Haiti

Voodoo or voudun is a religion originating in the coastal region of West Africa. Voodoo means God or Spirit. Today, voodoo magic is practiced by millions of people across the world, especially in Africa & the Caribbean. The complex rhythms of Yoruban drums, the roots of urban African & Afro-Caribbean music, call the divine ancestors (loa or orishas) to earth to possess their mediums. Couldn’t really post up music from Haiti without voodoo (voudun) or voodoo influenced music. Here are examples of both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our first example is from Voodoo Drums in Hi-Fi from 1958. The featured drummers are Raymond Baillargau, musically known as Ti-Roro & Ti-Marcel. Ti-Roro is one of the elder statesmen of Haitian ritual drumming. He performed all over the West Indies as well as the United States. He is perhaps the greatest drummer Haiti has ever produced. Younger than Ti-Roro, Ti-Marcel is nonetheless an accomplished drummer, proclaimed ‘King of the Country Dances’ when he was only twenty years old. He was among the drummers who appeared at the Ziegfield Theater in New York City in 1949 for Haiti Week. While there he met & played with Dizzy Gillespie & his Band at Birdland.

Various – Voodoo Drums in Hi-Fi, Atlantic High Fidelity 1296, 1958.

all decryption codes in comments

Side One –
Contradanse: Avant Simple with Flute
Ti-Roro Drum Solo I
Ti-Joe Carabien
Meringue with Flute
Nan Point la Vie Encore Oh!
Laissez Yo Di

Side Two –
Rara Riffs
Contradanse: Avant Simple with Accordion
Annonce Oh Zange Nan Dio
Contradanse: Avant Simple & Meringue with Flute
La Misere Pa Douce!
Ti-Roro Drum Solo II

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next is Voodoo Drums from the Drummers of the Societe Absolument Guinin features drum rhythms of Vodou recorded in Port au Prince, Haiti.

The closest New World relatives of West African ritual drumming reside in Haiti with voodoo & Cuba with santeria. On this remarkable record of Haitian voodoo drumming, no other instruments dilute the power of the drums. Head drummer Harold Laurenceau leads an ensemble of players who work the full range of pitches available from animal skins stretched over resonant wooden frames. High crackling detail runs alongside stuttering mid-range counterpoint with the heavy warmth of deep tuned drums are all present here.

Compared to the drummers of West Africa, this ensemble interprets texture at a much more dynamic level. The rhythms rest upon an underpinning of structure unique to each piece, dedicated to bringing individual spirits to the physical world. But within these loose constraints, the drummers take maximum liberties to add, subtract, & alter notes. Repetition yields to improvisation, resulting in a potent sense of collective intercommunication. If you listen to this music with an open heart & a receptive mind, you'll feel the higher energies gathering with each successive beat. As voodoo is about spiritual transport, this record will take you into vast, unimagined territory.

Drummers of the Societe Absolument Guinin – Voodoo Drums 2xLP, 

Universal Sound US LP 16, 2001.

Side One –
Yanvalou
Africanadou
Rongol
Zepol
Dahome

Side Two –
Congo
Mai
Parigol
Contredance
Afranchi

Side Three –
Juba
Petro
Kita
Boumba
Koye

Side Four –
Zepol
Areyen
Mas Karon
Ibo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, this offering which is not voodoo but is influenced by the daily presence of voodoo in Haitian life. This is twoubadou music. It was played by poor workers that commuted to Cuba for work & traveled back to Haiti. It encompasses Cuban bolero & son & is sometimes classified as Haitian bolero. It also mixed jazz, Haitian meringue, & voodoo/folk rhythms.

Les Cayes is a seaport town in southwestern Haiti. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes is one of Haiti's major ports, with export trade concentrating on mostly coffee & sugarcane. Meridinales des Cayes are from Les Cayes. On this album they are: Camille Maignant – bandleader & saxophone; Pierre Denon Morin (who died from prostate cancer at the age of 68 on February 8, 2011) – lead vocals; Dougone Louis & Raymond Oscar – vocals with various other uncredited musicians.

Meridionales des Cayes – Manman Zô, Ibo Records ILP 168, 1972.

Side 1 –
Manman Zô
St. Jacques

Side 2 –
Zanmi Fem
A Ma Rosie
Petite Brune
Fête champêtre

Enjoy,
NØ