MILTON NASCIMENTO-TRAVESSIA(BRAZIL)

Milton Nascimento is one of the finest singers and musicians of our time. He is quite possibly the single biggest influence on Latin American music. During the late sixties and seventies, he was undoubtedly South America's most popular artiste. He has inspired musicians such as EWF(Earth Wind &Fire), Wayne Shorter(who he made an album with him and a review on that album is coming) and Esperanza Spalding to name a few. His body of work encompasses over thirty albums and he isn't finished yet. It should be noted that Milton has a significant advantage over most other artistes: a voice blessed to him by the Almighty himself. Moving between a falsetto and a bird call,he effortlessly transcends fantastic arrangements to make some of the finest music ever produced. Also, he is accompanied by fantastic musicians such as Lo Borges and Wagner Tiso. This review is just the first in a series of reviews that we  will be doing about this very imporant musician' work.
                                   In many circles, 1967 is a strange year in Brazillian music.'The Girl from Impanema' had just won the Grammy for album of the year,embodying the international success of Bossa Nova. However, the Military dictatoship's encroachment into the music industry creates an atmosphere which young, radical students reject Bossa Nova(as the dictatoship was backed by the United States) as a Brazillian gift to the Americans and music of the elite. It is readily replaced by Tropicalia, a movement led by folk-rock musicians(Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil at the fore) and poets. During this time an album that is so out of the ordinary is released upon an ususpecting public. 'Travessia' is not a Bossa album. It certainly is not a Tropicalia album. Milton and Ricardo Brandt in 1967 created something totally different, a real 'tour-de-force'. It starts off with the title track, a ballad that showcases Milton's undying love for the ballad In it Milton speaks of his traverses in the world of love and his particular love for a young woman and his searches for  the illusive 'bridge of love'.
'Tres Pontas' started particular trend where Milton sang songs for particular regions and places in Brazil. In this particular piece, he sang about the city of Tres Pontas, the city where he grew up. Tres Pontas is not as popular as other cities in Brazil such as Sao Paolo or Rio, so until very recently, it was not the absolute hub of development that these cities. In Milton's day, it remained very rural as expressed in the lyrics:

 Tip sand, period
Bahia-mines, road antural Bahia-mines, road antural
Linking mines to the port, the sea Linking mines to the port, the sea
Railway Railway sent sent boot boot

Old machinist with his bona  Old machinist with his bona
Remember the happy people who came courting Remember the happy people who came courting
Maria, do not smoke Maria sings more, do not smoke sings more

Pras bucks, flowers, windows and backyards Pras bucks, flowers, windows and backyards
In the empty plaza, a cry, a woe In the empty plaza, the cry, the woe
Houses equecidas, vià º vas the portals Houses equecidas, vià vas in portals'

Cancao do Sal is another ballad that has a full orchestra backing the band:

Working the salt is love is sweat I leaves
Vou viver cantando o dia tão quente que faz I will live singing day so hot that makes
Homem ver criança buscando conchinhas no mar Man seeking child see the sea shells
Trabalho o dia inteiro pra vida de gente levar I work all day to life we ​​lead

It should be noted that while Nacimento is a prolific writer, he has had help from several luminaries of Brazilian music such as the seminal band Tamba Trio(famous for a version of Jorge Ben's Mas Que Nada featured during advertisements for the national football team leading up to the 1998 World Cup), Wagner Tiso and Lo Borge, both members of the "Clube da Esquina".

That said, one in exploring the vast discography of this international treasure, should view this album, as great as it is, as the platform to much greater things done by him. Sometimes,music is able to transcend even the most fickle and volatile situations which present itself on a country and at least, bring about some measure of calm and fleeting distraction. Travessia(Crossings) accomplished this(for it is an accomplishment) in 1967 when the dictatorship was starting to show the precedent for the next twenty years

