CD Review no. 46 | All CD Reviews

Quite a few new CDs have been released since the last Chronique, and in the course of the next few weeks, be ready for an onslaught of new sounds in all categories.

To start this week, if you are in the search for a mood setting album, I have just what you need. Check out Michel Ange Bazile's most recent work "Romance". He could not have chosen a better title for this CD. The music is exquisitely soothing and harmonious. Although he has not released a singing CD - he seems to have opted definitely for the instrumental sound,- Michel Ange Bazile's music is quite enjoyable. He is also quite a composer, having written 11 of the 12 tunes on the CD.

Right from the first tune, you can feel the romantic side of Bazile. The melodies of the songs evoke such lyricism that you cannot help but feeling relaxed. It is just perfect as background music or, as I say, to set a romantic mood. Listen for example to the haunting quality of tunes No. 1, 6, 10, and 12.

Of course, M. Bazile task is greatly supported by this other prolific musician-composer-arranger Serge Duviella. Indeed, his mastery of the synthesizer sound and his ingenious use of the different sounds do a fantastic job of creating this perfect. I have a feeling Duviella is always experimenting and looking for new sounds and the results are amply convincing. Tune No,. 9 is the only one on the CD that was written by both Bazile and Duviella. It shows how good a team they make working together. The arrangements are excellent. Although I sometimes miss Michel Ange Bazile's beautiful voice, I must say that we are quite well compensated by his instrumental CD. I find this one of his best yet. The mixing is excellent, the sound as pure as you can find. If you want to feel romantic or are looking for nice background music for your office, do not hesitate to buy this CD. You will be more than satisfied.

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From soothing music, we move to Konpa Dirčk, specifically a CD which was recently released by Prince Ello, better known a the singer for the Miami group Dzine.

In general, this is a very entertaining album. Some of my favorite Konpa artists are supporting Prince Ello: Yves Albert Abel on the bass, Shedley Abraham on the drum and many others. The brass section is excellent and sounds very full. Judging by their name, they seem to be from Latin America as well as the US.

As a Konpa singer, I like very much Prince Ello's voice. When you listen to him, you cannot fail to take notice of the tone and the way he sings. It sounds like he is telling a story and not just singing words. In that respect, his voice is refreshing and sounds natural. Listen for example to tune Nos. 2, 4, or 6. My favorite tune on this CD has to be tune No. 6 "Haďtiens", obviously because to the theme it covers. In it, Prince Ello laments the fact that so many things are wrong in the country, and urges Haitians to join forces to protect what we have, if we do not want to lose everything later.

The mixing is pretty good, you hear all the instruments well and it would make a good party CD. The lyrics are not as bad as some I have heard from other groups, although I still think that there is room for improvement. I do not hesitate to recommend it to your Konpa collection, you will no regret it.

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Happy birthday, Windows on Haiti!

Saturday marked the third anniversary of Windows on Haiti. Congratulations are much in order to the webmaster Guy Antoine for the monumental work he has been doing all this time in maintaining the site and spending time, money and energy in offering a quality product to the community at large. For my part, I am grateful that he allowed me the space to present the Chronique musicale, which I hoped contributed over the last two years to attracting more readers while making Haitian musicians better known to the non Haitian public. May Windows on Haiti continue to grow and grow!

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Could it be that Les Ambassadeurs are staging a comeback? It certainly seems so. They have been rehearsing real hard. In fact, on April 21, they played in Boston and Pascal Albert came from Haiti for that dance. Their music is being played quite often these days. Marc Records released Vol 3 of some of the best slow ballads by les Ambassadeurs. For those of you who want to relive those sweet moments, that is it. I wonder though if the members of the Ambassadeurs are receiving royalties from the release of their music on CD. Probably not. In June, les Ambassadeurs are scheduled to play in New Jersey. I will keep you posted, as more information becomes available.

Serge Bellegarde