Tracing the Evolution of Haitian Fight Song

 

Charles Mingus composed "Haitian Fight Song" in the mid-1950s, during the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement and just as significant social change was sweeping across the United States. Mingus said he wrote this song while thinking about the injustices in the world, and because of the success of the Haitian Revolution in ending slavery and French colonialism, Haiti was used as a symbol of resistance to racism, colonialism, and every kind of injustice one could think of.

Mingus would return to this song multiple times in his recording career. The first time he recorded "Haitian Fight Song" was a live show at Cafe Bohemia in New York, featuring Max Roach on drums. The early version of the song is not as moving because it lacks the tempo changes and extended Mingus bass solo of his 1957 recording. Anywho, this early version of the song unfortunately lacks drum solos, which should come as a surprise since Max Roach was THE jazz drummer of the 1950s. Like Mingus's future recordings of "Haitian Fight Song," this early version is blues-based and the solos never stray too far from it. Another weakness of this version is the relaxed approach from the drummers. As a 'fight song' one should expect fiery performances from each musician.

Here is the second version of the tune, recorded in 1957 as part of The Clown, Mingus's 2nd studio album. The title track of the album is jazz poetry, featuring the Mingus band playing behind someone reading a poem about a clown. "Haitian Fight Song" reaches its most epic heights in this album version, with bass solos, tempo changes, screeching and screaming horns, an insistent beat that never quits, and a length of about 12 minutes. This is the version of the song most people know, or should know if they're unfortunate enough to have never heard it before. The horn players really make it though, despite Mingus's fine bass work.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Haitian+Fight+Song/qQcfP?src=5

Mingus peformed the song again for his Oh Yeah album,  recorded in 1961 and displayed Mingus's more humorous side. Mingus plays the piano and sings instead of playing double bass and the album is all blues-based pieces. One of the more hilarious moments on the record is "Eat That Chicken," a song about eating chicken that refers to Fats Waller's comic novelty pieces. Another Mingus protest song can be found on this record, though. "Don't Let Them Drop that Atomic Bomb on Me" is classic Mingus, though with more humour than we're accustomed to. "Hog Callin' Blues," the song on the album that is based on "Haitian Fight Song," is significantly different due to the shouts from Mingus on piano, the solos are bluesier, and rowdier while the main melody from "Haitian Fight Song" is not repeated as often as I would like (only at the beginning and the end). Still, it's classic jazz and classic Mingus, the Angry Man of Jazz. Brassy, bluesy, and loud. It is also hilarious to hear Mingus sing the intro without lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv1Yewr6Z5s
http://grooveshark.com/s/Hog+Callin+Blues/3Picwh?src=5

Only 2 years later, Mingus recorded another version of "Haitian Fight Song" as "II B.S." This version is shorter and played faster than the 3 previous versions. A little under 5 minutes long, but still brassy and bluesy. However, the short length undermines the song's strength in my opinion, since I would like to hear the soloists play longer. However, this faster tempo really does match the "Fight Song" part of "Haitian Fight Song."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmE8T09-G4&feature=related

The Mingus Big Band, a group formed after his death to keep his music alive, also recorded "Haitian Fight Song." Their version is far from my favorite, but still delivers a punch to the face of injustice. A little over 8 minutes long, I believe the length is enough for the soloists to improvise over, but the first saxophone solo's pitch is too high in my opinion. The sound is almost grating to my ears, honestly. They also take the song into different directions with the horn lines, changing it from the Mingus versions I know and love. The trumpet solo is quite good though, at least to my, for the most part, musically-untrained ears. However, the short drum solo doesn't quite do it for me.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Haitian+Fight+Song/3DN2j2?src=5

A ska-jazz version of the song I recently discovered is also worth listening to in order to see how "Haitian Fight Song" has evolved over the past 56 years. The Ska Jazz group's performance is faithful to the original, but adds a ska beat to the song so it actually sounds Caribbean (Jamaican in this case, and ska owes more to Jamaican calypso and American R&B than to Haitian music). When I first came across the song on youtube, I was shocked that the fusion actually worked, but that ska beat is irrestible.

http://grooveshark.com/s/Haitian+Fight+Song/38nl8F?src=5

David Byrne of the Talking Heads also peformed a faithful jazz version of "Haitian Fight Song." Though only a little under 3 minutes long, it's interesting nonetheless to hear Byrne use the song for his soundtrack album for the film, Young Adam. It's too short for interesting improvisations from the musicians, but it's nice to hear the song used in a film soundtrack so its legacy will live on, even if those who see the film don't recognize the song.

http://grooveshark.com/s/Haitian+Fight+Song/J4rPB?src=5

Jazz musician Pepper Adams, who worked with Mingus on Oh Yeah, also recorded an album of Mingus covers in 1963. One was "Haitian Fight Song," with a mechanical-sounding piano-driven intro. This version takes after the 1957 Clown recording by Mingus, which is a good thing. Because of its nearly 8 minute duration, the soloists have more time to deliver something worthwhile. Indeed, Pepper Adams truly hit the nail with the hammer right on for this cover. Unfortunately, it lacks the strong bass emphasis of the Mingus original and an extended bass solo.

http://grooveshark.com/s/Haitian+Fight+Song/3DPmuv?src=5

Different versions of "Haitian Fight Song" were also sampled by hip-hop artists. RZA, 3rd Bass, and Gang Starr have all sampled different versions of the tune, thereby giving it life in the 1990s and 2000s.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj3Y7hcEM3o&feature=player_embedded 3rd Bass only samples lyrics from Mingus's singing and some of the horns on "Hog Callin' Blues."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNRuR5-zXe0&feature=player_embedded#! Gang Starr samples the bassline of "Haitian Fight Song" about 3 minutes into "I'm the Man."

