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Friday, May 2, 2014

Mandolin Tab for Ten Early Caribbean Dance Tunes - Paseos, Meringues and more

In honor of an upcoming trip to the Spanish Virgin Island of Culebra in Puerto Rico, I've assembled ten Afro-Caribbean string band tunes from the recordings of the now defunct Etcetera String Band (Bonne Humeur) and Kansas City based The Rhythmia to work on while there.  Both bands have a knack for uncovering obscure tunes from Haiti, Trinidad, Louisiana, the Virgin Islands, Martinique and Venezuela.

Many of these tunes date back to the 1800's and share similarities to common fiddle tunes and rags, while still retaining a distinctly "island" feel that helps tag them as being from the Caribbean.  Guitarist Kevin Sanders - a member of both the Etcetera String Band and The Rhythmia - helped me obtain a copy of the out of print Bonne Humeur CD last year which is definitely worth seeking out if you're interested in this type of music.  All transcriptions shown below were done by Nick DiSebastian.  Here's a YouTube playlist where some of these tunes can be heard.

Aurore Bradaire is a Creole song named after a woman.  You can play it with a polka rhythm.  It comes from Slave Songs of the United States, the first authentic collection of slave songs ever published, where its transcription comes from a woman who heard it being sung in a time before the Civil War on the Good Hope Plantation, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.
Aurore Bradaire – Coonjaille (Louisiana)
Bad Woman was written by Lionel Belasco, the pianist, composer and bandleader from Trinidad known as the Scott Joplin of calypso.  Belasco composed West Indian music from folk sources, which he found on his many travels throughout the islands, and was the first person to popularize calypso outside of Trinidad.
Bad Woman – Paseo
Blanche Toucatou/Can-Can (Creole Song) is medley of two Creole pieces from Louisiana originally recorded by the jazz trombonist Kid Ory. 
Blanche Toucatou/Can-Can (Creole Song)
Calinda is also known as Michie Preval.  A Calinda is a dance.  This tune is from Slave Songs of the United States.
Calinda – Louisiana
Carnaval En Margarita is a paseo by Lionel Belasco.  Margarita is an island off the Venezuelan coast which Belasco visited.  Belasco was classically trained, but preferred playing indigenous music.
Carnaval En Margarita – Paseo
Chai Bai comes from Cape Verde, an island group off the northwestern coast of Africa, with an African-Portuguese culture.  This tune was included in John Philip Sousa’s book National Patriotic and Typical Airs of All Lands (1890), published by H. Coleman in Philadelphia.
Chai Bai – Cape Verde
Dodo Li Pitite is a fun little Haitian folk tune, good for playing at a country ball.  It was found in Jean Price-Mars' book So Spoke the Uncle, a work on Haitian culture published in 1928.
Dodo Li Petite – Haiti
La Douceur is a hypnotic Meringue Hatienne written by Arthur L. Duroseau.  The music is featured in Tell My Horse by Zora Neale Hurston.  More recently, it was recorded by BeauSoleil on the album From Bamako to Carencro.
La Douceur – Meringue (Haiti)
Lisette was composed by Ludovic Lamothe, the "Black Chopin" of Haiti.  He composed several meringues and other dance and concert tunes based on local folklore.  He recorded 10 of his pieces on an album called Fleurs d'Haiti.
Lisette – Meringue (Haiti)
Souvenir d'Haiti was written by Othello Bayard and is considered to be his masterpiece.  It is one of the best known and loved meringues in Haiti.  Selden Rodman wrote about this tune in his book Haiti: The Black Republic.
Souvenir d’Haiti – Meringue Popular (Haiti)


1 comment:

  1. Just to say:
    1. Thanks to you and Nick DiSebastian for providing the tab for the tunes/songs. I have never hear of Etcetera String Band (Bonne Humeur), and thanks to you I can hear the audio on your YouTube channel. (reminds me a bit of the The West African Instrumental Quintet ).
    2. Thanks for saying that you used to be six water grog, as before I found this site I did a search for six water grog,only to find no track of it! But now I am glad to find our that you are still around.

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