CHINUA ACHEBE 1930-2013

On Friday, March twenty-first, one of the finest writers of the 21st century passed away. Chinua Achebe was referred to affectionately as the father of African Literature. His first novel, 'Things Fall Apart', shows the destruction of tribal society by colonialism. I have only read two of his novels as only 'Things fall Apart' and  'Arrow of God'. These are two novels of phenomenal quality for two very different reasons. Things fall apart is not a literary masterpiece by any means. In fact, the storyline is the typical interaction between tribal and European societies and the subsequent destruction of the party with less weapons. However, therein lies the magic of Things Fall Apart. It was the first time the African experience of colonialism was articulated. It talks about the interactions and eventual destruction of Okonkwo's (the protagonist) tribal society. He  has interactions with two sections, the legislative sector and the religious sector. Encounters with British governors of other provinces and the missionary who has set up his church with the purpose of converting the 'savages', convince him of the need to fight the colonizer. The book was enthusiastically received and instantly turned Achebe into the biggest literary  discovery since Naipaul a couple years earlier. His third book, viewed  as a continuation of Things Fall Apart, The Arrow of God tells the story of two villages,Umurao and Okperi. The high priest of Umurao is Ezuelu, a proud man with a large family,although somewhat fickle. Controversially received, it not only attacked the system of the armed missionary,but also the system of traditional beliefs dominating the Ibo society of which he is a part. Full of African sayings and proverbs it chronicles the rise and fall of the high priest Ezuelu.

Achebe was never one to mince words. This made him an extremely controversial figure in certain parts of his homeland. Nigeria. This was especially evident during the secession of  certain states in the south-east of the country to form Biafran Republic. This action started events that led to the Nigerian Civil War which lasted from 1967 to 1970. The war is well known for its cruelty and no doubt contributed to the typical stereo-type that Africa is the land of war, starving people and a plethora of STD's. Achebe fell out of favor(if only temporary) with many Nigerians who saw the rebellion as illegal and supported by Apartheid South Africa and other outside power brokers. Even now, several decades after, his legacy remains somewhat divisive. Possibly that is the fate of the Third World writer. The jury is out on that and I or anybody doesn't have the right to cast judgement. That does not however take away one inch of his literary genius. What Achebe's case however does highlight is the faultiness of containing several hundred tribes and cultures in a confined space. In fact, it could be said that he courted controversy until the day literally that he died. That being said. the writer MUST  must be separated from the man. I dislike greatly V.S Naipaul's attitude but it does not stop me from acknowledging his enormous writing ability. Therefore the disrespect that I have seen some bloggers heap upon his memory is truly sad. He may have had views that did not sit well with many people but he also was a genius and for that he is to be respected.

So how will history judge Albert Chinualumogu Achebe? Will it say that he was a myopic, insular Nigerian who looked for the upliftment of the Ibo people alone? Will it read that Achebe was the African Naipaul? Or will it be a more balanced view? It should as Achebe peered into Nigerian  society and understood the reasons for the social and economic chaffing that has plagued Nigeria since the days of colonization. It is said that the quality of a writer is proven by the amount of fans he has, whether small or large. In this case, that is a faulty measuring stick. Many writers think that writing the truth is an excuse to be cynical. Achebe is not of this ilk. In fact, many of his writings are laden with love and respect for certain tribal institutions. He does not however mince his words in highlighting problems and the reasons behind these in his home country and by extension, the rest of Africa. Given this, and considering that we are all human and difference of opinion is what makes life what it is, Achebe should be treated with the utmost respect. He is after all the first and greatest of the Sub-Saharan writers and certainly one of the greatest writers ever

STING-DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES(UK)

In 1985, one of the greatest rock groups of all time had run its course. The Police had dominated the pop and rock charts for six years. It seemed as if the experiment was over, the last waltz was finished and people were going home. This did not come as a surprise to some as Andy Summers, Gordon Sumner(Sting) and Stewart Copeland were all working on solo projects and the accompanying strain no doubt was a major factor in the demise of the group. Sting then proceeded to embark on possibly the most ambitious project in pop music history. It could be said that he going insane or that he was so in love with himself that he was overflowing with confidence and ignoring the perceived wants of his listeners. In hindsight, such critics should hang their heads in shame. The Dream of The Blue Turtles is one of the finest albums of the eighties and also of all time. Soon after the breakup of the Police, Sting invited several young, top notch jazz musicians from The United States to play on it and form the Blue Turtles band. Omar Hakim played drums with Weather Report(no introduction needed). Branford Marsalis had played with Art Blakey and his brother Wynton, who(it should be mentioned),was totally against the project. Kenny Kirkland and Darryl Jones played keyboards and bass respectively with Miles Davis. Dollette Mcdonald and Janice Pendarvis were seasoned studio singers. The Dream of the Blue Turtles had arrived.

