Chronique no. 18 | Chronique Index

There are some Haitian musicians whose work is constantly of the highest quality and who always strive to present the best. Beethova Obas certainly ranks among those musicians and there is no better proof of that than his latest CD Planèt la (The Planet). He does not produce as often as many other musicians, but when he does, you can expect quality, workmanship and talent.

Beethova Obas keeps this tradition of excellence with eleven tunes on this CD, all of them sounding really nice. Each one of the tunes is played on a different rhythm, showing how versatile the artist is. The mixing is very good, the arrangements are extremely good and do not overwhelm the songs. Obas plays with a variety of musicians from Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe : Fabrice Rouzier, Mario Canonge, Makarios Césaire, Thierry Fanfan, Réginald Benjamin and so many more. When it comes to the lyrics, Beethova Obas is way above the crowd. So many of our musicians could take a clue from his writing. It is not only the music on this CD, but it is above all the message. Take the title tune Planèt la. Obas shows that what is hapenning at one end of the planet has repercussions all over the world. An act of violence in Brooklyn is mirrored in La Saline. The destruction of environment has an impact all over : « Everything resonates like an echo ». And this is so true. Take the third tune Nèg Kongo, or the fourth one Jwèt Mab or the eighth one La pli. Each song resonates. On a lighter note , the seventh tune Dégats, is a nice Konpa arrangement of musician Ti Paris, the late Haitian Troubadour The last tune on the album Ki Bagay is a strong indicment of those who are responsible for the destiny of our country: « The problem with my country is not related to money, rather it is the irresponsibility that is killing us ». And too many of us qualify as being irresponsible. He denounces the outrageaous wealth, the luxury cars despite the lack of good roads, the drugs etc. In sum, all the things that are wrong in the society. Beethova Obas sings in a nice velvet voice, but don’t be fooled. His message is as forceful as his voice is soft and he projects a powerful personality through his music, his talent as a composer (he wrote six of the eleven tunes) and the themes of his songs. There aren’t too many like him on the musical scene these days. For those of you who enjoy this kind of music, I strongly recommend you make a dash to the record store to get your copy. Listen to it in two phases : first, the words and the message and then the skillfull arrangements. The more you listen, the more the music penetrates you.

I do not know if we will ever find out who the real Ska Sha is, but Jean Elie Telfort alias Cubano has been doing a pretty good in keeping the Ska Sha sound alive. His latest CD Knock out is a solid Konpa Dirèk, Ska Sha style. The beat is steady, smooth, the arrangements are nice. Even the saxophone player sounds like Loubert Chancy. Cubano benefited from the collaboration of some heavyweights on the CD : Yves Albert Abel, Assel and Wilner Jean-Pierre, Claude Desgrottes, Richard Duroseau, Makarios Césaire and many others. . I particularly like Césaire on the guitar. He has this kind of soft, fluid style and the musical phrases flow under his fingers. . The fifth tune Manman is a new arrangement of a tune from one of my favorite Ska Sha albums dating back 20 years or so, when the band had just reintroduced a full brass section. The last tune Merci Dieu is also a new arrangement taken form the Ozanana album. It is quite nice also. In short, Cubano’s last three albums under the Ska Sha label have been quite nice and they denote his determination to maintain the Ska Sha trademark.

As it is done with many CDs, the lyrics of all the tunes are written inside and frankly, I cannot refrain from commenting on that. The Kreyòl spelling is absolutely atrocious . Indeed, artists have a duty to write the language properly and anything less is unacceptable, since they would not dare write like this in English or any other official language. In doubt, . I am sure they would turn to a knowledgeable person for help. Why they do not do it for Haitian Kreyòl remains a mistery to me, particularly with so much documentation and so many Kreyòl experts on hand. I do not believe it is intentional. There seems to be more neglect than anything else. At least I want to believe that…... But this is a discussion for another forum. Suffice it to say that this is very unfortunate. However, this should not deter you from getting this CD for your collection. This is solid Konap Dirèk, Ska Sha style and a good addition to your collection.

There seems to be another indication that Les Frères Déjean may be preparing a come back. A live album called « Les Frères Déjean Is back » has recently been produced. The music is not new. This recording was made live during a dance in Washington D.C. in 1993. Nevertheless, the Frères Déjean fans will enjoy it. And who would not these wonderful hornplayers. So many Haitian musicians played in that band that it can be considered as a clearinghouse. If you played with them, you must be good. Everyone’s favorite tune is there : Gladia, Marina, Alleluiah, Pa guin chapo, Haiti, Bolero.

Serge Bellegarde