RZA remixed the 1963 version of "Haitian Fight Song." His remix slows it down at parts, adds in hip-hop drums, and essentially makes it funky. Probably my favorite use of "Haitian Fight Song" in contemporary music, or anything post-1990. For some reason (God onlys knows why) RZA adds in some odd Eastern-sounding cymbals about 2 minutes into the song but quickly goes back into the initial form. It ends more traditionally, with RZA slowing it down. Kudos to RZA, one of hip-hop's great producers, for remixing a Charles Mingus standard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4XPfJIBdxE

My Favorite Eric Dolphy Recorded Moments

Dolphy possessed one of the most unique voices in the jazz world. Talented as an alto saxophonist, flautist, and bass clarinetist, Dolphy could play in the hard-bop, avant garde, third stream, and free jazz styles of the 1950s and 1960s. For example, Dolphy played as a sideman for jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, George Russell, Max Roach, and of course recorded many gems himself as the leader of his own sessions. Unfortunately, many may not enjoy his unique solo voice, which often emulates the cries, shouts, and tones of the human voice. Dolphy often sounds too jarring for some ears, but to each his own, right?

Max Roach's "Man from South Africa" is an anti-apartheid song using Latin rhythms and the blues form. Composed by drummer Max Roach, Dolphy takes the song into interesting directions with his fiery sax solo.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Man+From+South+Africa/2yj3uT?src=5

"Brazilia" live with John Coltrane is one of my favorites, though Dolphy doesn't get as much time to shine as Coltrane and pianist McCoy Tyner. Furtermore, any song that juxtaposes the improvisations of both Coltrane and Dolphy is a masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=hF-5G15ORk0 Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZJo7YIvjvs&feature=related Part 2

Here is Coltrane's "Spiritual, which uses a rare version of "Nobody Knows The Trouble I See, a Negro Spiritual that dates back to the Civil War era, if not earlier. Dolphy's bass clarinet solo is majestic, and because the bass clarinet is seldom used in jazz. In addition to Dolphy's fine bass clarinet, McCoy Tyner lays down the law with his piano and Elvin Jones maintains the rhythm expertly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPTMVQrKi98 Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=aDAhZ3XQC58 Part 2

John Coltrane's "India" is another song featuring fine work from Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet. Mixing the bass clarinet with Indian raga? An excellent idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztDKYI6tVjk

"Ole" by John Coltrane is another Eric Dolphy favorite. Dolphy plays flute on this Spanish-inspired piece, which takes its melody from "Anda Jaleo," a Spanish flameno number which became an anthem for the Quinto Regimiento during the Spanish Civil War.
 http://grooveshark.com/s/Ol+/2rMIDB?src=5 "Ole"

"Dahomey Dance" by Coltrane is a great blues workout piece featuring Dolphy again. His unique voice once again triumphs and in my humble opinion surpasses Freddie Hubbard and Coltrane's solos.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Dahomey+Dance/3P8dw2?src=5 "Dahomey Dance"

McCoy Tyner's "Aisha" also features Dolphy's saxophone playing, which doesn't exactly match the romantic mood of the ballad.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Aisha/3LwuoZ?src=5 John Coltrane, "Aisha" (from the Ole Coltrane album)

Coltrane's "Africa" also features arrangement and flute contributions from Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner
http://grooveshark.com/s/Africa/2I56bp?src=5 "Africa"

Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" is another standout featuring Eric Dolphy's flute. The song is from an album which is a brilliant exploration of the blues form in jazz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I777BcgQL9o

"Miles Mode" is either a John Coltrane or Eric Dolphy composition. Regardless, Dolphy plays alto sax on this live Coltrane recording.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imcloFWi8KE&feature=related

George Russell's version of "Round Midnight" features Dolphy at his best. Amazing interpretation of Thelonious Monk's astounding jazz standard. From the haunting intro to Dolphy's solo, this ranks as one of my favorite jazz songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OILL0185laQ George Russell Sextet featuring Eric Dolphy

Charles Mingus recorded a shorter version of his "Haitian Fight Song" in the 1960s, which featured Eric Dolphy. Here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmE8T09-G4

Mingus's "Freedom" also features Dolphy. Explosive and revolutionary jazz directly connecting itself to the Civil Rights Movement and politics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23sah6aWk3A

Charles Mingus playing a Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn standard, "Take the A Train." Dolphy played with the Mingus Sextet right before his death.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcCJ8vzoiPY
Charles Mingus and Dolphy playing "So Long, Eric," which was a farewell to Dolphy who was leaving the group soon. An epic blues piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtLDeUON2fk&playnext=1&list=PL727228D82F287E11 Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=dP8ltVnER7s&feature=BFa&list=PL727228D82F287E11&index=9 Part 2

Dolphy loved Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" and he performed it live many times on bass clarinet. It sounds very 'angular' and dissonant, yet beautiful at the same time. I'm sure it will be too jarring for some though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPPbeaSH15w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJ_4vSruog A shorter version

Coltrane and Dolphy playing "My Favorite Things" live, Dolphy on flute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq2FTCcd5DM&feature=related

