CARIBBEAN CD REVIEWS

  A serious jazz singer/songwriter from a small island in the Caribbean, Izaline Calister spent years singing Brazilian music, followed by years singing in world-famous world music groups such as Dissidenten and Pili Pili (where she replaced Angelique Kidjo).

 She's sung in so many different kinds of ethnic-based bands, it's amazing. What's not amazing is that she now has her own sophisticated small group that hold a heady mixture of nearly all the kinds of music she's ever sung.

 Though Izaline and most of the other musicians in her group are based in the Netherlands and have traveled the world, all are natives of Curaco, so even though most of the music can be described as jazz (and individual tunes will remind listeners of different places such as Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, etc.), the core of this project is the Creole (African/European) mix of her native island.

 The moods of her music keep changing: ballads, sophisticated samba, dancable carnival music - back and forth.

 Her bass player Eric Calmes and her pianist Randal Corsen are both experienced arrangers: other members of her band are Ulrich de Jesus on guitar and cuatro, Roel Calister on drums and various percussion instruments, and Pernell Saturnino on congas, timbales and too many other percussion instruments to mention.

 What results is a hard-hitting, technically wonderful presentation of gorgeous vocals and jazzy tunes.

 The lively counting song 'No More Monkeys' opens an original and fun Caribbean collection of children's lullabies designed to please many an adult listener as well.

 Asheba's lullabies are whimsical, silly, and fun-filled: steeped with Caribbean references and atmosphere.

 Folk singer Asheba adds guitar, percussion and toe-tapping dances - and no single style is represented alone here, either: from reggae to calypso and regional tunes, kids get more than a taste for the diversity which makes up Caribbean musical styles.

 Highly recommended; especially for adults who would teach kids about Caribbean rhythms while maintaining a sense of lively fun .

 Meringue done acoustically instead of electronically, an Afro-soul influence, and a carnival set of rhythms marks this 'archetype of a lost Caribbean legend's compelling keeper album TIERRA LEJANA.

  'La Yuca' holds many lovely changes throughout, while 'Mar Y Cielo' is simply gorgeous listening.

 Another big plus: the publicity notes for Super Uba are simply packed with information on the Dominican Republic's premier band and its old-time style.

 Super Uba moved to New York City in 1995 and emerges from a popular movement of Dominican guitar music 'Bachata'.

 Super Uba blends traditional merengue, bachata and son: it's amazing they can keep the traditional music alive given new York City's pressure towards Cubanized salsa - but they do so, and tremendously, in TIERRA LEJANA.

 We give Super Uba and TIERRA LEJANA our highest recommendation for a combination of accessibility, dedication to preserving authentic traditions, and diversity of powerful carnival-style playing.

 A very disciplined group that knows what they're doing!

 Here's the supreme cross-over cd: a collection of reggae artists who tackle Bob Dylan standards.

 Imagine 'The Times they Are A-Changin' with a reggae beat, or 'Maggie's Farm' sung by the gravelly voice of  Toots Hibbert!

 Beres Hammond started off as a soul singer before he switched to reggae, and 'Just Like a Woman' shows the subtleness of that transition.

 IS IT ROLLING, BOB? is reggae at its best: 1970s style, the height of  the movement's technical accuracy, with the Dylan theme providing a diversity of classics with quite a new edge.

 You haven't lived until you've heard the positively haunting 'Lay Lady Lay' rendered reggae-style complete with background singers. A psychedelic song gone country - now injected with reggae - and it works wonderfully!

 It's the diversity of musicians and approaches which adds to the excitement of listening to IS IT ROLLING, BOB?: a diversity which keeps faithfully within the reggae groove without entrenching the songs in sameness.

 Highly recommended indeed.

 Emeline Michel has been described as the 'Queen of Haitian song', but despite the fact this is her eighth cd, it's likely many outside of her native Haiti may not know of her.

 If her name's not familiar it's not too late to learn about her unique vocal style compliments of her latest RAISIN KREYOL.

 Emeline began her career at age 18, winning a song contest in Haiti which earned her a year's music study in Detroit.

 She's one of the few female bandleaders in the Caribbean and RAISIN KREYOL is her third cd as a record producer, as well.

