Issa El Saieh and Haitian Music

Issa El Saieh: Maëstro and Legend/ A Portrait of My Pal, His Times and His Music by Mats Lundahl and Carl Louis Saint Jean is an indispensable source for detailed information about Haitian music in the middle of the 20th century. For those interested in transnational dimensions of jazz or big band music in the Caribbean, Latin America, or other corners of the world, it also provides an interesting case study of the rise of modern dance clubs, localized forms of jazz, and discourses of authenticity in national music. While the presence of jazz music in Haiti predates Issa El Saieh's musical career, emerging during the US Occupation, much of Port-au-Prince's social and cultural history is revealed in this detailed account of Issa El Saieh's life. Issa's pivotal role in bringing bop and big band innovators from the US to assist in his orchestra helped bring modern jazz sensibilities to Haitian music. Through the various members of his orchestra, such as Ernest Nono Lamy or Raoul Guillaume, these jazz influences percolated into successive forms of popular Haitian music, particularly compas. In short, Issa El Saieh's band was vital for the development of Haitian music, a nascent recording industry, and the cross-fertilization of the local with new sounds from US jazz. 

Dodo Turgeau

A lovely version of "Dodo Turgeau" from Dupervil. Enjoy this stately song. For those interested in earlier recordings, there's also one from Issa El Saieh online.

Issa El Saieh et Son Orchestre

Came across some lovely recordings by Issa El Saieh and His Orchestra of Haitian music in a jazz or big band vein. In addition to the classic "Carolina Cao," Issa El Saieh's group also recorded "Ma Brune," "Panama m tombe," and a hot number called "Ti Mama." "Ma Brune" is an excellent example of a Haitian song translated and recorded recorded by Sonora Matancera as "Morena."

Maestro Issa

Enjoy this fascinating documentary with priceless video footage of various Haitian and Cuban music legends performing and explaining the development of Haitian music in the 1950s. It's a lovely documentary on the influences in 1950s Haitian music during la belle epoque. Issa El Saieh's orchestra took in influences from Cuban music, Vodou, jazz, Haitian mereng, and made magic in pre-konpa Haiti. The important links between Haitian and Cuban music get a lot of attention, too, demonstrating what I like to call 'CubAyiti.' We even see Bebo Valdes play piano, Daniel Santos sing, Beny More, Martha Jean-Claude, Celia Cruz, and many other legends.

La Sirene

Issa would be proud of this one! A lively rendition of "La Sirene" which I blogged about here, a beautiful song based on the Vodou lwa. Perfect for a 'fun' Friday night! 

Haiti

A lovely and jazzy rendition of a song I believe was penned by Issa El Saieh, or at least interpreted by him. Love how this jazz group slows things down a bit. Undoubtedly, I must locate more jazz like this, 'world' jazz that incorporates the various musical traditions of other parts of the world through a thoroughly jazz vein. Enjoy!

Bebo Valdes at the Intersection of Cuba and Haiti

Unearthed a gem of Haitian-inspired Cuban music by the legendary pianist and bandleader, Bebo Valdes. He spent some time in Haiti and recorded a Haitian meringue I blogged about in the past but also recorded this "Hot in Haiti" which sounds so much like 1950s and early 1960s Haitian kompa. Valdes spent some time in Haiti in the 1940s and clearly never quite forgot the intricacies of the Haitian meringue and the particularly repetitive, percussive brass essential to the music. Nevertheless, Valdes retains a uniquely Cuban solo voice for the band's horns, US jazz influences, and a little percussion solo. 

Check out "Merengue A La Moore." which is similar to "Hot in Haiti" for illustrating how adept Valdes was in fusing his knowledge of Haitian music with his Cuban base. Indeed, this music is fascinating for showing how musical influences flowed, surprisinglyh, from Haiti to Cuba in the 1950s despite the overwhelming influence of Cuban music in Haiti and the rest of the Caribbean and Africa during this period. In the spirit of encouraging further pan-Caribbean musical collaborations, enjoy a stirring tribute to a key figure in the development of Haitian music during La Belle Epoque, Issa El Saieh! Rest in peace, Valdes and Saieh.