Eric Dolphy playing a beautiful jazz ballad, "Sketches of Melba," on flute.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Sketch+Of+Melba/45lwyz?src=5

Max Roach's "Tender Warriors" has some great fltue playing from Dolphy
http://grooveshark.com/s/Tender+Warriors/3ytHiY?src=5

Mingus's "Original Fables of Faubus" has some great Dolphy soloing
http://grooveshark.com/s/Original+Faubus+Fables/2saybK?src=5

Dolphy's "17 West is a jazz flute workout." I like it because it was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest.
http://grooveshark.com/s/17+West/45lAnj?src=5

Dolphy's "Straight Up and Down" is a bouncy, avant garde jazz composition. Interesting vibes and angular melody.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Straight+Up+And+Down+rudy+Van+Gelder+Edition+1999+Digital+Remaster+/2x6vgY?src=5

"Out to Lunch" is another essential avant garde jazz listen.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Out+To+Lunch+rudy+Van+Gelder+Edition+1999+Digital+Remaster+/2x6uIx?src=5

"Something Sweet, Something Tender" is one of Dolphy's stronger ballads.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Something+Sweet+Something+Tender+rudy+Van+Gelder+Edition+1999+Digital+Remaster+/2x6tUW?src=5

"Hat and Beard" is a tribute to Thelonious Monk and one of Dolphy's best compositions
http://grooveshark.com/s/Hat+And+Beard+rudy+Van+Gelder+Edition+1999+Digital+Remaster+/2x6txX?src=5

"Fire Waltz" is another favorite Dolphy piece of mine, recorded live
http://grooveshark.com/s/Fire+Waltz/2Ho1tk?src=5

"Tenderly" is a saxophone solo piece just for Eric Dolphy.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Tenderly/3ybFhe?src=5

"Out There" is very 'out there' for a jazz song, using a cello, for instance! Still, it swings.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Out+There/3jjMcW?src=5

"Feathers" is another strong jazz ballad
http://grooveshark.com/s/Feathers/2EzgY9?src=5

"Ode to Charlie Parker" http://grooveshark.com/s/Ode+To+Charlie+Parker/3wfdxe?src=5

"Mrs. Parker of K.C." is another tribute to Charlie Parker, though using the blues form in this case. Ron Carter's cello solo in this song is sampled by Del The Funkee Homosapien
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/mrs.+parker+of+kc I found this site in order to actually play the song

All of Me

One of my favorite jazz standards is "All of Me." In my humble opinion, Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner and perhaps Louis Armstrong recorded the most endearing versions of the song. Songwriters Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons indubitably struck gold when they composed this in 1931. Since then, it has been part of the repertoire of many jazz musicians and singers.

Here is Billie Holiday and Lester Young's version of the tune, recorded in 1941. Unfortunately this take lacks Young's tenor solo

Here is Erroll Garner's bouncy and swingin' interpretation. Perhaps my favorite

Django Reinhardt also played the piece

Louis Armstrong

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

One of my favorite Negro Spirituals/folk songs is "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore." I believe it was first sung by African-American slaves living in an island off the coast of Georgia or the Carolinas, where a language like Gullah was able to develop (Gullah is a mixture of various African tongues and English, only spoken by black slaves and their descendants off the coast of South Carolina as a Creole or patois). The song has both religious connotations and similarities to the work song traditions of enslaved blacks and the sea shanties of sailormen. The 'Michael' in the title likely refers to a Biblical figure, or perhaps a slave. Either way, the Halleluiah chorus obviously connects the song to spirituals and the Bible. The lyrics also refer to crossing the river Jordan.

Anywho, the song was first documented during or immediately after the American Civil War. Here are the 'original' lyrics as sung by African-Americans in the 19th century (per Wikipedia):

Michael row de boat ashore, Hallelujah!

Michael boat a gospel boat, Hallelujah!

I wonder where my mudder deh (there).

See my mudder on de rock gwine home.

On de rock gwine home in Jesus' name.

Michael boat a music boat.

Gabriel blow de trumpet horn.

O you mind your boastin' talk.

Boastin' talk will sink your soul.

Brudder, lend a helpin' hand.

Sister, help for trim dat boat.

Jordan stream is wide and deep.

Jesus stand on t' oder side.

I wonder if my maussa deh.

My fader gone to unknown land.

O de Lord he plant his garden deh.

He raise de fruit for you to eat.

He dat eat shall neber die.

When de riber overflow.

O poor sinner, how you land?

Riber run and darkness comin'.

Sinner row to save your soul.

or

Michel, row the boat a-shore

Hallelujah!

Then you'll hear the trumpet blow

Hallelujah!

Then you'll hear the trumpet sound,

Hallelujah!

Trumpet sound the world around

Hallelujah!

Trumpet sound the jubilee

Hallelujah!

Trumpet sound for you and me

Hallelujah!

Here is Pete Seeger's version of the song.