        The album itself has ten tracks, not including two bonus tunes. In many ways this album is a black sheep. Firstly, jazz had started it's descent as fresh ideas to make the music appeal to a younger audience had all but dried up. So a rock musician, more so a white musician making an album with black, jazz artistes was totally unheard of and sent the worlds of rock and jazz on a collision course. Secondly, this album is much more socially conscious than most other albums of the period. It actually was the first in a series of  albums by Sting culminating in 'Nothing But The Sun'(a review coming on this album soon) in 1987. The album starts off with 'If you love somebody,set them free', an extremely popular song that probably sold the album to the un-indoctrinated. Sting is an exceptional lyricist. as exemplified on 'Children's Crusade', a shadow classic. In poetic language, Sting parallels the literal Children's Crusades of the middle ages to the young men going to fight in World War I to the heroin addiction plaguing London's streets in the 1980s. 'Russians' pleads with leaders of the super powers to halt their march toward Mutual Assured Destruction(MAT) during the final years of the Cold War. Ending every verse with the line "I hope the Russians love their children too", he emphasises the futility of such action as both sides would lose anyway.Musically, these two tracks are extremely different as Children's Crusade features a full ensemble and an extended saxophone solo by Marsalis. Russians however features keyboards synths made to sound like a full symphony and Sting on vocals without backup. 'We Work The Black Seam'  is another socially conscious track which criticises the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher. Sting comes from a working class town which was famous for ship building an industry  which also collapsed with the advent of mass privatisation. 'Consider Me Gone' is about a man who is saying goodbye to all  the troubles plaguing the world today. 'Shadows in the Rain' features an extended keyboard solo from the late Kenny Kirkland. Enough fresh ideas were created on this album to power jazz and rock for the next twenty years. Unfortunately, the purists did not appreciate what took place in a studio in Barbados in 1984/5. Many purists(Wynton Marsalis being the most vocal), said that the project was rubbiish. I have a philosophy about that. I believe that the musician's duty is not only to play music but cover as many forms as possible in one's lifetime, both intellectually and performance-wise. The album concludes with another very popular love song 'Fortress Around Your Heart'. This song is a personal favorite of mine, Sting in this song tries to balance the price of loving a woman while trying not to keep her caged so that she looses her identity and spirit. This album is a masterpiece and should be on a 'must listen' list for any true music lover, any student of history or philosphy and anyone interested in the general future of music.

        

MERCEDES SOSA EN ARGENTINE(ARGENTINA)

   
 Nada Sera Como Antes
     
The culture of the first peoples of the Americas has been vilified and viewed as the culture of savages for the better part of  of the last millennium. This has been the case in this millennium also, but thankfully, this view is only held by the staunchest of colonial-minded Europeans. Nevertheless, the music of  South America's indigenous peoples has not only survived, but has served as an inspiration and influence for some of the finest musicians in the region. Mercedes Sosa was one of the leading lights of Amerindian folk music. Born in Buenos Aires in 1935,  she became possibly the greatest and best known folk singer in South America. She has influenced musicians from  Venezuela to Chile, Brazil to Paraguay. She has worked with artistes such as Milton Nascimento and Victor Jara. Her professional career started when she was 15 when she won a radio contest. This resulted in her receiving a two-month contract with that radio station.  A tireless worker, she made music almost literally until the day she died, her last album being released in 2009 (the year she died).  What is most remarkable about Sosa is the fact that despite being a member of a community frequently discriminated against, her songs focus on love and the unification of Latin America (an impossible dream.) just as Simon Bolivar himself had intended.

