Haitian Beatz

One thing that was apparent is that the Festival Musicas Mesticas Salvador 2009 was not about commercial music, or which band can bring more fans, or crunching number like most World Music

festivals have become. It was simply about good music, originality and artist camaraderie. There was a sense of preservation of Afro music and pride. Whether you heard of one band and not the other, curiosity prevailed. And you had to take your time to listen to every new sound embracing the stage. No two artists or bands sounded the same. Yet the collaboration of many artists on stage like Les Tambours de Brazza (Congo) and Bahian guest artist Carlinhos Brown, or BélO (Haiti) and guest artist Margareth Menezes, felt like the artists were made to perform together. We must give respect to the Festival commit for these well thought out collaborations.

The Festival Musicas Mesticas Salvador 2009 was the closing of a yearlong celebration of France in Brazil. The collaboration was absolutely a harmony of events. Both the French and the Brazilian governments supported the program. Carlinhos Brown, Brazilian artist/composer, decided in 2007 to refurbish a national monument building, and creates a center for Black music. Thus "Museu du Ritmo" (Museum of Rhythm), which exposes Black history through art, music and culture. Festival Musicas Mesticas Salvador 2009 was held in the courtyard of  Museu du Ritmo. http://www.carlinhosbrown.com.br/en/universe/museu-du-ritmo/

The first Night, Tcheka (Cabo Verde) caught my attention on his first note. A very simple artist with some amusing sound was coming from his guitar playing which sounded more like percussion then strings of Afro rhythm.  Occasionally it would remind me of the flamingo rhythm. Tcheka's bass player would often trick you by playing some guitar cords on the bass. The drummer, which who was apparently placed on the left side of the stage instead the usually spot in the back center, would blow you away with some unusual beats. I couldn't understand what Tcheka was singing about, but it was a great musical experience, and I immediately looked to purchase his CD after the show.