The Highwaymen had a hit with Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

The Beach Boys apparently sang this as well...I don't care for them

This singer sounds a lot like Paul Robeson with his bass singing

A gospel take on the song by Marion Williams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73wNMHs7F18&feature=player_embedded

Reggae Soul: The Fusion of R&B and Jamaican Music

20th century Jamaican music owes African-American music an enormous debt. Ska, rocksteady, reggae, ragga, dancehall, and reggae fusion have all fused the various musical traditions of black Americans and Jamaica in such a way that it is sometimes difficult to tell who influenced who. For example, Jamaican and West Indian immigrants played a large role in hip-hop music in New York and other East Coast cities because they brought the dj and mc traditions of Jamaican sound systems (a tradition that started in the 1950s with the ghetto residents of Kingston) to the United States. However, ska music and its derivatives all owe some something to American doo wop, soul, and jazz. In this post, I endeavor to provide multiple examples of American and Jamaican songs which I believe represent the best of this longstanding tradition of musical exchanges between the Caribbean and the United States. The songs themselves will be mostly post-1950s music with artists such as Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Alton Ellis, Shaggy, Alton Ellis, and Jazmine Sullivan represented. Indeed, some of my favorite "soul" music is actually by Jamaican musicians interpreting American soul or by African-Americans incorporating reggae and other Jamaican music forms into their work.

It all began in the 1950s when the radio became more affordable for working class Jamaicans. Audiences were tuning into radio from New Orleans and DJs who ran the sound systems began to import more records from the United States. New Orleans R&B was incredibly influential on Jamaican musicians as it became a preferred dance music. Jamaican musicians themselves began to play in the often bluesy 1950s R&B style, eventually adding elements of calypso to the forula. This fusion of calypso and American music in its early stages often retained elements of the African-American boogie woogie and other blues forms whilst adding a unique Caribbean rhythm. The following youtube links are several examples of Jamaican or American music which successfully combine elements of soul, R&B, blues, ska, calypso, rocksteady, and reggae.

Fats Domino, My Blue Heaven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjRN-74qPuc
Fats Domino Be My Guest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFX8ujF55bE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciTbj4SX4AM Reggae Merenge, sample in Lily Allen's LDN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTmgVyznNic Fats Domino, Jambalaya on The Bayou
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxhkE6Qj7NA Oh Carolina, early ska (notice the great drumming)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-6i1sXrsx0 Laurel Aitken, Boogie in My Bones (Jamaican ska, very early)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWufkk1iAgs Don Drummond, Man in the Street (1965 ska instrumental)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4bselRH23Q Delroy Wilson, Dancing Mood (rocksteady song, influenced by 1960s soul)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM-ANjhOzV4 Derrick Morgan, Forward March
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIqxnSo-gQ Desmond Dekker, 007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFQSut_eG-k Dawn Penn, You Don't Love Me (cover of a blues classic)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nty-4vUmh-s Bob Marley and The Wailers, It Hurts to Be Alone (based on the Impressions, Chicago soul group)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR8XrBKLc1E Alton Ellis, I'm Still In Love With You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IOSp_26BIA The Impressions, I'm So Proud
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn6yd95fG10&feature=related The Wailers, Cry To Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3F1iWkHhLI Alton Ellis, Cry Tough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=PaWQb1Aw8tM The Wailers, I Need You So (cover of early Temptations song?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr92BdWiiRM Jazmine Sullivan, I Need You Bad (recent R&B hit with reggae rhythm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF0TzvImsl0 Erykah Badu, In Love with You ft. Stephen Marley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ6jPPyLto4 Colombian song from the 1950s that was ultimately sampled by Lily Allen for LDN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR7yhWT-XLA&feature=related The Wailers, I'm Still Waiting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTQL42onK08 Lauryn Hill, Forgive Them Father (sampled Bob Marley's Concrete Jungle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA8UEWLUkd0 The Fugees, No Woman No Cry (cover of Bob Marley classic with hip-hop drums)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCAjfcQGdQk&NR=1 The Wailers, Oh, My Darling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfZPilsfIL4 Wyclef Jean, Gunpowder (sorta Jamaican-influenced)
K'Naan, In Jamaica http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp564QsEgPA
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPfR24E0mRw Damian Marley, Welcome to Jamrock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pslgz9o8meM Shaggy, It Wasn't Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MmB20Tizik Bilal, Is This Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6NNGVHrqho Bob Marley, Waiting in Vain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejUjEpyGeLY Bilal, Home (reggae song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFm5fx80o44 Bad Brains, I Luv I Jah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx3sQzn7loY Alton Ellis, Rocksteady
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i5UL7LqkuA Amy Winehouse's Cupid (a cover of Sam Cooke's Cupid with a reggae beat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rylbj33b8qA&feature=related Amy Winehouse, Money Man (old ska song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2k-xdPCyI0&feature=fvst Amy Winehouse, Valerie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58w2RM4vFDw The Techniques, Queen Majesty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roMuj6qSinE The Wailers, One Love (early version with ska/rocksteady beat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C65p3oons98 Alton Ellis, Why Birds Follow Spring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZ5gVQFG8U The Wailers, Teenager in Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecw5iArVPqg&feature=related Alton Ellis If I Could Rule This World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzthjJI9Xg&feature=related Alton Ellis, Girl I've Got a Date
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVn_Wcu-BKQ The Paragons, The Tide Is High
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNS6D4hSQdA&feature=player_embedded Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Tracks of My Tears was influenced by Harry Belafonte's recording of Jamaican music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez2wYCRjYyY Santigold, Shove It

Mas Que Nada

I love me some Jorge Ben. I haven't listened to enough samba but from what I've heard so far, Jorge is my favorite artist. His first album is especially amazing as well for fusing samba, bossa nova, and jazz. The samba rhythms are omnipresent and the melodies are always simple, yet beautiful.