        MERCEDES SOSA EN ARGENTINE is an album of phenomenal quality. It is released at a very strange time in Argentinian history. The country is governed by a brutal dictatorship and also is fighting a soon-to-be infamous war with the British. Shortly, Argentinian national pride is going to suffer a major blow when the controversial sinking of the Belgrano catalyses their defeat in that war. In the midst of all this, Sosa (The Voice of Latin America) delivers a flawless performance.The set is as intimate as a poetry recital among lovers in an amphitheatre.The album starts off with 'Sueno Con Serpientes' or 'Dream With Snakes'. Looking at the translation of the lyrics in English, it becomes apparent that Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez(the writer of the song sung by Sosa) tries to paint a picture of obsession, obsession that started off as a nightmare, no doubt about the writer's most obvious fears. A Cuban children's song titled Drume Negrita is also included. The real highlight of this album is the classic ballad 'Volver a los 17'. The first place I heard this song was on Gerais, an album by Milton Nascimento.Written by Violetta Para of Chile, it celebrates the joy of youthful life, as the title suggests. Sosa effortlessly uses the natural lift that is a characteristic of Spanish, in order to emphasise the beauty of it's poetry. Soul music, not American Soul but music that comes from deep within the heart.

Album: Red Hot On Impulse

This entire album is an ode to the wandering mind;

Majid Shabaaz's weary bass shuffles and endures, carrying on its back Tulsi's bow-tambura. Soon, one is buffeted by showers of Alice Coltrane's harp technique on Journey into the Satchidananda. It whetts the consciousness, and lulls one into a pseudo-hypnopompic state; priming the mind as the arab girds his feet. From beneath the brow of Majid's bass, the eyes of the piece, Pharoah Sanders' Sax runs over dusty cities in the cleft of bleached mountains...I am rambling. In truth, what I have written before is more of an interpretation of what I saw: A traveller bound in cloth and turban trudging through a pulsing dust storm in a purple dessert. Also, there was something to the effect of silver filings suspended perpetually ahead [Tulsi's tambura]. And this was without drugs.
The album contains stunning examples of Spiritual Jazz, many of the tracks seeming to facilitate looking into past lives and things. All of them (but particulary the tracks by Pharoah Sanders et al) have surpassed the mere transmission of mood, and cause one to see the outlines of structures. Pharoah Sanders' Work on the second track, The Creator has a Master Plan is superb, and it is so good that one finds oneself singing along when he begins to chant in his kind of oakwood-oboe voice at the end. Another track of note is Stolen Moments by Oliver Nelson.Though his style is far more orthodox than many of the others', he fits in well if only for his use of the double-bass and horns; Stolen Moments is more reminiscent of a finely cut marble sculpture (as opposed to the driftwood carvings of Alice Coltrane et al), but is not emotionally sterile, and his phrases are clever, at times, succinct. Upper and Lower Egypt starts off quite well but doesn't go too far, and unfortunately, as I have observed on many other tracks by Mr. Sanders and his mentor (even The Creator) , descends gradually into unaccountable chaos (In my humble opinion). I cannot say that I have a favourite song on this album, but A Love Supreme: Acknowledgement is of real note. It is the most eclectic of the tracks and a polarizing one at that. I would recommend reading A LOVE SUPREME (a review of which I, Mono will be doing shortly) by Kent Nussey(a man far more talented than I)  to get the full meditation. Charles Mingus' Hora Decubritus is just as frightening and sparse as one would expect of a Mingus track on this collection. It gives one the image of a dance of the dead actually. I imagine I have left little to you, but, in truth, there is much, much more to be derived. This album is highly recommended by Juan and myself.







