Chronique no. 21 | Chronique Index

Slowly, but surely, Haitian musicians have been surging on the international music scene. Witness the Fugees, Eddy Prophète, Ginou Oriol, Evald Manigat, to name but a few. There is an important new name to be noticed: Harold Faustin and his sextet. And folks, this is serious business. A warning though. If you are not into jazz, this is not for you. Harold Faustin is a wonderful guitarist in the tradition of Charlie Christian, Jim Hall, Joe Pass. His play is fluid. Even though he started late as a musician, at 24, he certainly sounds like a veteran. As all guitarists, he listened to a lot to Wes Montgomery, but I hear a lot of Charlie Christian and Joe Pass in his playing. Even though he produced a CD in 1993, I had never heard of him until now. Except for one Miles Davis tune, all the other five compositions were written by him, which makes him a composer in his own right, and a pretty good one too. . The music was recorded live in 1996 and only issued on CD this year. This is a swinging album in the tradition of Dizzy Gillespie's Be Bop : fast, full of life and excellent solos. Faustin did not forget his roots while playing jazz. The third tune "Miroir" is a beautiful melody played on a Haitian folkloric beat. Listen in the introduction to the intricate musical interplay between the guitar and the soprano sax played by Charles Papasoff, and all the while, a "yanvalou" beat supporting the song. The fourth tune entitled "Toussaint Louverture" is an upbeat tune which captures the dynamism of the Haitian leader and the many facets of his personality. Again, a folkloric Haitian beat supports the music. The bass player George Mitchel makes a wonderful solo. The percussionist also does a very good job . Most interesting also is how Faustin in the last tune "Manu", even integrates some slow Konpa dirèk into the jazz and swinging back and forth. As I said, if you are into jazz and swing, this album is for you, because it moves. I would love to seem him join forces with Eddy Prophète. What a treat that would be !

Back to Konpa Dirèk, a new group has come of age. Love is a new CD on which you find some former musicians from Mizik Mizik. So the group's name may be new, but the musicians are familiar, for example are Assel and Welmyr Jean-Pierre (they are everyone's guests), Fabrice Rouzier, Raynald Valmé, Jocel Almeus etc. This is a nice album, the kind which grows on you. I found myself liking it more after the second and third time I listened to it. There are some pretty sophisticated arrangements there. The horn section is solid, and the beat is just right. Not too fast , not too slow. There is a kind of serenity in the way the band plays , that is dancing music that does not make you tired. The title tune " Men nou papa " starts off on a reggae beat and turns into a nice slow Konpa beat. In short a nice album to have in your collection.

There is another CD which came out recently and contains an impressive array of Haitian musicians. Djazz la is an interesting album: Yves Albert Abel, Shedly Abraham, Ralph Conde, Alan Cave, Emmanuel Obas, Guy Pageot, Jacques Sauveur Jean, Mackarios Cesaire, and many more, are some of the musicians you can hear on the medleys on this album. The first tune which is a medley is a nice Konpa Dirèk. The second tune "Don't leave me" is a well-known tune by the American Rap group Black Street. It is played on a konpa beat and the arrangement is quite original. I found though that the CD'suffers from poor mixing which takes away a lot from the music. With such great musicians, it is very unfortunate, for, the more you listen to it, the more things you discover. Shedly Abraham on the drums, is a very interesting and imaginative drummer. The fourth tune " San ou ", features a nice bass solo by Yves Abel Albert and very good guitar work by Mackarios Cesaire. So it is worth adding it to your collection nevertheless.

ETC. ETC.

Les Ambassadeurs had a very good dance in Miami on June 12. Guitarist Rousseau Telfort has been added to the group which, I understand is getting ready its Haiti tour. If I am not mistaken, they should be travelling on July 28 or so. If you are going to be in Haiti during that time, get ready for the 7ème flotte and go back memory lane.........You'll have a lot of fun.

On tour also this week is a very good group of young Haitian musicians called "Meli Melomane". They will be in the Washington area in concert at the World Bank on June 23, Church of Our Savior on June 24 and St. Patrick Episcopal Church on June 25. I will tell you more about them in my next chronique.

Serge Bellegarde