Jorge Ben Jor original

Sergio Mendes

Miriam Makeba

Chove Chuva is another favorite of mine

Original Chove Chuva

The Origin of Sonny Rollins' St. Thomas

The unforgettable "St. Thomas" from Rollins' Saxophone Colossus is a great example of a jazz musician tapping his Caribbean roots. Rollins is the child of Caribbean immigrants from the Virgin Islands, and his mother's family came to the Virgin Islands from Haiti, if I remember correctly. St. Thomas is also one of the islands within the Virgin Islands, so although the song is of calypso origin, it's dedicated to the homeland of Rollins' parents.

In truth, Rollins was not the first to record the song. Better known as the calypso tune "Fire Down There" (with obvious sexual metaphors), it was recorded by Louis Farrakhan back when he was a calypso singer in the early 1950s and jazz pianist Randy Weston, who is also of West Indian (Jamaican) heritage. Now when Rollins has endeavored to explain the origin of the song, he claimed his mother sang it to him as a nursery rhyme. On another occasion, when interviewed Rollins stated the song came from a Danish song (Denmark had Caribbean colonies so it's not too far-fetched for a Danish song to spread in the Caribbean region). As previously stated, the song is "Fire Down There" and its most likely an original composition in the calypso style that became popular in Jamaica, Trinidad and perhaps other Anglophone Caribbean islands, such as the Virgin Islands.

Here is the earliest jazz recording of the song. By Randy Weston and titled "Fire Down There." Recorded in 1955, one year before Sonny Rollins recorded it for Saxophone Colossus. 

Here is the classic Sonny Rollins recording of the tune in 1956 which features great drumming from Max Roach.

And a live performance of the tune in the 1960s or round about then

Ska version of "Fire Down There" by The Skatalites in the 1960s

http://yankeedollar.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/helan-gar-dey/ Excellent site tracing the origins of St. Thomas

Here is a collection of unreleased Fela Kuti highlife recordings. The second track quotes part of the melody of "St. Thomas."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7CyDi5dTk&feature=related

Paulette (Sigbrien Bellis And Veneise Macelise) - Music Of Haiti (Various Artists)

Paulette (Sigbrien Bellis And Veneise Macelise) - Music Of Haiti (Various Artists)

Beautiful old Haitian meringue

Malaika: Kenyan Love Song

Supposedly composed by Kenyan musician Fadhili William, "Malaika" (angel in Swahili) was first recorded by William in 1963. But I first heard of it through Harry Belafonte and South African singer Miriam Makeba. It has been covered countless times by everyone.

http://grooveshark.com/s/Fadhili+William+Malaika/38AqmZ?src=5 Fadhili William version

Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vQgB6wLksY&feature=player_embedded#at=76 Another Miriam Makeba 

Choucoune: Again with the Haitian Folk Music

The Haitian folk song "Choucoune" (also known as "Yellow Bird") is based on a poem written by a Haitian writer Oswald Durand at the end of the 19th century. It was composed in honor of a beautiful Haitian marabou woman (marabou refers to a dark-skinned Haitian with less 'negroid' features). Apparently this woman was named Marie Noel Belizaire and she ran a restaurant in Cap Haitien in the last few decades of the nineteenth century.

http://webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti-archive/msg01015.html Check this for a more detailed history

The poem was set to music by Haitian composer Michel Mauleart Monton in the 1890s and it became very popular. It was arranged as a slow mereng and eventually found an international audience by the 1940s or 1950s. Harry Belafonte, the Jamaican-American singer who helped popularize calypso and other forms of Caribbean music, recorded the song as well. Many assumed it was of Jamaican origin since they believed it to be a calypso number, but that is only because the title of the song was changed when first translated into English.

Here's Belafonte's version of the song, which only retained the melody. "Don't Ever Love Me."

Here is an Arab-Haitian's jazz/meringue rendition of the Haitian classic. Issa El Saieh was also famous for supporting Haitian art

Haitian woman singing the song

American vocal group singing "Yellow Bird"

http://www.folkways.si.edu/listen2.aspx?type=preview&trackid=21590 Version of the song by Lolita Cuevas and Frantz Casseus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAGKfaTZakQ&feature=player_embedded#at=36

Arthur Lyman's Hawaiian-inflected version of the tune

Celia Cruz and Haitian-Cuban singer's version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4qFwTs0rwQ&feature=related

Angelique-O: Another Haitian Folk Song

"Angelique-O" is a Haitian folk dating back to the American occupation (1915-1934). Apparently it refers to the wife of the American commander during the Occupation who was sent back to the United States. The song had multiple meanings though. To Haitians of both the bourgeoisie and the popular classes, it was a nationalist song demanding Americans leave the country. It's message of freedom is still heard 'round the world today.

I was first exposed to the song through Harry Belafonte's Caribbean music LPs. I initially believed it to be a calypso or Jamaican folk song but something told me it might have a Haitian origin. The name Angelique is French, which would be odd in Jamaica or another anglophone Caribbean island. I eventually found a Haitian rendition of the song (with original Creole lyrics) sung by Puerto-Rican singer Lolita Cuevas and Haitian guitarist Frantz Casseus. This arrangement is Casseus's and all the songs on this LP of Haitian folk songs are arranged as slow meringues and lullabies. I unfortunately could not provide the entire song...
http://www.folkways.si.edu/listen2.aspx?type=preview&trackid=21594

Here is Harry Belafonte's rendition of the song with English lyrics that introduced the song to me. The lyrics here are less explicitly anti-colonial but rather refer to a woman who can't cook and doesn't know how to run a household so she is sent back to live with her mother.