---Mono

The Teacup Whale

I came across this story in an old, coverless edition on the bookshelf. I understand that It has been featured in several collections, most notably Tales for Little Rebels. That being said, the short story itself is so...precious that one balks at looking deeper into it (even though it is the irresistible next step). It is about a boy who finds a whale in a puddle and who, upon noticing he is a whale, immediately takes him home and puts him first into a teacup of water, then other receptacles of varying size as the handsome little black fellow grows bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger .  Now I've done some wiki reading on Lydia Gibson, and I understand that she was quite the leftist [although I'm sure she would have reconsidered supporting the soviet communist party had she known where it would end up. Or perhaps she was simply not as well-informed as one would like to believe(?)]. She seemed more to be an appendage of that time of upheaval, rather than an actual revolutionary. That being said, her story echoes in a number of directions, some possibly unintended. For me, her little contended captive recalls several dispossessed peoples who she [possibly] wished would grow more solute, and achieve some liberation-just as the whale, having grown bigger and stronger-big enough to swim out-did. Juan tells me that I am looking too deep this puddle, but it has been my experience that often, creative persons when asked about the meaning of a piece, will say only that which is palateable, give an ill-defined shadow of its true meaning while hoping to reach those they hope to reach. Perhaps she did hold this opinion, and decided to be silent, racial tolerance being what it was in those days. This is especially considering the attitude of the boy's mother in the story. She denies the whale's whaleness (hahaha!!) untill the end of the story when he breaks that chain! Or maybe I am confusing shadows on the cave wall with reality (?). Needless to say, while it could be interpreted in this way, the story is not outrightly political, and is such fanciful nonsense and is so pleasantly written that I would recommend it as a read.









---Mono

Joni Mitchell Hits

On the previous Saturday, we did a review of Thione Seck's album 'Orientation'. In hindsight, that review was an utter failure at describing a phenomenal album and therefore has been left until another time. Joni Michell's hits is a recollection of some of her best songs from the the mid 1960s until the mid 1990s. The album stars off with 'Urge for Going', an acoustic track where she accepts that change is necessary but chides the accompanying consequences. She sings about human and animal reactions to the changing of seasons. Chelsea Morning is also another acoustic track but it should be noted that Mitchell's playing style is strumming and more rhythmic than on 'Urge for Going'. The track was inspired by her apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City. Big Yellow taxi is one of Joni's biggest hits, although personally, it isn't one of my favorites. The real highlight of this album is an epic entitled 'Woodstock' tracking a "child of God" and her traversing the midwest to reach the famed music festival. This track is a composition on an electric piano played by Joni. Another highlight is 'Help Me' in which she asks a man to end her suffering and come into her life. If you are a looking for an introduction to the folk music or just a nostalgic old-timer trying to hold back the years, this is a fantastic album all around

BOOK: Nineteen Eighty-Four

    
            Orwell seemed to truly seek that position which the artist should occupy: that of the neutral bard. With Animal farm, he warned against the perils of political revolution by alegoricizing a certain famous (and failed)  revolution of our time. From this book came the quote "All the animals on the farm are equal. Some animals are more equal than others" (or something to that effect). Growing out of this is what is probably considered his greatest work: Nineteen Eighty-Four, the anti-thesis of his views. Shockingly, I consider Orwell an optimist. He believed in socialist democracy, a system that has been fairly successful in Western Europe, but is essentially confined to flickering experiments in the New World. Flickering thanks to the economic aversion the west has to the independence of this quarter.
            It must be noted that this is a startlingly prophetic book. Ironically, not exactly in the fashion that Orwell meant. He foresaw a world completely checkmated by the political systems of the day. The inner party served as the ruling class, and the outer party members served as the middle class, [the only class most democratic societies pay any attention to, for it is from here that the politicians and rebels arise.] The poor were represented by the Proles, an element of the society supposedly so incapable of gestalt thought that they were used solely as the indolent "cattle of [the] civillisation". That he was passionate about The Party is made obvious by his definition (again paraphrased) of its divisions:

The Ministry of Love   -  Headquarters of the thought-police, which concerned itself with Torture

The Ministry of Peace  -  Which concerned itself with War matters

The Ministry of Plenty  -  Which ensured creature comforts for the members of the inner party at the
expense of the starvation of the outer Party [again the only class worth ruling]

The Ministry of Truth  -  Which concerned itself with demagogy, and creating existential entropy through "historical revisionism".


