World Creole Music Festival 2008
Saturday Night Concert
Saturday night brought a very full evening of veteran bands showcasing the diversity of Creole music including such artists as: MFR of Dominica, Swinging Stars of Dominica, Djakout Mizik of Haiti, Sean Paul of Jamaica, Tabou Combo of Haiti, Triple Kay of Dominica and Carimi of Haiti.
MFR (Dominica):
MFR (Music For Real) of Portsmouth, Dominica opening the 2008 World Creole Music Festival saturday night on a strong note. With a sensational set strong material heavy bouyon laden rhythms with a freestyle vocals led by Edmund “Chum” Telemac. The 7 member group featured an interesting interaction between the drums and keys on the rollicking bouyon rhythms, and staccato vocals from the lead punctuated by hornlike keyboard phrases between and the whole band on the chorus and some twisted guitar licks from Leonel Edwards thrown into the mix.
MFR thrilled the audience
The band currently features: Leonel Edwards on guitar, Clement Peters on lead keyboards, Josiah Pierre-Louis on rhythm keyboards, Edmund Telemac on lead vocals, Benjamin Stewart on vocals, Dwight Seaman on Bass and Kidron Alexander on drums. These guys were having fun and the energy was infectious. “We just here to play real music” sums up their philosophy and adds keyboardist Josiah Pierre-Louis: “bring Dominican music to the world.” Although this young band has yet to record a CD their music can be heard on myspace www.myspace.com/mfrband1
Swinging Stars (Dominica):
From the upstarts we moved to the veterans with the big-band Swinging Stars of Dominica, who provided an excellent set of music. The band has been active since 1959, so over 49 years - and several of the key original members are still performing with the group, which has retained its sound and unique belnd of Cadence-Lypso. Those veteran band members include: Philip Hosford (vocals), Bingsworth Casimir (trumpet), Norman Letang (band leader and Saxophones), and Marcel Cruickshank (formerly a drumer but now the band's sound engineer).
NNorman Letang (right) bandleader and saxophonist of Swinging Stars
The entire band for the World Creole Music Festival performance included: Norman Letang on saxophone, Bing Casimer on Trumpet, Linford Destouche on Trombone, Peter Letang on keyboards, Angus Benjamin on keyboards, Franklin Harris on bass, Glenford John on Guitar, Vaughn Letang on Drums, Chester Letang on Voclas, Phillip Horsford on Volca, Marcil Cruickshank on Engineer. We were struck by the tight and punchy horn section, which includes Trombone, Tenor Sax and Trumpet - which permeated over the hard charging soca and calypso rhythms that the band often emanated. Throughout the set, the drums continued to accelerate, full of energy and deftly shifting through the complex stew of sounds - Calypso, Candence, hard Soca, Reggae, and Soul music.
Following the performance, we were able to catch up with Norman Letang (band leader and Saxophones) to learn a bit more about (1) what makes Dominican music unique among Caribbean musics and (2) some more depth on the history of this veteran music group. "Long ago we had our old type of music but the carnival, it was called "Passeou" - you understand - so I suppose we grew up in this thing and then you have Trinidadian sound, which had like a slower type of Calypso - and in the North is the faster rhythm - and we (in Domininca) are in the center of the Caribbean, so somewhere in between for tempo. And then there is the French influence also - you know Cadence - and so I think everything put together made our music different. It so it sounds different to all the other bands. " We politely asked Norman to give us a little more background on this "rhythmic difference" which is unique to Dominican music - to try to better pinpoint it and get our finger around it - "The actual rhythm - the traditinal rhythms - well, I know years ago when we just started the band - we used to have 1 guitar, and then we brought in the 2nd guitar, and we got an organ, so we kept the organ and the guitar, just so you just kept the guitar strumming - and we copied the piano strumming (on the guitar) and then note on the guitar."