 Background orchestration supports and doesn't overwhelm the vocals, which range from modern pop to old-style Haitian.

 It's this blend of old and new which gives Emeline Michel an unexpectedly contemporary style - hard to pin down to a single trend, yet compelling.

 'Afro-Caribbean fusion world music' is an apt description for the 4-person group Iyawo, which packs in a satisfying range of guest musicians to expand their sound.

 Don't expect traditional Caribbean/calypso styles, though this is part of the group's heritage and sound: IYAWO ranges from a jazzy style to a hand-clapping flamenco-like dance atmosphere.

 The 25-year-old singer studied dance, but her vocals, tinged with flamenco, are impeccable.

 Iyawo's influences include salsa, but it's hard to hear the salsa in many of their songs: flamenco with a softer edge best describes these flamenco presentations.

 If it's a multifaceted, flamenco-based sound from Puerto Rico that you seek, IYAWO is the item of choice.

 From Jimmy Buffet's style, in a light-hearted opening song 'Sweet Spot' to the New Orleans-inspired 'People Dancin' at the Mardi Gras', WAITIN' FOR THE SUNSET holds an unexpected diversity under the 'Caribbean dance' theme, even including a tip of the hat to Dr. John and Professor Longhair.

 Captain Harry isn't for the pursuer of serious ethnic-rooted Caribbean styles: it's a whimsical, Buffet-like fancy which goes beyond strict Caribbean definition: Goin' Native has it listed on their site as 'Florabbean', but even this limits Captain Harry's scope.

 So slip on your dancing shoes, take a parrothead bow to Buffet for some of the inspiration, and prepare to meet Buffet's match with Captain Harry's WAITIN' FOR THE SUNSET: it's the closest you'll ever get to Buffet, but it includes unexpected influences from New Orleans and even the rock/pop worlds - up to and including a reggae remake of an oldie.

 Kids and Caribbean culture are celebrated simultaneously in CARIBBEAN PLAYGROUND, opening with a surprise: Taj Mahal and Hula Blues doing the lightly lively 'Great Big Boat'.

 Desmond Dekker was 'reggae before reggae' and goes back to the days of ska, so the very Jamaican 'Jamaica Farewell' should be familiar to many.

 Then turn to Tambou Dan Tche Nou from Martinique with 'Kali' for a lovely focus on drums, percussion and vocals.

 What makes CARIBBEAN PLAYGROUND kid-oriented? Features include its lively, uplifting simple beats, easy lyrics, and focus on songs which demonstrate and sample the diversity of styles within the Caribbean sound.

 What else makes it a 'playground' collection?  A portion of the proceeds of Caribbean Playground will be donated to the Putumayo Cross-Cultural Initiative. (PCCI is a non-profit organization that provides multicultural education and world music resources to elementary school children.)

 But don't limit this collection to the playground just because of its title; many an adult - especially those new to the genre - will appreciate the variety, which includes a Louisiana zydeco band influenced by Caribbean culture (Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band).

 Not just for kids; CARIBBEAN PLAYGROUND  is for all ages.

  Good old-fashioned Jamaican Caribbean reggae is the focus of 506 Crew's LET'S SIT DOWN AND TALK IT OVER.

 506 Crew isn't Jamaican, though: the group hails from Central Florida, but group members come from across the Caribbean and as far away as England.

 Mostly-original compositions are wonderful: relaxing reggae at its best; not the powered driven political messages of many modern genre bands.

 From the pop 'Sugar Fix' to a remake of Bob Dylan's 'Heaven's Door' done reggae style and John Lennon's haunting 'Imagine', 506 Crew is at its strongest when displaying its powerful ability to convert standard rock hits to an equally hard-hitting reggae song.

 Twenty years ago two groups formed in Puerto Rico: Truco, led by Hector Valentin, played the traditional Puerto Rican styles of bomba and plena; Zaperok was formed in the early 1980s and pioneered the new style Songo.

 Their union fuses powerful rhythmic patterns from a range of traditions, creating new styles and improvisations which are lovely representations of infusions of all styles.

 Blend a range of uniformly talented musicians with these styles and you have a lively presentation of hot salsa-tinged styles flawless in its Puerto Rican roots and precise in its delivery.