             George allegorecized awry communism/socialism as exemplified by the Soviet Union and the Nazi Party. He imagined literal controls imposed upon thought by means of the party's main control device: the thought police. This clearly recalls the intelligence branch of the KGB, the NKVD or its Nazi SS equivlent, the Sicherheitsdienst. It monitored the activities of the populace (again referring only to the Outer Party.) through the one-way mirror of the telescreen and various other means.
             The real verisimilitude in this book is in fact a paradox. While the party's rise to power followed the basic failed revolution formula explained in the book of the brotherhood (possibly a pastiche of Marx's conditions for revolution in his reply to Hegel's definition of the Right)- the middle lusts for the position of the high, convinces the low of solidarity and brotherhood to use their shear numbers, after which it assumes the position of the high- in our free world, these controls that Orwell refers to have been imposed upon us by our own choice. 
             A famous Art-Historian (I can't remember who) said that "given the pursuit of answers and the finding of them, [he would] choose the former" (again paraphrased). This defines this century's status quo and exemplifies a concept made concrete by Orwell: Doublethink-The deliberate holding of two mutually exclusive opinions which are mutually exclusive to each other, and not going mad. The denial of truth has lead to a variety of chronic social and economic ills, and the intellectual prolicising (forgive me) of non-ruling members through the propagation of weak entertainment and slanted journalism enforces this status quo as forcefully as any thought Police could.
            Julia, the protagonist's interest, worked on the novel-writing machines in the Ministry of Truth. I find it curious that even this sphere has been successfully penetrated by mediocrity-successfully insofar as the financial returns to the authors, movie adaptations etc- especially considering how much personal effort must be applied to write a book. Or at least at one time; the novel-writing machines are very much active and functioning in the corporate mechanism known as the writing assistant (or whatever) which allows anyone to write a book sparing effort or humility. It has relegated an art to a characterless subject of mass production.
           Einstein foresaw that one day our technological progress would overtake our nobility (intellectual or otherwise). The Novel-writing machines of today operate in another way as well. The absence of music programs in American schools (for years) is directly responsible for the profusion of sampled, autotuned, borderline cavemanspeak entertainment, and has resulted in the explosion of gangster culture which in turn contributes to the rising crime-rates in ever-expanding slums such as the Bronx, New York (according to juan) etc.; taking away the tutelage to self-expression that the creatively virile poorer quarters rely on forces them to adapt to simpler, more expedient means. Hence the Hustle."Artistes" literally refer to their work as "product", and subsequently hustle all of us.
            There are many, many more parallels-such is the quality of the work-but I will leave them to you to draw, if you haven't done so already (I probably am the last man on earth to read this book.). These are the things that impressed me the most, and I view them as the interpretation of a great text for our times. I finished this book some time last year, and meditated on it for a while afterward. It strikes me that we have made ourselves Proles. Society has checkmated itself, and we are living in 1984.





---Mono 

"The Chestnut Tree Cafe"

Now this should really have been done at the outset, but it certainly is not too late.
The Chestnut Tree Cafe was an establishment in the novel 1984 (a review of which I, Mono will be posting shortly) where burnt-out political heretics [thought-criminals] gathered. It served as an estuary where former dissenters could be observed (because they were always being observed) in varying shades of penitence. Among the patrons were artists, musicians and poets; hopelessly creative people whose verve landed them squarely in the party's crosshairs.These mingled somewhat conspicuously with other, non-offending party members for a while until they were summarily disappeared.
It seems that today, thought itself is heretical, popular entertainment being what is is. So we have reserved this space, the paradoxically named Chestnut Tree Cafe to highlight some of these people, who have excelled in their fields, and whose unyielding talent and vision will probably eventually doom them to ignominy, spiritual or literal. By no means will this type of artisan disappear from existence; there will always be students of forms which have gone before, but he will likely remain behind the iron curtain of the status quo. But remain he shall.
Boa noite todos.







