Take A Peek: Alan Lomax in Haiti

Massive 10 CD boxed set runs some serious voudo down... see video clip, below.

By A.D. Amorosi

Best known for essaying the indigenous sounds and habits of the rural South and the Appalachians Alan Lomax (1915 - 2002) was a preservationist, curator, and conservationist. Mostly though, as heard throughout the 10 CDs of Alan Lomax in Haiti (Hart Recordings; www.harterecordings.com), he was an ethnomusicological spirit catcher whose revelations captured Afro-Caribbean and African nuances decades before David Byrne and Moby set their samplers to warp speed.

We can now listen in to a pivotal era in Haiti's cultural history, when the country was throwing off U.S. imperialism and embracing both its African roots and the coming influence of jazz and African-American/Afro-Caribbean popular music and dance," states the producer's daughter Anna Lomax Wood in Haiti's formidable books of notes. Like a sonic version of Wade Davis's The Serpent and the Rainbow, these 1936-37 recordings maintain the raw sound of oppression, rage, freedom and sexuality that is the 287 song package. These are politicized meringues, religious mambos, vodou parade tunes and priestly jazz dances. These are private moments captured in tiny clubs, yards, and tribal rituals. They are pop songs.

In reality the entirety of Haiti is one long treasure map with Lomax as the guy with the map and the mic - each worth their weight in gold. It might be hard to get through the box - it's distant and foreign in every way. But like every treasure hunt, the adventure is the key to its wealth.