Scrunter------------------------------------------------------------Wizzard
Being a saxophonist and a guitarist, I found myself revisiting the band's superb horn section with Norman, who excels on his Saxophone, leading not only the horn section but the entire band. "Its a big band sound - and the horn section - tonight it is is 3 horns but we have had 4 previously! Four is great, but if we have 3 very good horns, as we have tonight, then it sounds very good still." We next reminisced about the history of the group. "The group has been around for 49 years now - I (on saxophone) joined in 1961, the trumpeter joined in 1960, the dummer in 1959. My brother was an original member. It was formed by a group of friends, young guys - schoolboys. Cause it was called the "Swinging Teens" - and as it got older, and when we got into our 20s, we changed it to "Swinging Stars". So we have all been together for a long time. Some guys have left, and some guys have come, but like my brother was transfered so we got another drummer, but his son is the singer, and my son is the keyboard player, you know - so thats how it is. So we always have a quorum in the band that keeps it together. "
Rabbit performing with Swinging Stars
Lord Tokyo
Lord Tokyo demonstrated his blend of classic Calypso peppered with elements of Dominican traditional styles. As with most classic Calypsonians, Lord Tokyo is first and foremost a lyricist. He performed a set heavy with tales of Calypso double entendre and the band sparkled behind his somewhat gravely and expressive voice which enunciated the songs with emotion. When we caught up with Lord Tokyo after the set, we learned more about his history and were able to pick up a copy of his album, entitled "Sweet, Hot & Spicy" which featuers 10 of his classics including the highly recommended "Sylvia's Mother - Dr Hooks & The Medicine Show". [Note to other performers at future WCMFs, it is handy to bring along a supply of your music, as many fans visiting, such as ourselves, are more than ready to pick up some of your classic and most recent CDs. In some cases, we found the bands who brought CDs with them had albums that would have been hard to locate back in the US without some significant effort. And what better way than to encourage new fans to collect your music than to offer it immediately following your set]
King Dice, reigning Monarch
Calypso in Dominica is hotly contested with the king chosen in January, during the carnival season, for a one year reign. The 90 minute showcase ran the gamut from old school to the contemporary high enrgy took us from a strut to a gallop. King Dice, Dennison Ikes Joseph, in 2008 made history as he the first four time king. On stage the reigning champ jostled with several former monarchs backed by the Swinging Stars the island’s dominant calypso band in an exciting competitive atmosphere each performer had a few minutes to make their mark before passing the mike to the next. Dice paced the stage regally attired in a large crown, red cape, vest and slacks urged the crowd to come together and do something as one people before launching into a spirited five minute medley. Procceding him in the spotlight were Scrunter, The Wizzard, and Lord Tokyo.
De Hunter
De Hunter
Scrunter, 91, 92, and 95 King opened followed by Merlin “Wizzard” St. Hilaire who won his first title in 1989 singing ‘Feed My Brother’ and ‘Young and Restless’. He won again in 1990 and Lord Tokyo (Hayden Desiree) who in 1967 was one of the first Dominican calypsonians to make a record. Hunter, then the Swinging Stars own Daddy Chess and Phillip Horsford closed the set, Daddy Chess made a costume change into a black military outfit for the finale, a high energy soca tune from their new album that also featured choreographed dancing by the band’s fine dancers. The youthful crowd went crazy as Daddy Chess, reigning Soca Monarch directed them right then left, back then charging toward the stage in one of the unforgettable moments of this year’s festival.
Daddy Chess of Swinging Stars
Djakout Mizik (Haiti):
We continued to discuss the band's music, including its latest disc and active touring schedule, until I heard the opening notes of Haitian super-group Djakout Mizik taking the stage - something that I did not want to miss, so we graciously parted ways with Norman and rushed back to the press section of the stadium to witness Dakout live at Creole Fest. I am happy to report that Djakout's performance thrilled - although it was a relatively short set as compared to most of the other bands... several songs followed by a long extended dance and drum routine and then a rather finale song calling a rather abrupt end to the set - but the high quality their musical performance left us satisfied and craving for the next time we'd catch this band live. Amongst our team at AfricaSounds, Djakout has a bit of a mystique about it - several times over the past 6 years we have headed to one of their concerts only to hear that the band was unable to make the performance (such as WCMF 2006 when the band was a no-show) - and the few times we have seen the band they have been either totally off the charts awesome in terms of their musical energy and quality, or in a few isolated shows (such as Central Park Summerstage a couple years back) they just seemed to be going through the motions. Tonight the band was hot and the crowd was soaking it up like a sponge - and included in their set was a show stoping wake-up call to the strong similarities to the roots and dance styles of the best of the large Haitian Konpa bands and their Congolese music counterparts in Africa (particularly Werrason of Wenge Musica Maison Mere). More on this observation in a bit...