Here is another version of the song with English lyrics by an American group

Meringues and Folk Ballads of Haiti - Meringues and Folk Ballads of Haiti (Various Artists)
check this for a more folksy version of this Haitian standard

Here is Issa El Saieh's jazz-influenced band's interpretation of this song http://www.belmizik.net/Music-Library/I/Issa-El-Saieh/La-Belle-Epoque-Volume-2/Angelique-O.html

EDIT (6/15/2013): My previous interpretation of the song as referring to an American army officer and a local Haitian woman is not what this song is about. I don't recall where exactly that idea entered my head, perhaps Harry Belafonte, but it's not what the song is about.

Exploring Nujabes' Jazz Roots

The late Japanese hip-hop producer Nujabes was well-known for fusing jazz with hip-hop to make some of the best instrumental hip-hop of the 2000s. Although I haven't listened to all of his work, I loved his production for Samurai Champloo and his sampling of American jazz music to create the wondrous collage of sounds in his own music. I've decided to share links to 2 of my favorite Nujabes songs and provide the jazz samples necessary for making them amazing jazz hip-hop.

The first song is "Feather," which samples Yusef Lateef's "Love Theme for The Robe." Lateef loved to play songs from film soundtracks and the best songs on his album, Eastern Sounds (which endeavored to fuse American jazz with Asian music but remains firmly entrenched in the jazz idiom). Nujabes samples the piano for "Feather." Ignore the rapping, which isn't very good...

Instrumental

Yusef Lateef sample. Yusef Lateef made something beautiful here.

Nujabes' "The Final View" is one of my favorite jazz-rap songs of all time. Amazing use of the Yusef Lateef sample here. Again, the song is from a film soundtrack that Yusef lateef had covered. The sample is built on the jazz piano chords and oboe playing of Yusef Lateef with some hip-hop drums thrown in.

Yusef Lateef's "Love Theme from Spartacus"

Ahmad Jamal, a jazz pianist, also covered the song

And here is the original song from the film

Nujabes sampled Ahmad Jamal's take for his "Eclipse"

In addition to sampling jazz versions of soundtracks, Nujabes also samples Brazilian music and post-bop American jazz. His "Horn in the Middle" samples "Joshua" by Miles Davis.

Miles Davis

Live version

Nujabes sampled a Brazilian jazz/bossa nova song for his "Lady Brown." The sample is Luiz Bonfa's "The Shade of the Mango Tree."

Original

Autumn Leaves

"Les Feuilles Mortes" (The Dead Leaves) became "Autumn Leaves" in the United States since it was believed that the title was too depressing for American audiences in the 1950s. Composed by Joseph Kosma, a Hungarian-French composer, for the 1940s French film, Les Portes de la Nuit. Yves Montand first sang the song in the film.

French chanteuse Edith Piaf also sang the song in both its French and English forms.

The American lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer in 1947 and the earliest recording was made by Jo Stafford

American pianist Roger Williams recorded a hit instrumental version of the tune in 1955

Nat King Cole also had success with the song, his version being used in the credit sequence of a 1950s film, Autumn Leaves.

Ahmad Jamal peformed a jazz-inspired take of the song which was influential for the Cannonball Adderley/Miles Davis interpretation on Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else album in 1958. Miles Davis arranged the tune for Cannonball and lifted the bassline from Ahmad Jamal's version. Of course Jamal's version is Latin-tinged and distinctive because of it.

The Cannonball Adderley/Miles Davis take features Art Blakey on drums and Cannonball's bluesy soloing. The best version of the song in my book.

Bill Evans also recorded the song a number of times. Scott LaFaro's bass takes the song into some interesting directions. LaFaro's bass is so melodic it surpasses its role as rhythm.

 "Autumn Leaves" has become one of the most enduring jazz standards, performed by jazz musicians to this day. The chord progression itself uses a sequence quite common in jazz and is quite easy for a jazz musician to practice improvising over.

Dear Old Southland and Deep River

The Negro Spiritual "Deep River," has an unforgettable melody which was used for the song "Dear Old Southland." "Dear Old Southland" was covered by many 1920s jazz groups. Another example of a timeless folk song's melody being revived in another musical idiom.

African-American opera singer Marian Anderson's rendition of "Deep River"

Paul Robeson's version

Albert Ayler's Free Jazz take

"Dear Old Southland"

Duke Ellington

Louis Armstrong

John Coltrane's Greensleeves

"Greensleeves" is an old English folk song from the Middle Ages, probably appearing in the late 16th century and eventually coming to North America with the English colonists. Though often associated with Christmas music, that is largely due to a 19th century English composer using the melody for his hymn, "What Child Is This," which    became a popular Christmas carol. The song itself is based on a form of Italian composition which did not reach England until the Elizabethan period, well after the death of Henry VIII (he couldn't have composed it for Anne Boleyn, contrary to popular belief. Regardless of the song's ultimate origins, like all great folk music, the melodies and lyrics are changed and reused throughout history to create new compositions, such as the Christmas carol, "What Child is This?" or John Coltrane's jazz-based interpretation of the song.

