Chronique no. 30 | Chronique Index

Anyone familiar with Haitian and Cuban history will surely understand what Al Angelero means when he writes the following in the liner notes on the CD Haitiando: "Haitian musicians have kept an ear on Cuban music….. "Any doubt about this will be erased once you sit down and listen , hence the many cultural ties which have always linked the two countries. It is this Haitian-Cuban connection which brought Mini Records's Fred Paul to undertake his newest projects in launching this CD.

What a wonderful idea that was! Haitiando is an album which cements the traditional Haitian "méringue douce" and the traditional Cuban cha-cha-cha, son, danzón, charanga etc. Not only does it bring back a whole era of songs, but it also shows how deep the connection is. Indeed, beautiful Haitian melodies are artfully superimposed on Cuban rhythms in such a way that the more you listen , the more you want to listen. Boulo Valcourt, the lead singer with a raspy voice does an excellent job and Eddy Prophète at the piano proves to be once again a musician's musician. They are strongly supported by a wonderful cast of Cuban musicians who feel at ease with the Haitians. Everything just blends in and you can feel the musicians enjoying the session. The arrangements are by Boulo, Eddy and Fred Paul.

I cannot quite say which of these tunes I like best, for, I thoroughly enjoy each one of them. Listen to Rodolphe Legros "Manman Dada" or "Troubadour" or Gérard Dupervil's "Gròg mwen" or all the others and you will understand what I mean. The third tune "Bénita" by Ernst Léandre is an absolute delight. The lyricism in Boulo's singing and in the subtle piano lines makes it one of the best treatments of that song I have heard so far. The song starts on a nostalgic Cuban danzón and later, the muffled trumpet and the violin add to the harmony. The group gives a wonderful interpretation of the classic "El Manisero" and the Kreyòl lyrics are absolutely right to the point. Listen to the bass line in the fifth tune "Konfyans", another composition of Rodolphe Legros.

Apart from the concept behind this CD and the great memories it brings back, what in my view gives it immense value is the quality of the arrangements. They are not flashy, they do not overwhelm the song or the singer, yet, the music sounds quite modern while being traditional. The producer Fred Paul deserves a lot of credit for coming up with this idea. I may sound effusive about this CD, but, once you get it, I am certain you will have the same reaction. I dare say this is probably the best CD to have come out at the end of 1999. So if you have not bought your copy yet, you are late. This is a collector's item. The CD says Volume 1; I am anxiously waiting for volume 2.

Another gem also came out for the end of the year: Réginald Policard's CD entitled "Ki sa nou ye". This is Policard's third solo album if I am not mistaken. I never hesitate to buy his albums when they come out because I am always assured of the high quality of anything he is involved in. This CD is no exception. If anything, I find that with each one of his CD, he seems to mature even more and in my view, his latest one is the best. The title tune Ki sa nou ye , very tastefully sang by Réginald Lubin, is a pretty, reflexive song written by Policard who shows his philosophical approach to life. As usual, a Policard album would not be complete without lyrics by poet Syto Cavé. The second tune "Chak jès" composed also by Policard (in fact, he wrote all, but two of the nine tunes on the CD) contains lyrics by Syto Cavé.

This is just poetry in music. Many Haitian groups would do well to get inspiration from those lyrics to learn how to write nicely. Policard is accompanied by some solid musicians like Dadou Pasquet who is the lead singer on tune No. 2, Herman Absolu (drums), Richard Barbot (bass), Béatrice and Antonio Kébreau Jr. whose father Antonio himself was quite a good singer in his own right and some others. I was not at all familiar with the voice of Réginald Lubin and it was quite a discovery for me. The guy has a very nice , melodious and accurate voice. Policard's treatment of two classics "Reloj" by Roberto Cantoral and "Yoyo" are a real treat. Policard lets his inspiration flow freely and the result is nice melodic lines. In the traditional "Yoyo", we find him in a pensive and romantic mood and the guitar played by Ralph Millet responds nicely. Policard plays a brand of Konpa Dirèk which is quite sophisticated and lyrical. Listen to tune No. 5 "Wa fèm konnen" so ably sung by Réginald Lubin. This is the kind of Konpa which does not make any noise. I also particularly enjoyed the instrumental tune No. 5 "Coïncidence", which reminds me of the music of Dave Grusin. There is some very nice keyboard work by Policard.

The mixing is excellent, the instruments come out clearly and most important, the lyrics make sense and you can feel that Policard puts in as much work in the lyrics as in the music. I wish that were the case for so many other groups. There are still a few mistakes in the Kreyòl spelling, but this is a far cry from what I have seen with other groups. For the most part, you can feel the determination to do right on Policard's part. This is a wonderful album which any music lover should have in his or her collection.

Another nice surprise for me was the new CD by Skandal. My experience with this CD is that the more I listened to it, the more I liked it . The music grows on you. Entitled "Lakou Lakay", I guess it should be classified as New Generation type of music; however, its brand of Konpa Dirèk is quite sophisticated. The arrangements are superb and very intricate. You will find some familiar names like Claude Marcelin and Gary Nosile on guitars. The sax player who is unfamiliar to me, does a very good job. I particularly enjoyed listening to the voice arrangements.

The songs are mostly written by John Doane et Patrick Handal and these guys sing in impeccable English, without accent. Tune No. 3 "Gitano" starts off like a nice slow, soulful melody, with wonderful arrangements of voices and later, turns into a solid salsa which sounds like an authentic Latin band. These guys definitely seem to have a bent for the romantic, as 9 out of the 10 tunes deal with romantic themes. But, - and this is a lesson for other groups dealing with the subject -, you can write romantic lyrics without being flat. Those lyrics are nice and make sense. Tune No. 5 "Love for ever" is a pretty slow melody. I particularly like tune No. 6, a very nice Konpa . The saxophone and the voices sound very melodious. I was really impressed with the vocal arrangements and if the group maintains its present course, I think it will go far. It reminds me of the group "Zèklè" to a certain extent, but its music is much fuller. The full orchestra sound coming out of the keyboard programmed by John Doane is simply superb.

The mixing could have been better, as some instruments could be clearer. But it is more than acceptable. I suspect that the mellow tone of the singer's voice must have presented some challenges to the engineers. In any case, I urge you to run to the store to get your copy. You will like it.


A cry of alarm

You may or may not have noticed something very important in the Chroniques. I have not reviewed any CD by a female artist in a while now. This is simply due to the fact that lately, there has been a great scarcity of Haitian female artists on the market. In my view, this is cause for alarm. I know there are quite a few female artists out there: Emmeline Michel, Yannick Etienne, Ginou Oriol, Gina Dupervil, Myriam Dorismé, Carole Demesmin, Patricia Juste, Sharon Button, the singers from the Groupe "Riské" to name but a few. This list is far from being exhaustive. I think that this situation certainly warrants some serious investigation.

Is it a question of money? There is no doubt about the importance of this aspect. Is it a matter of management? Traditionally, Haitian artists, male or female have always had problems with adequate management of their affairs. Are they being shut out of the market by Haitian producers? That also is a possibility. Is the public at large ignoring them to the point of discouraging them from producing? I do not have an answer to all these questions, but my observation is that these days, when you hear Haitian female artists, it is most often as background vocals or in tandem with someone else. This situation is quite unfortunate, for, if this is the case, we would be going back from where we were as recently as a few years ago, when Haitian female artists were providing the fire of protest in the streets. I sure hope that this situation will be remedied in the near future and that our Haitian producers will take up the issue.

Serge Bellegarde