Chronique no. 20 | Chronique Index

In honor of Mother’s Day, which in Haiti falls on the last Sunday in May, I thought I would try something special in this Chronique. Even if Mother’s day is celebrated one Sunday a year, for many Haitian artists, the mother occupies a special place in their heart and is a source of great inspiration. So I thought it would be interesting to conduct a survey, however limited it would be, of Haitian artists who have paid tribute in their music to the Haitian Mother. Of course, the list is not exhaustive, but I think it gives a pretty good idea of the privileged place that the Haitian Mother occupies in Haitian music. Some of these tunes are unfortunately not easy to find because they are on vinyl and not quite ready to be published on CD. Others are easily available.

Let me start with this icon of Haitian music, the « Jazz des Jeunes ». On its 25^th Anniversary album, the group had a slow tune called « Toi seule maman », a very nostalgic tune. It also had another tune which was recently arranged by Serge Duviella on his « Aquarelles »CD. A very nice tune.

In 1980, Volo Volo had an album called « Nou nan route » which contained a tune called « Manman ». This album has not been reissued on CD as far as I know. It is a nice konpa dirèk tune with very meaningful lyrics describing the hardships of Haitian mothers.

In 1981, System Band produced an album in which one of tunes was entitled « Belle chè manman ». It was on of the earliest album, probably one of the first three. It is a nice melody with a heavy brass section. System Band pays hommage to the mother « who had to suffer so much to provide for her children ».

A few years later, the guitarist Ronald Smith put out a nice album with a tune entitled « Manman ». It is a solid album and as I lookd at the musicians, I realized how far back Assel and Welmyr Jean-Pierre go in all aspects of Haitian music. This a solid album dedicated by Smith to his mother.

Johnny Frantz Toussaint , a guitarist then with Ska Sha No.1 put out an album entitled Aïda. We find a tune « Sonje manman ». Again, the musicians are outstanding : Fred Déjean, André Déjean, Anderson Cameau (among the best Haitian horn players), Gary Résil, Camille Armand etc. That was vintage Ska Sha. « Sonje manman » is a very thoughtful tune in which Toussaint, the composer, gives a stern warning to those who, having reached financial and social security, forget about their mothers who had to work so hard to get them where they are. So as a leitmotiv, the phrase is repeated « Don’t forget, don’t forget all the promises you used to make ». This album would be a good candidate for reissue on CD.

One of my favorite tunes on this theme was written by Claude Desgrottes who about two years ago reissued his tune « Manman » on a CD entitled « Ska Sha presents Claudes Desgrottes ». This CD was also an hommage to his father Michel Desgrottes. The tune was first recorded with the band « Accolade de New York »on an album entitled « La Foi ». The lyrics are inspiring : « There is nothing like the pain a mother endures for her children In good weather, she is there, in bad weather, she is there. » The beat is a solid, steady Konpa dirèk and the melody is pretty.

Another favorite of mine is the tune « Manman » which was first put out by Ska Sha more than 20 years ago, when the brass was being reintroduced in Haitian Konpa. This one has been rearranged by Cubano on his latest CD « Knock out ». It has some very nice arrangements and the song sounds fresh even though it was written more than 20 years ago.

Unfortunately, most of the tunes I mentionned above are on albums which have not been reissued on CD and those who are looking for them may have a hard time to find them. However, there are still many artists on CD who revere the Haitian mother in their music.

Michel Batista from the Group Digital Express is a Haitian Dominican who sing both in Spanish and Kreyòl. A few years ago, he produced a record, « Dynamita » on which he pays respect to the mother with the tune entitled « Manman ». Showing his gratitude, he invites her to go out on Mother’s Day in some touching lyrics. The music is nice and Ansyto Mercier is his usual self at the keyboard programmation.

A few months ago, on the CD entitled « Phantoms presents », Sharon Button did an excellent job on the tune « Manman ». It is a slow, soulful tribute to the mother, sang with a lot of feeling and a nice piano work and brass in the background.

A few years ago, the well-known singer Imgart Manigat also produced a very nice CD on which he recorded his hommage « Manman ». He pointedly thanks his mother who made it possible for him to be singing today. The CD is entitled « San fatigue ».

In 1997, Patricia Juste produced her first solo CD « Sa poko anyen », on which recorded « Manman ». She invites everyone to sing to the mothers and deplores the situation of those who have lost their mother. This is a nice slow melody.

Last year also, Delta Force Compas came out with a CD which contains an hommage to the mother « Manman ». This is also a slow melody. The singer acknowledges his debt to his mother who gave him life.

The well-known distributor Marc Records produced a CD entitled : Bonne fête Maman, je t’aime. As the title indicates , this is a great tribute to the Haitian Mother, consisting of a compilation of songs by Haitian bands and individual artists : Septentrional, Ansy Derose, les Virtuoses, Jazz des Jeunes, Wawa, Tropic, Diables du rythme de St. Marc, Bossa Combo, Rodrigue Milien. The songs are not new, but the mere existence of such a CD shows the reverence among Haitian artists for the Haitian Mother.

As I said at the beginning of this exercise, this small inventory is just that : small. I would need many more pages to list the myriad of artists who have and continue to pay tribute to the Haitian mother. Interestingly enough, there is not such tribute among Haitian artists to the Haitian Father. While there may be some songs here and there, they are comparatively very few. Does that mean that the Haitian Father is not considered in the same light as the Mother ? Or is it that the Mother is too often mistreated by the Father ? In any case, the theme of the Mother has had a permanent presence in the work of Haitian artists

Other news

Last Sunday, May 30, Brooklyn College was rocking at the sound of Konpa Dirèk. Indeed, a huge Konpa festival took place there and among them, you could see the the biggest names present. I understand that a video is being prepared and will be on sale to the public. We’ll keep you posted.

In other news, Les Ambassadeurs are also on the move. On June 12, I understand the band will be playing in Miami and around mid July, it goes on its Haitian tour. The word has been spreading like wild fire . I understand too that a live CD will come out . We’ll let you know.

In the next Chronique, I will let you know about some new CDs I picked up, in particular a Haitian jazz guitarist. He is out of this world. Stay tuned.

Serge Bellegarde