The Weavers' version of "Greensleeves"

Christmas song, "What Child Is This?" sung by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson

Coltrane recorded the song twice in the 1960s, each time using a great bassline. This simple ancient folk song becomes a transcendent experience once Coltrane unlocks its harmonic complexities. McCoy Tyner's block chords and moving piano solos seemingly reveal the deep past of the tune and it's melodic minor beauty. Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner's arrangments for the big band backing Coltrane and the small group work well here, with the big band reduced to solely playing a few note pattern in the background to emphasize the harmony and evoke a majestic feel.

From Africa/Brass

Coltrane's live performance of the tune at the Village Vanguard in the future was quite similar to the aforementioned recording but shorter and without a large band backing the group. Tyner are here again on this on. McCoy Tyner's solo takes the song in some interesting directions as well, venturing far from the melody for some real beauty. All jazz musicians should incorporate folk songs into their standard repertoire!

The Origin of Coltrane's India

Coltrane's India is likely based on an Indian raga, "Raga Bhairavi." Coltrane probably heard it while listening to a field recording of Indian Vedic chants and religious music which led to him composing his own "India." The collection of field recordings was the Smithsonian Folkways Religious Music of India, which was first released in 1952. All the following songs use the Indian drone, something John Coltrane would do quite often in his own recordings, which also proves how heavily influenced by Indian music he truly was. Examples include "Naima," "Om," "Psalm" and many other compositions.

Here is the Smithsonian Folkways record http://www.folkways.si.edu/TrackDetails.aspx?itemid=11722
Check out "Raga Bhairavi" and notice the similarities between it and John Coltrane's India.
http://www.folkways.si.edu/listen2.aspx?type=preview&trackid=11724

Here are some other "Raga Bhairavi" songs I found on grooveshark
http://grooveshark.com/s/Raga+Bhairavi/3A2mXB?src=5
http://grooveshark.com/s/Raga+Bhairavi/3hI7bq?src=5
http://grooveshark.com/s/Raga+Bhairavi/1tuVX1?src=5
http://grooveshark.com/s/Raga+Bhairavi/2Jvm61?src=5
http://grooveshark.com/s/Raga+Bhairavi+Amjad+Ali+Khan+Bismillah+Khan/3UZBEa?src=5

John Coltrane http://grooveshark.com/s/India/3pxxY8?src=5

Tulsa Race Riot

Black Militancy and Nationalism and The Tulsa Race Riot

Black self-defense in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s infamous race riot of 1921 was part of a wider trend in black America. Armed veterans and other African American men rushed to defend Dick Rowland, a man accused of assaulting a white woman in an elevator. As all blacks living in the South quickly learned, any black man accused of touching a white woman was fair game for lynching. This form of resistance, armed self-defense against white lynch mobs, resulted from significant changes in African American racial consciousness and attitude that developed after World War I, Marcus Garvey’s Pan-Africanist message and his Universal Negro Improvement Association’s emphasis on black pride and unity. As blacks throughout the nation returned from service in the Great War and heard the militant and proud rhetoric of Marcus Garvey, the African Blood Brothers, and other black organizations, it became inevitable that they would choose armed self-defense to protect themselves from white violence.

Returning home from military service during World War I was part of the reason for militant black defense of Dick Rowland. In fact, most of the armed black men who came to the courthouse where a white mob initially gathered were veterans, with some who served in France.# The wartime experience these men gained undoubtedly played a role in their preparedness and willingness to fight against the racist white mobs that outnumbered them. These men risked their lives to fight for a nation that denied them civil and human rights, and were therefore radicalized by their experiences abroad. Black men in uniform were treated with respect in France, which expanded their worldview.# After knowing that there alternatives to living in the Jim Crow South or even segregated northern cities, it comes as no surprise that black men would aggressively push for ending racial discrimination. In addition, African Americans were well aware of the obvious contradiction of fighting for a country that deprived them of the rights of American citizenship. Though most blacks in the war were used as labor battalions and perceived as unfit soldiers, some like the Harlem Hellfighters were actually deployed in battle.# Furthermore, while in France, African American soldiers met African soldiers from France’s colonial possessions, which helped form the transnational form of black nationalism and anticolonialism that would emerge with the New Negro and the Negro Renaissance.# 

In addition, the first Pan-African Conference of 1919, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois would be hosted in Paris, and sought colonial reform through ending forced labor, high taxes, providing education and using the profits of colonialism to benefit colonized subjects.# This willingness to meet and cooperate against European exploitation of African colonies exemplifies the strength of international black nationalism. After the War, blacks became more vigilant throughout the South, in order to prevent lynching. Indeed, “black radicalism exploded on the national and international scenes in the forms of the UNIA, Pan-African Congresses, and the African Blood Brotherhood,” which all supported black militancy.#

Another main factor of the rise of black militant self-defense in Tulsa is the Negro Renaissance of the 1920s and the Great Migration. African Americans moved west and north in search of better work with higher wages in industrial jobs, political freedom, employment diversity, and access to information.# Tulsa’s black population did not become significant until 1905, when early black residents came to the oil town from diverse areas of the South and bought property along Greenwood Avenue.# By 1921, the year of the race riot, Black Tulsa had a population of nearly 11, 000, two schools, a hospital, two newspapers, and several successful black businesses, making Greenwood the “Negro Wall Street.”# Black migration to Tulsa in search of work in the booming oil industry also found work as domestics and other service jobs for white employers. Unfortunately, Negro Wall Street’s prosperity was dependent on white employers who hired black workers and whites owned a large portion of the land in Black Tulsa, effectively limiting the prosperity and spread of the black middle-class in the city.# As prosperous and wealthy some of the black businesses were, they were mostly service-oriented and could not provide employment for most African American residents. 