Tonight Djakout Mizik brought with them 10 musicians, including lead singer, one pianist on a Roland keyboard guitar, one drumset, two congas/percussionists (one who doubled as an animateur), one bassist, one guitarists and two person horn section including trumpet and trombone. The band played several of their famous hits and a couple ballads to which [lead singer] sang passionately demonstrating his tremendous strength on vocals. It was however on the dance floor hit "Biznis Pam" that we witnessed what makes Djakout's sound so unique - the looping, repetitive lead solo lines of the Roland keyboard guitar player lurched above the tight bubbling rhythm of the drums and bass, as he took the lead solo which was extended, his lead notes were actually backfilled by the actual guitarist, who played rhythmically around his solo lines (with a twang of reverb and chorus effects tuned just so slightly offkey to give the sound the loopy trance inducing hook that pleases the crowds so) - the result was the classic Djakout sound in the live setting.
The show stopper was actually after all these hits and wonderful ballads when a revelatory moment occurred for me - a musical demonstration of the ever so tight ties between Haitian music and Congolese music. Now the caveat is that I follow central african music (Cameroon, Congo, etc.) near religiously, and it was perhaps because of my strong personal focus on Congolese music that I picked this tie-in up at all - and when I discussed it with Djakout Mizik band members after the performance they too were surprised and thrilled that someone had actually recognized it and brought it up. It seemed that they had not really thought about it before most likely because the african roots of the music just took over naturally in the song construction of their music.
The essence that I have often found so attractive about live Haitian music is that it shares a similarity with Congolese in that there is a sort of "sebene" in the songs. Its widely known fact that within Congolese music there exists a "Sebene" = guitar, drum and bass extended dance portion of a song, following the vocals and ballad part, that builds and ultimately climaxes with high pitched, looping guitar solos and long, drawn out drum and bass rhythms accentuating the folklorique roots in the music. Congolese Sebenes are highly anticipated by melomans (fans of congolese music) and in live concerts I've witnessed sebenes lengthen a song for to 30+ minutes in some highly spirited cases. Living in New York, where there is far more live Haitian performances than live Congolese music performances, I have found myself drawn to Haitian music in part because this hypnotic, drawn out song structure exists in the music, with the finale portion of a live Haitian song taking on the same emphasis of what we could call a "sebene" in Cogolese music, complete with looping keyboards and lead guitars, drawing the music into a long, trancelike affair that makes the dancefloor quiver and quake. I've seen these "sebenes" at concerts by Sweet Mickey, T-Vice, Djakout Mizik and several other newer generation Konpa band. Its generally not quite a pure "sebene" in the Congolese definition, but it certainly is an animation that builds towards a climax and is trancelike in quality.
At WCMF 2008, Djakout Mizik got the closest I have ever seen a Haitian band get to a 4-5th generation Congolese big band sebenes. That night Djakout started a long, drawn out song steeped in Folklorique traditions that focused on drum, bass, guitar and rhythm - which employed a spot-on Congolese style rhythm. As the rhtyhm and groove built up, three of the band's musicians sauntered up to the front of the stage and assembled in a line, and then proceeded to groove and dance in a line dance - much the same vein as the modern Congolese dance orchestras, such as Werrason of Wenge Maison Mere perform to packed crowds in Africa and Europe. The three line dancers focused on moving to the music and the dancers swung their buts to the music, driving the women in the audience wild - and the drummer and percussionist drove the beat with the dancers following, reacting to the syncopating rhythms.
Next, one of the percussionists took the microphone and came out to the front, taking the lead as an animateur who chanted and rapping over the music to driving the dancers onwards and in a way agitate the crowd into a greater frenzy. Behind the animateur, the keyboards, drum and bass stepped up the rhythm and kept increasing the pace towards a musical crescendo and ultimately a climax. The whole pace and structure bore a very strong similarity to the live performances of the modern day Congolese big bands. The animateur that Djakout used was short and spry with a ton of energy and reminded me a lot of the short "Roi David" who Werrason employed at many a live show to stir up and animate the audience. Dance moves, vocal delivery and the rhythm were neraly identical that night between Djakout and many of the Congolese animations that I have seen performed live in concert. There was a total covergence on stage between the musics of Congo and Haiti and the group interestingly employed some accents of Cameroon makossa guitar playing into the mix. The convergence was really an embodiment of the entire music festival, which highlights the diversity of Creole music and its roots to the African continent. I told myself right away that I would find the band's drummer after the set and speak to him about this exciting musical connection that I had just witnessed on stage.