 And remember, past dasheen might be craw, but it remains...
---Mono

JAH MUSIC:EVOLUTION OF THE POPULAR JAMAICAN SONG-SEBASTIAN CLARKE

My second post is an overview of one the most important musical studies to come out of the Caribbean in the past twenty-five to thirty years. Jah Music explores the evolution of reggae music from the plantations and freed slave settlements through the politically turbulent 60s, 70s and 80s. The writer, Sebastien Clarke is a Trinidadian journalist, born in 1946 and came to London in 1965. He has written for magazines such as Crawdaddy, Rock and Changes. In 1970, he wrote the first ever documentary on Reggae which was shown on BBC TV, and in 1976 he co-wrote a London Weekend show on Jamaican music. The book demonstrates the stylistic links with Africa and the different forms of expression in popular Jamaican music. It covers the imitation of Afro-American R & B in the 1950s, through the popularisation of this music by the sound systems, and its indigenization as Ska-the first professional expression of a Jamaican popular musical identity.

It should be noted that Jamaican music has changed drastically from the art form it was thirty-one years ago. Whether that change has been for the better is up to the listener. These changes have occurred as a result of several factors. These are explored in the book  Many people wrongly believe that Jamaican music is one dimensional and can be identified by a singular guitar strum of a keyboard stab. This is also a fallacy.

It should be noted that Jamaican music has evolved from several corners of the world. African Rhythms and European cadences combine to form the art forms we know today. Calypso from Trinidad is also a major influence although no journalist can say this without agitating a hornets nest. Clarke explores all these connections. Also covered is reggae and it's various precursors(ska, rocksteady etc) connection to the religious sect Pocomania and it's use of traditional drumming techniques that survived the middle passage. These rhythms have been assimilated into reggae.

Reggae music in Jamaica seems to be more of a movement similar to Tropicalia in Brazil. It is not simply a genre of music. It is a whole sphere of artistic expressions encompassing dub poetry, paintings, music. It is not only the music of suffering and discontent as some journalists project it to be. Rather it is highly romantic and poetic.

Also discussed are the social  upheavals that have fashioned  Jamaican music. Byron lee in an interview with Clarke speaks about the things taking place before independence. Specifically,The Dragonaires being used at several World Fair expos before and after independence. At one of these expos, Edward Seaga was the overseer. It should also be noted that in the sixties and to some extent now,the differences between urban and rural Jamaicans and wealthy Jamaicans extends into the sphere of music also. In the sixties, home grown art forms were viewed as outdated and even shamefully primitive. This attitude has led to extreme resentment by the poor and middle class(if such a thing even exists there).Another social ill that has shaped Jamaican music and is covered by Clarke, is that of political violence. Clarke investigates this and interviews members of the two leading parties, the JLP and the PNP. Serious allegations against one in particular was made by a PNP activist who stated that it was Seaga who brought political violence to Jamaica to win the West Kingston seat. Also, the PNP is charged with invading the JLP  headquarters. All these events were noted by the musicians of the time.

The most important chapter however, entitled Three Modernisers, tells the story of The Wailers, reggae's most important group. He traces the start of the group in Trenchtown and the struggles of choosing music as a career path in the Third World. However,these trials, a rough neighborhood, vindictive and manipulative promoters and record label owners seemed to amplified the creative spirit of the group. The first half culminates in a record deal with Island records and international success. The group however, disintegrates because of allegations of favoritism to the lead singer, Bob Marley by managers. Clarke  does not solely concentrate on the obvious star(Marley) after this. He tracks the musical and social development of the three artistes through two very important stages in Jamaican history: their first solo albums and the election violence(bordering on civil war) of 1976-1980. Tosh and Marley in particular are studied as they were the two most active at the time, politically(in the case of Tosh) and socially(Marley). In the Third World however, musicians are seldom left out of the politics of the day,as exemplified by the attack on Marley in 1976. A political speech at the Peace Concert by Tosh could have started a riot had he not arranged his musical programme  in a certain way. It ends with a study of Bunny Wailer(the most mystical of the three) and the forecasting of further international success(although Marley was to pass away the year this was released and Tosh six years later).

