Wapa Sakitanou
The Music of Martinique (ARC Music 1790, 2003)
Looking for something a little different? Say, Caribbean? ARC Music’s The Music of Martinique features Wapa Sakitanou, a lively musical group that encompasses the traditional music, costumes and dance of Martinique.
Rich and weighty with African rhythms, The Music of Martinique showcases the call and response of vocals and percussion found in traditional Martinique music. Wapa Sakitanou percussionists make the tambour bèlè (barrel drum) and the ti-bwa (bamboo percussion) the backbone of the song upon which the singers build.
Christian Valléjo is the lead drummer of the group, as well as author, composer and arranger. Sonia Marc Lasosso is the group’s choreographer and writes and arranges songs. Lead male singer Félix Cébarec warms up “Frapé Tig-bang,” “Bouwo” and especially “Marie o” with his rich tone. Sonia Marc Lasosso’s powerful voice takes center stage with “Changé la mi mwen” and “Milo Casérus.”The Music of Martinique is a fine pick for the person seeking traditional Caribbean music.
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TJ Nelson is also a fiction writer. Check out her latest book, Chasing
Athena’s Shadow
<http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=34163>. Set in
Pineboro, North Carolina, Chasing Athena’s Shadow follows the adventures
of Grace, an adult literacy teacher, as she seeks to solve a long
forgotten family mystery. Her charmingly dysfunctional family is of
little help in her quest. Along with her best friends, an attractive
Mexican teacher and an amiable gay chef, Grace must find the one fading
memory that holds the key to why Grace’s great-grandmother, Athena, shot
her husband on the courthouse steps in 1931. Traversing the line between
the Old South and New South, Grace will have to dig into the past to
uncover Athena’s true crime.
Author: TJ Nelson
TJ Nelson is a regular CD reviewer and editor at World Music Central. She is also a fiction writer. Check out her latest book, Chasing Athena’s Shadow.
Set in Pineboro, North Carolina, Chasing Athena’s Shadow follows the adventures of Grace, an adult literacy teacher, as she seeks to solve a long forgotten family mystery. Her charmingly dysfunctional family is of little help in her quest. Along with her best friends, an attractive Mexican teacher and an amiable gay chef, Grace must find the one fading memory that holds the key to why Grace’s great-grandmother, Athena, shot her husband on the courthouse steps in 1931.
Traversing the line between the Old South and New South, Grace will have to dig into the past to uncover Athena’s true crime.