Sean Paul (Jamaica):
After a brief intermission, a DJ with several turntable mixers got on stage and started to spin some pretty heavy tracks accentuated by a light show. The audience took note and turned towards the stage - after a couple of minutes of rather dramatic mixing effects, Sean Paul bounded on stage to join the DJ and the crowd went wild. It was the start of Jamaican dancehall sensation Sean Paul's set and the music was explosive and driven for the couple hour performance, which barely let up its high level energy for the entire set.
Sean Paul started with three new songs, which we had not heard before and we suspect are from his forthcoming album which has a release slated for 2009. The crowd was receptive and we noted that the energy level had stepped up to a level we had not yet seen at this year's WCMF... the press areas was overflowing at capacity - where did all of these photographers and press suddenly materialize from? They had not been around for the other performances. We looked backwards at the large stadium crowd and noted an abundance of gyrating women pressed up against the fence pulsating to the bubbling rhythms and Sean Paul's synchopated delivery.
His band to its credit was incredibly tight, and although the music was commercial, several songs had deep messages which we appreciated. On those numbers Sean provided his own personal commentary prior to each song: topics included condemming violence in Jamaica, a commentary on the truth about war, and a song remembering fallen soldiers who had been in war. Besides for Sean Paul on lead vocals and animations, there were two additional background vocalists who assisted with the tepid duets, a lead rock guitarist who was pleasantly allowed to rip some hard solos, bass, drumset, percussionist, and the DJ Mixer. After tantalizing his fans with new songs, Sean Paul wisely shifted to his large canon of hits which the crowd was able to sing along to each chorus - audience faves included: "Baby Boy", "I'm Still In Love With You" a terrific dancehall remake of the Studio One classic, "We Be Burning", "Ever Blazin", Temperature", "Never Gonna Be The Same" and dozens more.
Audience attention was also kept riveted to the stage due to four very well choreaographed female dancers who had all our eyes engaged due to their tight dancing moves. Wisely, the dancers would join the stage for only a couple minutes at a time to perform their moves and then exit, allowing Sean Paul and the band to continue with the song - keeping the audience begging for more but not overstaying their welcome on stage. It added a nice sense of variety to the entire stage show. Sean Paul proved to us that he is a top notch entertainer, and the crowd clearly enjoyed his performance.
Tabou Combo (Haiti):
We've seen Tabou Combo perform twenty plus times over the years, and they are always very good and consistent, but this time Tabou Combo sounded better than ever - with a very funky and deep sound, the band was visibly enjoying themselves back in front of the WCMF crowd again. Maybe it was their energy level on this particular night, and perhaps it was the mixing of the bass, guitars and drums, the result was that their sound so closely approximated their classic recordings from the 1970s and early 1980s that night.
Shoubou of Tabou Combo
Yves of Tabou Combo
It was the same band of veterans - some 13 strong with a three piece horn section, bassist, two guitarists, two percussionists, drumset, keyboards and three vocalists. Shoubou and Yves split vocals on the first few numbers, and then passed the torch to younger singer and keyboardist who added a very soulful vocal style and also sang in Spanish. The set list had no big surprises, but touched upon classics we had been yearning for and delivered them all with a punch. Songs such as "Bolero Jouc Li Jou", "Feel Good", "Baissez Bas" complete with a rippling lead guitar that had an essence of Congolese rumba to it, "Aux Antilles", "Fenomene Tabou", "Son La Ri". The crowd danced to many of the numbers, couples danced together and younger audience had a chance to hear from the veretans. Improvisation was encouraged - the bassist lead several really funky solos and his volume was turned way up, just how we like it. Shoubou encouraged the crowd to participate, signalling the connectiveness of the African diaspora and asking the crowd from Dominica, Guadaloupe, Martinqiue, Haiti, Africa, New York to shout out.
Yves Abel on bass
Triple Kay (Dominica):
Triple Kay band made their mark playing fastest hardest set of the festival and proved themselves on the big stage in their second WCMF appearance to be the equal or better of the artists that preceded them saturday night. The set included material from their four CDs “Big Ting” , “Fanatik”, “Sewo” and the latest “All Out”It was easy to see why the outfit from Laudet were honored Dominica band of the year in 2004. They invigorate the Cadence beat with with straight ahead uncontainable energy. Drums and drum programming, bass, and keyboards weave a driving beat over which the lead vocalists Wayne Benjamin and David George challenged the crowd to get motivated.
The youthful fans unleashed a booming chanted response, waving their hands above their heads. Triple Kay’s anthemic songs and high energy performance ended the night of pan Caribbean rhythms with an exclamation point.
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