The other chapters deal with the Reggae scene in London and the new trends in Jamaican music. Seminal figures in reggae and dub are featured here- Aswad, Culture, Black Uhuru, SteelePulse,King Tubby etc. The final chapter is about the challenges facing reggae musicians at home and abroad, namely manipulative and fickle record executives who sell reggae albums when it is in demand and drop their charges as soon as the 'boom' is over. They also copy the ideas of the local record dealers and therefore put these out of business. This is a fantastic book. It makes for harrowing but ultimately inspirational reading and is a must read. An index and short biography of all the artistes mentioned is included at the back of the book.

A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS

Today is the first day of this blog's existence.My first post would like to be about a book that has attracted much adulation from the literary community at home and abroad. A House for Mr Biswas(1961) is generally viewed by many as Vidiadhar Surajprasad, known to the literary world as V.S Naipaul's "magnum opus". This was Naipaul's fourth novel, after much shorter books such as The Suffrage of Elvira, The Mystic Masseur and a collection of short stories known as Miguel Street. While these books were regarded as very good, they were quite short and lacking in depth. For the record, I disagree with those sentiments.

A House for Mr Biswas centers around the life of Mohun Biswas, a man simply looking to call a place his own. He is viewed by some as being a magnet of bad luck because of being "born the wrong way". His father dying in a swimming accident while trying to save him further enforces this belief. Throughout the book, Biswas tries to assert his independence among domineering characters such as Pandit Jairam, the Tulsi Family and various other characters. Biswas also balances this with the constantly changing demands of his wife and three children. Effortlessly weaving between dark comedy and heart-wrenching drama, Naipaul tells a story of a man's persistence and resilience in a search for autonomy against the backdrop of post colonial Trinidad.

Mohun Biswas seems to be a man constantly stalked by bad luck. To the person who has not read this fantastic novel, this may sound as the stuff that many a comedy is based on. But far from it, in several parts,m it is the makings of drama of the highest order. The book also touches on themes that are even in twenty first century Trinidad are considered taboo and in some cases harmful to national development. Themes such as race, class, an antagonistic look at religion are all covered by Naipaul. In the 1940s/50s,Trinidad is a society that is just coming into it's own and is acquiring more freedoms from the Colonial authorities. While no date is stated in the book pertaining to the written events, one conversant with Trinidad and Tobago's history may assume that they take place between the late  thirties, forties, fifties and early sixties. It also touches on the real and sometimes imagined disconnect of people who live in suburban and urban areas with those who live in rural communities.

Race is also discussed in the book. In a cosmopolitan society such as Trinidad, the topic of race will inevitably come up and so-called racial chaffing sporadically occurs in Trinidad.  Secondly, racism in Trinidad is not really the type of racism that exists elsewhere. The racism(if it may be even called that) is not infectious, effervescent and corrosive. That is not to say it does not exist. Biswas first experiences the chaffing of early Indo-Afro relations in Trinidad in an incident that takes place at the Tulsi's shop. An Afro-Trinidadian woman asked for a pair of flesh-colored stockings and was given black colored stockings by Shama, one of the younger members of the house. This caused great anger and was only diffused by the calm but manipulative Mrs Tulsi. It should be noted however that this incursion was precipitated by Biswas professing his love for Shama in writing. During this particular passage, Naipaul displays contempt and at times scorn for certain institutions and practices which have become entrenched in Hindu culture such as child marriage and the co-habitation of matrimonial families. The Tulsi family is a perfect example of this, as they move hastily to have him betrothed to Shama soon after meeting her mother Mrs Tulsi. This in turn leads to the main theme of the novel: the desire of one man battered and bruised by the tempestuous and fickle sea of circumstance to be independent.

Unlike A Brighter Sun by another Trinidadian author who also made his name known in Britain, Sam Selvon, this novel is not optimistic. It does not pretend to be. In fact, A House for Mr Biswas at times borders on cynicism and pessimism* However this book is a gripping drama that takes the reader from the cane fields and plains of Central Trinidad to the majestic hills of the northern range and a rapidly urbanizing capital.


N.B- Notes on  A House for Mr Biswas will be done later

The real Hanuman House in Chaguanas Trinidad