Haitian Konpa dirèk has gone a long way toward gaining recognition throughout the World musical stage. Indeed, it is not unsusual now to find Haitian music in some anonymous record store alongside Reggae, Soca and so on. Throughout the Caribbean, Konpa dirèk has influenced quite a few West Indian musicians from French as well as English speaking Caribbean. Among French speaking West Indians influenced by our music, a couple of names come to mind: Eric Virgal, Simon Jurad, Ronald Rubinel to name but a few.

Last year, following a trend dating from a few years, Ronald Rubinel produced a very nice compact disk which is a «who's who» of the most popular Haitian singers: Shoubou (Tabou Combo), Isnard Douby (System Band), Zouzoul (Ska Sha) Dadou Pasquet (Magnum Band), Cubano (Ska Sha) and many more. Compakolor, the title of the CD is a real kaleidoscope of the best Haitian Konpa singers. The first tune is a medley showcasing their talents, with the melodious sound of Gérard Daniel, the sax player from Volo Volo of Boston. Larose (Missile 727), Yves Abel (Tabou’s bass player) etc. they are all there. One wished however that Ronald Rubinel had included a few lead female singers among the group, instead of having them only in the background. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable and colorful CD.

This year, Denis Nozile best known as Ti Polis, put out a very nice compact disk. Ti Polis is a multitalented guitarist, composer, keyboard player who has an impressive record, even if he is not a household name. He has played with everybody, starting with these icons of Haitian music, Les Frères Déjean of Pétionville, with DP Express, made arrangements or composed for a vast array of Haitian groups. All the songs on his CD have been composed and arranged by him and he has done an excellent job playing some solid Konpa. Another CD for your collection.

There is a new Haitian musician on the block, sort of. Fanfan Jho Louis is a Haitian who has been living in the Washington , D.C. area for quite a while now. He is not your typical Haitian Konpa musician. A member of Image Band, a Caribbean band based in Washington D.C. , he plays everything: soca, reggae, blues, ballads, pop music, you name it. His CD which came out less than a year ago reflects his diverse background. He has not put aside his Haitian roots though as the title of the songs indicate. Ten of the fifteen songs have creole titles. What he plays can be best characterized as modernized Haitian folkloric music sometimes called «voodoo jazz». The arrangements are quite sophisticated and all songs are written by Fanfan. The only drawback in my view is that the mixing could have been better. Sometimes, some instruments do not come out clearly enough. Otherwise, there are some wonderful arrangements llike the third tune titled «Rio by night», a very nice bossa nova beat. Other tunes like Frè Do, Carelus, Pese Café are also noteworthy.

Following the trend of rehabilitating old Haitian music, last year, a CD of Ensemble Weber Sicot came out . This recording was made when the band was only eight months old in the late sixties . It is good to listen to those tunes again and go down memory lane. While everyone has been rightly paying homage to Nemours Jean-Baptiste, the founder of Konpa dirèk, not enough credit is given though to Weber Sicot, a contemporary of Nemours Jean-Baptiste, band leader and astonishing instrumentalist who played the alto and tenor saxophone with equal ease. He began playing early on alongside other band leaders like Guy Durosier, Issa El Sahieh etc. Older Haitians may remember the wonderful solo he made in that old song «Poul la pete shodyè».Two musicians who used to play with Weber Sicot are now considered among the best in Canada: pianist Edy Prophète and bassist Evald Manigat. The former is probably the best jazz Haitian piano player while the latter heads a group which has received many honors in Canada. Even though he his no longer with us, Weber Sicot has left us a legacy of nice music and memories of lively competition with his «rival» Nemours Jean-Baptiste. Let us hope there will more of his music on CD soon.

Serge Bellegarde