Caribbean Playground
Download 16.08 Kb.
|
| BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CD: All aboard! You are invited to climb on our Great Big Boat and embark on a musical cruse to the Caribbean. We'll have lots of fun and learn a bit too! Caribbean music comes from a mixture of Native American, European, African, and other cultures that have all lived in the area over the years. Like Caribbean food, the music is full of flavors that blend local ingredients with influences from many different places. Some of the languages spoken in the Caribbean are French, Spanish, and English, as well as Creole and Patois, which combine European and African languages. So grab your sunglasses and join us as we cruise on down to Jamaica, the home of reggae music and other styles such as Mento and Ska. Jamaican music is well known all over the world, and artists like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, and Shaggy are just a few of the many famous musicians from the island. We're also making stops in Martinique and Guadeloupe, the home of Zouk music, a fast and fun dance style that is popular all over the Caribbean. Haiti is another country we'll visit on our trip. While Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is very rich in culture. The African influence in Haiti is very strong and there are many kinds of music, including Compas, Rara, and Twoubadou. Make sure to pack your maracas! Our voyage will also take us to Puerto Rico, one of the three Spanish-speaking islands in the Caribbean, along with Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Puerto Rico is the center of Salsa, which is a fun, upbeat dance music. Traditional Puerto Rican music includes African-influenced styles like Bomba and Plena. Another destination on this journey is Trinidad, the birthplace of Calypso, Soca, and an Indian-influenced dance music called Chutney. Calypso is like a musical newspaper. Singers make up lyrics that talk about daily life, current events, and politics, usually in a very funny way. The steel drum, or steel pan, was invented in Trinidad. It is a musical instrument made out of oil barrels. How's that for recycling? BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR SONGS: 1. "Great Big Boat" - Taj Mahal and The Hula Blues This song invites you to imagine you are on a great big boat sailing to the Caribbean. The journey begins in the Pacific Ocean and continues down the west coast of Mexico. You will pass by the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicáragua, and Costa Rica before you arrive at the Panama Canal, a giant waterway that was dug right through the country of Panama. You sail on through the canal and end up in the warm blue waters of the Caribbean. Taj Mahal is a renowned blues and folk singer. He's also a big fan of music from around the world, especially African, Hawaiian and Caribbean music. His father was a jazz musician and composer who was born and raised in the Caribbean. 2. "Jamaica Farewell" - Desmond Dekker Jamaica is a beautiful island that is home to a very rich culture. Kingston, the capitol, is one of the largest cities in the Caribbean. The beaches of Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios are popular with visitors from all over the world. Some of the best coffee in the world grows high in the Blue Mountains. There are tropical fruits with interesting names like ackee, soursop, tamarind, and naseberry. This song is performed by Desmond Dekker, who is called the "King of Ska" because he helped make Ska music popular around the world. Ska is a type of dance music from Jamaica that has elements of local folk styles like Mento, as well as American Jazz and swing. Reggae developed out of Ska, and they have a similar type of beat. On this song, Desmond Dekker sings about how much he loves Jamaica and how sad he is to leave. 3. "Tambou Dan Tche Nou" - Kali Among the many African influences in Caribbean music is the use of the drums and other percussion instruments. Percussion instruments make sounds when they are hit by a hand, a stick, or some other solid thing. This song is all about people getting together and having fun playing music with their drums. It says, "Drums can bring joy to our hearts. They have a spirit that makes us feel good." Can you hear the twanging sound of the banjo? Did you know that the banjo is also originally from Africa? Kali is a singer, songwriter and banjo player from Martinique. His songs are based on the traditional music of his native island as well as other Caribbean styles like Reggae, Zouk, and Compas. 4. "Three Little Birds" - Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band Lousiana is on the Gulf of Mexico, not the Caribbean Sea, but it has been influenced by Caribbean culture. The city of New Orleans is a very musical city. It is the birthplace of jazz and many other music styles. People from all over the Caribbean have settled there over the years. In the state of Louisiana, Spanish, French, African, and Caribbean cultures have all mixed together making a new culture and language called Creole. Different Creole cultures are found throughout the Caribbean. One popular kind of music in Louisiana is Zydeco, which blends French dance melodies, elements of Caribbean music, and the blues. It usually features the accordion and a washboard, an instrument make out of a wavy metal sheet used to wash clothes. Here, Keith Frank gives a Zydeco flavor to a Jamaican Reggae song by the legendary Bob Marley. The song tells of three little birds whose beautiful melodies give a message of hope and happiness. So don't worry about a thing, and, as they say in Louisiana, "Let the good times roll!" 5. "Coconut Woman" - Karl Zero and the Wailers Coconut trees grow all over the Caribbean, and there's nothing more refreshing than a drink of fresh coconut water on a warm, tropical day. In this song, a woman selling coconuts tells how good they are for the body and the soul. "Coco's got a lot of iron," she calls out, "Makes you strong like a lion." This song was made famous in the 1950's by Harry Belafonte. In the 50's and 60's his popular recordings led millions of people to discover the