Since last December, few Haitian music CD's have been produced, but some wonderful ones have been launched by well established musicians.

In the latter part of last year, three guitarists led by Jacky Ambroise produced the album Strings, a wonderful blend of traditional, flamenco and konpa music. With all strings instruments, apart from the usual bass and drumming , this album is unique. You can listen to it , you can dance to it, the sound is soothing, the mixing is very good and the music is crisp. This is Jacky’s third album and it certainly won’t be his last. Recently the group performed in Chile, during the summit of First Ladies which took place in Santiago. This album is a "must" in any music collection.

Toward the end of the year, there was another nice surprise for the guitar aficionados. Anyone who remembers the famous Haitian group "Les Ambassadeurs" will recall its flamboyant guitarist Ricardo Frank, better known as "Ti Plume". A tireless musician always looking for new directions and a new sound, Ti Plume shows that his ability is not limited to playing Konpa Dirèk. In fact, he demonstrates that one does not exclude the other. He has become only the third of three Haitians guitarists to produce a solo guitar album. And of the best quality too. Ti Plume takes his place alongside Frantz Casseus and Amos Coulanges, both well known throughout the world.

Just like his two predecessors, Ti Plume plays traditional Haitian folk songs as well as his own compositions in his unmistakable style. In a sometimes lyrical, sometimes percussive, but always harmonious style, Ti Plume seems to be playing more than one guitar at a time. In my opinion, this is one of the best albums to have been published in the last year. Dim the lights, sip a capuccino and put on the disc. You are in for a real treat.

In the field of Roots Music, Boukman Eksperyans has just launched a new CD called "Revolisyon" (Revolution). True to the traditions of this music format, Boukman’s music contains diverse messages. But what is noteworthy in this album is the effort made by the group to introduce new rhythms in its repertoire. Just listen to the rhythm section to understand the complexity of what the group does. It takes a little longer and more than one listening session to really appreciate this album, because the sound is not as traditional as Boukman’s previous ones.

Finally, another trend is slowly, but surely taking hold in the field of Haitian music. Some promoters have been making efforts to reproduce on CD precious old Haitian music. By old, I am talking about music from the 40's. Last year, the most noteworthy CD in that category was that of this wonderful sax player Issa El Saieh and his band. This album recorded in Cuba in 1958 brings back fond memories, even for those among us who were not born yet when these musicians were already playing. The most recent of these " oldies but goodies " is the CD of Edner Guignard and his orchestra. This music was recorded in 1960. Words are not enough to describe how good the music and the musicians sound, thanks to digital re-mastering technology. The El Saieh album was launched by Mini Records, the second one by Marc Records.

Recently in New York, a gala was held to honor the great pianist Edner Guignard who lives in New York. It was a wonderful evening enhanced by the presence of Guignard's old fellow musicians such as Michel Pressoir, Jean Prophète, etc. One can only wish that the trend will continue among Haitian music promoters and that more oldies will come out in the next few years, or rather... months.

Serge Bellegarde