CD Review no. 59 | All CD Reviews

It has been been a few months since I announced the imminent release of Jean-Claude Eugène's newest CD. Even if it took longer than anticipated, it was well worth the wait. What you find in this CD is an artist who, with each one of his releases, has constantly shown how much he has grown and matured musically. This CD provides ample proof of that. " Emotions " , as the CD is entitled, showcases an artist at ease with his music and willing to explore a variety of genres. Indeed, the 12 tunes which comprise the CD cover no less than 8 different beats. This is quite impressive.

The CD opens with a beautiful melody entitled " Ayiti/Agoni ", a composition by a well-known icon of Haitian popular music, Fritz Duval, better known as Toto, the famous guitarist from Ensemble Wéber Sicot, who now is a bassist, arranger, composer and keyboard player. You cannot help but be moved by the heart-rending lyrics written for this song by Jean-Claude Eugène. Any Haitian will experience a wide range of emotions while listening to this song enhanced by Toto Duval's beautiful strings arrangements. Feel the sensitivity with wich Toto Duval and J.C : Eugène express themselves in the song. The rest of the album provides surprise after surprise.

We go from konpa/zouk (tune No. 2 and 9) to latin ballad (tune No. 3) , to reggae (tune 4), to Brazilian samba (tune No. 5) to Trinidadian soca (tune Nos. 6 and 12) ; to French ballad (tune No. 7); to Haitian meringue douce (tune No. 8); to bossa nova (tune No. 10) to rasin (tune No. 11). In other words, never a dull moment. Apart from his excellent singing talents, J.C. Eugène is also a prolific composer. Of the 12 songs on the CD, 8 were written by him. In 8 of the songs, Toto Duval provides subtle and often tricky arrangements. Listen to the bass and brass lines in the soca tunes (No. 6 and 12), or the intricate strings arrangements throughout. This is exquisite !. Edmond Charles, the excellent pianist keyboardist on the album, took charge of the 4 remaining songs. I particularly enjoyed his arrangements in the samba and bossa nova tunes. J.C. Eugène is supported by an excellent cast of musicians, among them Fritz-Gerald Aubin, a fine guitarist and musician whom I have known around the Washington area for more than 20 years and whose musical growth is very evident on this album ; Benjamin Sands whose saxophone and flute sound enlivens the music. Listen in particular to the fine lines he plays in tunes No. 5 and 10. He has been associated with Haitian music for as long as I can remember. Other well-known Haitian musicians from the Washington area supporting J.C. Eugène include guitarist Frantz-Joseph Louis (tune No. 6 and 11) ; famous Haitian singer Michel Pressoir ; Patrick Noël on the conga and percussion .

You might want to know which song is my favorite on this album, well let me try : tunes No. 1, 2, 3, 4 5,6 7…….. etc., in other words, the whole album, with a particular emphasis on tunes No. 1 and 9. How is that ! I really appreciate the meaningful lyrics that J.C. Eugène writes, whether he talks about Haiti, about love (tune No. 8) or whether he looks at the state of the world (tune No. 9).. Pay special attention to the lyrics in tune No. 9 " Où va le monde ", played on a Rara beat, in which J.C. Eugène expresses his disappointment and anxiety in the face of the many ills besetting society and personnal relationships in the world. He makes a special appeal to all of us to contribute to making things better for all of us.

In my humble opinion, this may be Eugène's best CD yet. The mixing is very good. The lyrics are excellent; the arrangements do not overwhelm the singer and all instruments are well balanced. You would do yourself a disservice if you did not add hasten to add this CD to your collection. I recommend that you run to your record store and get your copy. You will thorougly enjoy it.

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As we all know, the North, and more specifically Cap-Haïtien, has greatly contributed to Haitian music, and continues to do so. Jean-Claude Eugène is representative of that new generation of musicias from the North . One can thus understand why Serge Duviella recently decided to release his newest CD entitled : " L'or du Nord II ". The music is indeed gold.

On this CD, Serge Duviella made a compilation of some of the best tunes released by different artists and groups from Cap-Haïtien : U. Pierre-Louis - Orchestre Septentrional ; Anna Pierre, Orchestre Tropicana, J.C. Eugène, Charmeurs du Cap, E. Salvant and many more. Although on some of the songs, he had as special guests pianists Claude Montreuil and M. A. Bazile, Serge Duviella usually works as a one-man band. Indeed, his mastery of the synthetizer sound is something remarquable. Of the 13 songs on the CD, all quite pleasant to listen to, I particularly enjoyed listening to tunes No. 1, Cité du Cap-Haïtien ; No. 3 - Ti Fi-a, No. 4- Wania, No. 5- Rosie, No. 6 - Ne pleure pas, No. 7 -Loray Kale ; No. 8 - Cecilia, No.10 - Si'm pa trompe'm, No. 11- Ti Pouchon ; No. 12 - Manman. Like on his previous Cds, Duviella's arrangements are harmonious, soft, relaxing and at times, evoke some nostalgic feelings. This is background music that can be played in any kind of setting requiring such music. His arrangements can be quite sophisticated and he has managed to use the different sounds on his instrument to translate his feelings and talk to his listeners. This is no small task. Even though his music is soft, this does not mean that you cannot dance to it. Tunes No. 3 and 11 for example are illustrative of what I mean. You can either listen or dance to these songs.

As with previous CDs, Duviella's arrangements are unique, intricate and enhanced by his mastery of the sounds of his instruments . This is a nice CD to add to your collection of Duviella's music. The mixing is excellent, the choice of songs was very well made and most important, it is a fitting tribute to the music and musicians of the North , hence the title : L'Or du Nord II.

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Under the Mini Records label, Mini All Stars has released a pretty impressive list of successful Konpa Dirèk CDs over the last few years and the tradition continues with this release entitled " Bon Boul " in honor of the World Cup 2002. Apart from the fact this is a celebration of the power and popularity of soccer, there is a noble objetive to this CD : part of the profits from its sale will go to the developpement of soccer among Haitian youth. Mini Records' Fred Paul also dedicates the album to one of the most important figures in Haitian soccer : Emmanuel Coicou.

Fred Paul assembled an impressive group of musicians to make the CD a success : Armstrong Jeune, Boulot Valcourt. Nickelson Prud'homme, Roger Jean-Baptiste, Alix Nozile and many more. They did an excellent job. In a sense, this CD is also a tribute to a great Haitian musical icon : Raoul Guillaume, whose composition entitled : Le Football , gets no less than four different treatments, each as entertaining as the other.

Each one of the tunes has its own flavor. Gina Dupervil is also featured as lead vocal in tune No. 1 - El futbol/soccer ; as well as in an interpretation of a Haitian classic : " Panama m tonbe ". This tune is played on a fiery salsa beat which will prevent you from keeping still in your seat. This is a solid all-around CD which joins a rich collection of Konpa dirèk , Mini All Stars style.

The mixing is excellent and the lyrics are well adapted to the theme of the CD. The brass section is solid and does a magnificent job. I definitely recommend that you add it to your collection if you have not done so already. You will love it.

Serge Bellegarde
For Windows on Haiti