatsu Ohshima who upheld the tradition on "Ari Nu Tu" (Victor Entertainment) and right at the end of the year the infectious harmonic vocals on An-Chang Project's "Harara Rude" (An-Chang).

Rinsho Kadekaru, the "Godfather of Shima Uta," died Oct. 9 at age 79. Kadekaru was one of the featured musicians in the Okinawan film of the year, "Nabbie no Koi" (playing now at Theater Shinjuku, [03] 3352-1846) although it was another featured elder musician, Seijin Noborikawa, who stole the film. If anyone can wear Kadekaru's mantle, it's Noborikawa. The soundtrack is released by BMG Japan.

It wasn't just Okinawa that lost one of its most significant musicians. South Africa's "Lion of Soweto," Simon Nkabinde, better known as Mahlathini, died July 27 at age 62. Together with the Mahotella Queens, he put South African mbanquanga music on the international music map. Trinidad's Roaring Lion, who since the 1930s helped to popularize calypso, passed away aged 91.

Portugal's "Queen of Fado" Amalia Rodrigues died Oct. 6 at 79, and the reggae world lost two of its finest: melodica player and extraordinary producer Augustus Pablo and singer Dennis Brown.

Indian sitar player Ananda Shankar pioneered the fusion of Indian music with break-beat rhythms back in the '70s after meeting Jimi Hendrix. The West had just rediscovered him when he died March 26 at 56. His music was an inspiration to artists from the U.K. Asian Underground including Sam Zaman a k a State of Bengal, who recorded with him on the wonderful release "Walking On" (Real World), by the Anander Shanker Experience & State of Bengal.

The U.K. Asian scene was further shocked by the July 8 death of Haroon Shamsher at 33. With the pioneering Bhangra duo Joi, Shamsher spectacularly applied modern technology and dance sensibilities to Bangladeshi traditions on the album "One and One Is One" (Real World).

In a similar genre, my so-called "Global Dance Crossover" albums of the year were Moroccan-born U-CEF's ultracool "Halalium" (Apartment 22). And the mixing of African and Celtic traditions with club grooves and beats by the Afro-Celt Sound System, on "Volume 2: Release" (Real World/Toshiba).

Successful American roots music albums included the folk blues slide guitar of Kelly Joe Phelp's on "Shine-Eyed Mister Zen" (Rykodisc/Videoarts) and Steve Earle and the Del McCoury band's rocking bluegrass album "The Mountain" (E-Squared). Britain's Gomez were influenced as well by American roots music on their album "Liquid Skin" (Hut/Virgin) but still retained a British flavor.

Hiroshi Yamaguchi of Heatwave is equally influenced by American and Celtic music. On the album "Hibi Naru Chokkan" (Polydor) he was joined by the Donal Lunny Band, while Kansai's Soul Flower Union employed the help of Lunny and Irish trad stars Altan on the excellent "Winds Fairground" (Ki/oon Sony).

It was hardly a vintage year for Celtic music, with too many middle-of-the-road Corrs wannabes. My favorite albums were all by young bands with strangely English connections in varying degrees: Tarras' "Rising" (Topic), Sin E's "Deep Water Dropoff" (Wicklow/BMG Funhouse) and Flook!'s "Flatfish" (Flatfish Records), all innovative and exciting.

An English veteran who made his best album in a while was Richard Thompson on the London-themed "Mock Tudor" (EMI), while Japanese veterans Haruomi Hosono and Makoto Kubota based their music around New Orleans but added a Japanese twist on "Road to Louisiana" (Epic Records), recorded as Harry & Mac.

Perhaps it was the political upheavals, but it was more difficult to get hold of good Asian, especially Indonesian, music. At the top of this depleted pile is Cwbm Bandung Music Group, who made bamboo gamelan sound invigorating on "Sambasunda" (gnp/Rice Records), and after 20 volumes, Smithsonian/Folkways finally released an Indonesian CD that was enjoyable (rather than just interesting), highlighting guitar styles on "Indonesian Guitars" (Smithsonian/Folkways).

If you want to hear some of these CDs and similar music, listen to my weekly radio show "Far East Radio" Saturdays from 10 p.m. on FM Cocolo (in Kansai at 76.5) and Sundays from 11 p.m. on Love FM (in Fukuoka at 76.1). I will also be a guest on Peter Barakan's show in Tokyo on InterFM 76.1 on Jan. 2 from 9 a.m., and we'll take another look back at '99. To readers of this column I'd like to give copies of Cheikh Lo's album "Bambay Gueej." To win, answer the question "Which Senegalese musician produced both Cheikh Lo's first and new album?" and send to [email protected]. I'll pull a winner out of the hat, with five runners-up receiving other excellent World Circuit albums released in 1999.