beauty and charm of Caribbean music. Karl Zero is actually a TV star in France, but he's also a big music fan. After falling in love with classic Calypso and Mento from the Caribbean, he invented The Wailers, a legendary Jamaican band that used to play with Bob Marley, to record this song with him. 6. "Panama" - Marlene Dorcena This song talks about a man who is going to visit his sweetheart, but he is late because his Panama hat falls off and he asks someone to help him pick it up. A Panama hat is made from the leaves of a plant and worn all over the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond. Even though they are called Panama hats, they are actually made in the country of Ecuador. This is a traditional folk song from Haiti that is familiar to people of all generations. Marlene Dorcena is a Haitian singer and actress. She has lived in Brussels, Belgium since 1991. She recently wrote a book about the traditional Haitian stories her grandmother told her as a child. 7. "Little Anancy" - Asheba All over the Caribbean, children listen to stories about Anancy, a mischievous spider who uses his intelligence to get himself out of trouble or play tricks on people. Anancy stories were brought to the Caribbean by African slaves hundreds of years ago. Anancy is always having adventures with other animals, especially Tiger who often has food that Anancy wants to eat. Tiger may be bigger and stronger than Anancy, but the little spider is always able to outsmart him and fill his tummy. This song is all about Anancy and how the stories about him make people laugh. Asheba is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller who learned to sing Calypso and play the steel drum when he was growing up in Trinidad. Now he lives in California and brings the fun and energy of Caribbean music to audiences of all ages. 8. "Bomba Te Traigo Yo" - José González y Banda Criolla If you traveled across the island of Puerto Rico, you would see beautiful beaches, coffee and sugar plantations, tropical rainforests and high mountains. This song is about Bomba, a style of music with African roots that developed in the coastal towns where most of the descendants of African slaves lived. Like lots of other Caribbean music, it features call and response singing, which usually played with percussion instruments like maracas (a type of rattle), cowbell, sticks, and drums called barriles, which are shaped like a barrel. José González lives in Massachusetts and is devoted to educating people about Puerto Rican music and culture. He plays the cuatro, a traditional Puerto Rican guitar with ten strings. 9. "Pa 'Piye Sou Do M'" - Lole-Lolay Haiti has a number of different kinds of music and dance. Many people in Haiti practice Vodun, or Voodoo, which is a religion based on ancient West African faiths. A long time ago, many Haitians went to work on Cuban sugar plantations. They came back to Haiti with a blend of Haitian of Cuban music called Twoubadou, which has recently become popular again. It uses instruments like the banjo, acoustic guitar, and accordian. Lole-Lolay is a group of Haitian musicians who came together to help revive the tradition of Twoubadou music. The song is about how important it is to stand up for yourself and not expect other people to solve your problems for you. 10. "Reggae Dancin'" - MissionIriez Reggae music comes from Jamaica and is popular all over the world. People everywhere love Reggae's beat, soul, and messages of peace and unity. "Reggae Dancin'" is all about how much people enjoy Reggae and how it makes them feel "irie." Irie is a Jamaican word for feeling all right! The song says that Reggae teaches you things you won't learn in school, tells you things you won't hear on the news, and makes you happy when you're feeling blue. MissionIriez was started in California by a group of musicians whose families are originally from Tonga, a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Tonga may be half a world away from Jamaica, but this band has made it their mission to help spread the word of Reggae music. 11. "Votez Zouk" - Luc Leandry Zouk is fun dance music popular in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The word "zouk" actually means "party" in French Creole. It's a relatively new style of music and it uses a lot of modern instruments like synthesizers. Zouk is based on traditional drumming styles such as gwo ka and chouval bwa as well as modern influences like rock, funk, salsa, and African pop music. On this song, Luc Leandry sings that if we all forget our differences and just dance to Zouk, life would be a lot more fun! Luc Leandry is one of the leading Zouk artists from Guadeloupe. In his 25-year career he has released 18 albums, written over 200 songs, and performed and recorded with some of the biggest stars in the French Caribbean. 12. "All Aboard" - Atlantik Every year, the people of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad's sister island), celebrate Carnival. It is a colorful party that lasts for days. People dress up in costumes, march in parades, play in steel drum bands, and basically just have a good time Carnival is a time to forget your troubles and enjoy life. This song invites you to hop on board a Carnival float and sing and dance along. Atlantik is one of the most popular Soca bands in Trinidad. Soca is short for "Soul Calypso." It is faster than traditional Calypso and is focused less on the lyrics and more on making people dance and party. Directory: uploads uploads -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 uploads -> Department of science and humanities department of mathematics part-a questions and answers uploads -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? uploads -> For want of a nail uploads -> Ownership Models There are two different types of ownership models uploads -> Police Militarization uploads -> City of rising star regular meting thursday, july 14, 2016 uploads -> Township of winfield uploads -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 uploads -> The Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program What We Want Now! Download 16.08 Kb. Share with your friends:
|