Caribbean Voyage: Caribbean Sampler

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In 1962, as many Caribbean islands threw off the yoke of colonial rule, ethnomusicologist-folklorist Alan Lomax boarded a plane for the Caribbean, hauling a tape recorder and a pair of three-foot-high loudspeakers. His plan: to travel through the Lesser Antilles, the chain of islands on the southeastern edge of the Caribbean sea, and record in the field the music, rituals, and dance that survived the Middle Passage from freedom to slavery, as well as the Creole hybrids that resulted from the interactions between slave and master. He would then play those sounds back to their delighted makers and capture their reactions. When he returned, he brought back even more than volumes of musical treasures that would otherwise have been lost. These recordings, released in a series of crisply remastered, state-of-the art CDs, are testaments of survival, of the stubbornness of human faith. Caribbean Sampler (which offers an overview of the entire series) tracks Lomax's travels through Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Carriacou, St. Lucia, St. Barthelemy, Anguilla, Trinidad, and Nevis, where he captured the instruments and voices of both the achingly young and touchingly old. Also featuring Lomax's astute questions and the makers' articulate explanations, this series is "edutainment" at its most enlightening. The music is utterly delightful; the presentation priceless, and altogether it eloquently affirms the lines by reggae avatar Bob Marley, "One good thing about music / When it hits / You feel no pain." --Elena Oumano

Tracks:

Domincia: No More Love For You Again - Everard DeJean/Augustus Edward/Raymond Giraudel/Cecil Austrie/Oliver Andrew
Grenada: Shango - Norris Welsh
Grenada: E-We, E-We-Lo, Ogun Bayamba - Emmanuel McQueen/Mrs. Henry Mitchell/Alice McQueen/Edna Jeremiah/Lena McQueen...
Grenada: Do-Do Piti Popo - Irene McQueen
Donimcia: In A Fine Castle - Chorus Of Schoolgirls
Domincia: Olilala Way O - May Elias/Carrie Belle Gervais/Clemencia Nicholas/Anelta Nicholas/Marselena Taverner...
Domincia: Lawivye Leza, Sove Nou! - Victor Johnson/George Etienne/Seaford Simon/Clemence Taverner
Domincia: Mwen Boyko Samba - The Rise And Shine Steel Band
Guadeloupe: Pa Lage - Valey Turenne/Guy Dorvan/Joseph Valey/Pierre Ramier/Herbert Dorvan/March Alphonse...
Martinique: Beguine Noce-Ta - Malcousu Florius/Raoul Grivallier/Augustin Gourpil/Casimir Grivallier
Martinique: Mariwoz-O - Rauol Grivallier/Augustin Gourpil/Malcousu Florius/Casimir Grivallier
Martinique: Lecamille - Francius Laurence/Bernard Karaman/Pauliny Laurence
Carriacou: Djerika-O - Mary Fortune/Sugar Adams/Daniel Aikens/Caddy Lazarus John
Carriacou: Long Time Ago - Newton Joseph And Chorus
Carriacou: Hush Baby Hush - Tida Lazarus
Carriacou: Gone To Nineveh - Virginia Sylvester/Beatrice Dick/Derrick Lejen/Sheret Joseph/Faith Lawrence/Sweet Honey Duncan...
Carriacou: Breakaway - Canute Caliste/Gorine Joseph/Willie Alexander/Sonnel Allert
Carriacou: Corporal Williams - Chorus/Sugar Adams/Daniel Aikens/Caddy Lazarus
St. Lucia: Elena - Philomene Estephane/Chor
St. Lucia: Boy La, Boy Poko Mo - Boy Ramine And His Orchestra
St. Barthelemy: Le Moine Se Levait D'un Grand Matin - Manuel Magras
Anguilla: Tree Fall Down - Florence Brooks/Chor
Trinidad: Crow Mammy Crow - Cyrus Smith/Julian Carey/Cyril Balfour/Paul Charles/Cheery Noel/C. Jemmot...
Trinidad: Mary-O - Mickey Bentic/Edward Goddard/Bloria Mendez/Thomasine Affet/Sylvia Baptiste/Angela Phillip...
Trinidad: Doption - Reverend Olsie Cowan And The Syne Villiage Spiritual Baptist Congregation
Trinidad: Rio Manzanares - Sicirako Ramiaze
Trinidad: Caproal Ojoe - Vascoe De Freitas/Ellick Waithe/Albert Dowdy/Donald Roberts/Sylvie Felix/Reynold Waithe...
Trinidad: Senorita Panchita - The Growling Tiger
Trinidad: Ramayan Chaupai - The Saraswati Prakash Group
Trinidad: Tell Me Lord When I Can Go Home - Reverend A. Dickson/Ebenezer Elliott/Congregation Of Indian Walk London Baptist Church
Nevis: A-Cling, A-Cling - The Marigolds

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In 1962, as many Caribbean islands threw off the yoke of colonial rule, ethnomusicologist-folklorist Alan Lomax boarded a plane for the Caribbean, hauling a tape recorder and a pair of three-foot-high loudspeakers. His plan: to travel through the Lesser Antilles, the chain of islands on the southeastern edge of the Caribbean sea, and record in the field the music, rituals, and dance that survived the Middle Passage from freedom to slavery, as well as the Creole hybrids that resulted from the interactions between slave and master. He would then play those sounds back to their delighted makers and capture their reactions. When he returned, he brought back even more than volumes of musical treasures that would otherwise have been lost. These recordings, released in a series of crisply remastered, state-of-the art CDs, are testaments of survival, of the stubbornness of human faith. Caribbean Sampler (which offers an overview of the entire series) tracks Lomax's travels through Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Carriacou, St. Lucia, St. Barthelemy, Anguilla, Trinidad, and Nevis, where he captured the instruments and voices of both the achingly young and touchingly old. Also featuring Lomax's astute questions and the makers' articulate explanations, this series is "edutainment" at its most enlightening. The music is utterly delightful; the presentation priceless, and altogether it eloquently affirms the lines by reggae avatar Bob Marley, "One good thing about music / When it hits / You feel no pain." --Elena Oumano