Borandá

Lovely, stylized jazzy samba from Edu Lobo (with help from Tamba Trio). Love that piano! Alas, if only the song wasn't so short...

No Soy Africana

Check out this interesting interview with scholars by Marc Lamont Hill on 'blackness' in the Dominican Republic. Although Hill begins the show with a scene from the problematic series by Henry Louis Gates, there is more nuance and inclusion of Dominican-American attitudes. The voices of Dominican-Americans add much needed clarity on how blackness is always experiential and shaped by personal experience and how others perceive one, such that Biany Perez and Silvio Torres-Saillant 'learned they were black' from their experience in the United States (which was also based on how others perceived them). Indeed, one of the highlights of the show was hearing Biany Perez challenge the assumptions of the other Dominican-American based on how she is consistently seen as an 'Other' by other Dominican-Americans for being black (which reflects how Dominican-American identity within their own spaces may still exclude Afro-Dominicans in the diaspora).There is also recognition of how Afro-Dominican identity and cultural organizations are increasing in number in the island and in Afro-Latino activism in the US.

Con Valor

A lovely kompa tune alluding to Black Orpheus.

Axum

A short documentary worthwhile for intriguing interviews with an archaeologist on ancient Axum. In addition, we are treated with images of Axumite architecture, including some of the stunning elite cemeteries. Enjoy!

Skah Shah

Really enjoying "Haiti" and "Zanmi" by Skah Shah today. The former really is a nice homage to a classic in Haitian music, a tribute to Haiti, and even quotes from the Cuban "Guantanamera" while "Zanmi" is also irresistibly catchy. Nice horns from these Skah Shah songs really go a long way. 

The Masquerade Is Over

While perusing some jazz magazine's list of the greatest alto sax solos in jazz history, I realized I had never acquainted myself with the wonders of Lou Donaldson's pre-soul jazz ventures in the 1960s and 1970s. "The Masquerade Is Over" is a beautiful song, but I am actually more fond Foster's piano playing. As for calling this one of the 'greatest alto solos' of all time, that certainly does not ring true, but certainly a highlight for Donaldson's 1950s output.

Reevaluating Haitian History

Check out this interesting interview on Haitian history featuring Alyssa Sepinwall. If I remember correctly, she is the sister of one of my favorite TV critics, Alan Sepinwall. Nothing too shocking here, but worth checking out for a clear, relatively unbiased interpretation of Haitian history that does not follow media stereotypes.