Thus, the migration to the city that began with the oil boom created a small black middle-class and a larger working-class majority. In spite of the class differences, Tulsa’s Jim Crow laws facilitated the creation of a united black population that supported black businesses and organizations. In fact, Tulsa was one of Oklahoma’s strongest Ku Klux Klan centers, blacks were expected to remain in their place, and violence against blacks and lynching had occurred in Oklahoma as recently as 1920.# Therefore, African Americans already radicalized by serving in World War I and becoming an urban population with more opportunities and access to information from national and international organizations, were more likely to choose militant defense. The Negro Renaissance’s emphasis on self-awareness and consciousness of African-American culture promoted black militancy and pride throughout urban Black America at the time.

The new form of racial consciousness that evolved in the early 1920s also defined the New Negro in terms of masculinity.# One’s manhood was measured by the extent of protection they could afford black women, possession of military training, and racial pride. Thus, black veterans of the war, seeing another black person in danger, probably felt compelled to defend another black man since their masculinity was defined by racial pride, solidarity, and dignity. The Negro Renaissance also had international connections, mostly through the black expatriate community in Paris, Caribbean immigrants in New York and other northeastern cities.# These writers, leaders, and artists contributed to the birth of a self-conscious black Atlantic culture opposed to imperialism and racism, and exemplified by Negritude, the Negro Renaissance, and the spread of the UNIA’s membership and pan-Africanist messages. 

In addition, Marcus Garvey, UNIA, the African Blood Brotherhood, and other radical leftist groups also contributed to the militancy of blacks in Tulsa. Though in the course of the riot they soon realized they could not stop the white mobs that looted black homes and black businesses, ultimately destroying 1,115 residences, looting 314 homes, and being helped by Tulsa police during the riot.# Black veterans and other men who approached the white mob and inadvertently discharged a gun when a white tried to disarm one of them ignited the spark. However, blacks fought back throughout the riots by sniping white invaders into black Tulsa and gathering for an “invasion” of the white section of town.# Of course black men and women lost their homes, were held in detention centers, and were mistreated by National Guardsmen and police who used excessive force and epithets when escorting blacks to detention centers. But black militant responses to the white mob’s wanton destruction of the black district were partly influenced and motivated by some of the more radical and leftist organizations. For example, Marcus Garvey’s UNIA urged blacks to defend themselves from lynching when possible.# Other black groups, such as the African Blood Brotherhood, which had a local group, also influenced Tulsa’s black population since it encouraged unionization, cooperatively owned businesses, and creating paramilitary units to safeguard the community, along with black separatist views.# Of course the blame for the riots was placed on blacks and these radical black organizations, but its important to remember that white mobs and their intention to lynch Rowland precipitated the riot in the first place. Even the more liberal NAACP supported black self-defense against lynching in its journal, The Crisis.#

Likewise, the cooperation of the police, court system and government with the white mobs because of perceived threat to the racialized sexual and social order also encouraged black militancy. By assuming Rowland raped or assaulted a white woman and preparing to lynch him, whites in the city who surrounded the courthouse, could have easily endeavored to capture him and take justice into their own hands. The courts could not be relied on for ensuring Rowland was not executed by mob violence or the judicial system since all-white juries and racist judges often pushed for the death penalty. The police also mishandled the situation by allowing whites who were part of the mob and who volunteered their services to work with them in preventing blacks from leaving the black section of town.# The police, during the mob’s looting, burning, and murder of African Americans aided these men in the destruction of Tulsa’s black community. The city government and governor of Oklahoma also delayed calling in the National Guard, which could have prevented the riot by disarming and preventing the white mobs.# The use of airplanes to monitor the locations of blacks who were resisting the white mobs and the possible use of planes for bombing Greenwood illustrates how little the government cared about protecting black lives. Blacks would rationally want to protect themselves since they knew from other lynching mobs and race riots that the government would not protect black men.

The Tulsa race riot of 1921 was part of a larger trend in African American racial consciousness. Black militancy became more pronounced after many men had served in World War I, made connections with the African diaspora in Africa and the Caribbean, experienced life without Jim Crow while fighting abroad in France, and the beginning of the Negro Renaissance propelled black transnational consciousness. Not surprisingly, blacks in Tulsa, at the news of a large gathering of whites outside of the courthouse while a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman was there would catch black veterans’ attention. They understood the importance of protecting themselves from white violence since the government would do little, if anything at all, to protect their lives in court or in the presence of a white mob. Thus, choosing self-defense and protecting another black man made perfect sense to blacks. As one can imagine, whites blamed it on blacks for taking the law into their own hands and challenging white supremacy in the aftermath of the riot.

Bibliography

Brophy, Alfred L.. Reconstructing the Dreamland:  the Tulsa riot of 1921 : race, reparations, and reconcilation. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2002.

Ellsworth, Scott. Death in a promised land:  the Tulsa race riot of 1921. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982.

Halliburton, Jr., R. "The Tulsa Race War of 1921." Journal of Black Studies 2, no. 3 (1972): 333-357.

Pratt Guterl, Mattehew. "The New Race Consciousness: Race, Nation and Empire in American Culture, 1910-1925." Journal of World History 10, no. 2 (1999): 307-352.

Watson, Steven. The Harlem renaissance: hub of African-American culture, 1920-1930. New York: Pantheon Books, 1995.