This night is dedicated to various Surinamese music styles from Suriname and the Netherlands.
1-The Maroni River Caribs of Surinam.
There are very few examples of Kali’na music except for the field recordings by Peter Kloos, which he recorded between 1966 and 1968 in the village of Galibi in the Marowijne region. This Dutchman lived in the village for one year with his wife and registered many important testimonies of the local communal memory. This album contains 21 pieces that illustrate the three most important kinds of traditional Kali’na music: sanpula, alemi and laments to kalawasi.
CD: The Maroni River Caribs of Surinam. Label: Pan Records, (1996) Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen.
2- Gowtu – Yakki Famirie
Yakki Famirie was started in Rotterdam from the kaseko orchestra Latinos from Suriname. The group specialized in ‘aleke kaseko’, a mix of Eastern Surinamese aleke music and kaseko from the coastal region. The album Gowtu was released on the World Connection label in 1999. Because it was produced by Cuban band leader Manolito Simone it has a considerable Cuban sound. Guest performances are provided by jazz singer Denise Jannah, Venezuelan percussion player Gerardo Rosales and the R&B band Replay.
The album includes a Dutch version of Blaka Rosoe, a classic by Lieve Hugo and a kaseko version of Oye Mi Canto by Gloria Estefan.
CD: Gowtu – Yakki Famirie. Label: World Connection (1999), code 43006. Video
3- Maspoti Makandra – Fra Fra Big Band.
The Big Band was started in 1990, after the original septet Fra Fra Sound made a short tour to celebrate their 10th anniversary. For the occasion, they added more wind instruments to the ensemble and under the name Fra Fra Big Band their performances were a huge success. The band’s innovative, stimulating music turned out to be so inspiring that a regular celebration was called for and the Fra Fra Big Band was a fact. The Surinamese expression ‘fra fra’ means ‘balance’, or better said: a balanced combination of various elements. Fra Fra Big Band’s music is influenced by elements from all over the world. The band consists of 18 Antillean, Surinamese, Afro American and Dutch musicians.
CD: Maspoti Makandra – Fra Fra Big Band. Radio Netherlands (1998). World Music in the Netherlands’ collection Ethnic music in the Netherlands. Video
4- Dya So – Fra Fra Sound.
The jazz septet Fra Fra Sound, started in the early 1980s in Amsterdam, plays with an international mix of musicians. The band interlaces Caribbean and African rhythms with jazz improvisation. On the album Dya So are 9 top-class songs, and many of those are influenced by jazz and funk. The album is remarkably consistent but also has a few surprises: the sound of voices, children playing ‘Langs de Crossroad’, and a beautiful bass/guitar bridge in the song ‘GK’. Ever since Fra Fra Sound was started various musicians have been part of the band, on this album they are: Andro Biswane (guitaar), Vincent Henar (e-bass), Walther Muringen (drums), Efraïm Trujillo (sax), Michael Simon (trumpet) en Robin van Geerke (piano).
CD: Dya So – Fra Fra Sound. Label: Pramisi Records (2007), code: PRA CD 0704. Video
5- Kantráki – Raj Mohan.
The album of the Hindu vocalist Raj Mohan from Surinam is about people who immigrated from India to Suriname. Raj Mohan was born in Suriname. He studied singing in Amsterdam and Mumbai and he trained himself in singing various classic Indian styles. Except for composing music after existing texts by Urdu poets, Raj Mohan also writes his own texts. His repertoire includes the ghazal, geet and bhajan genres. In 2013 140 years of migration between India and Suriname was commemorated. The singer recorded an album for the occasion, together with i.a. violinist Oene van Geel.
CD: Kantráki – Raj Mohan. Pan Records (2005), code: PAN.213. Video
6- Back In Time: Asentele – Yakki Famirie.
After being absent in the local and regional music scene for almost 10 years, Yakki Famirie decided to return to the era of dance clubs via this album, and worked a few of their old hits into two medleys in an exclusive way. After the request of many fans, they also re-recorded six songs, which went down very well with the audience, especially the famous song ‘Asentele’.
CD: Back In Time: Asentele – Yakki Famirie. Label: D*Stars Record Company (2008), code: DK2098. Video
7- Greetings from Surinam, Moksie Patoe, The Best of Kaseko-Dance music.
This album is dedicated to the ‘Kawina’, which can be heard in all of Suriname. The Kawina was originally performed by Creole boys and men, one the lead vocalist and the other repeating the chorus. The instruments used are every kind of drums and a wooden box which is drummed with a wooden stick. When trumpets are added to the vocals and drums Kawina becomes Kaseko. Both styles are meant for dancing.
CD: Greetings from Surinam, Moksie Patoe. Label: PMF Records (1992), code: 90 618-2.
8- B.B. met R. – Max Woiski Sr.
In the 1930s Woiski started his own club ‘La Cubana’. There, at the Leidsestraat in Amsterdam, he performed as José Baretto and mostly played Latin American music. In the 1950s he changed to Surinamese music. Members of his orchestra were i.a. Steve Boston (percussion) and Johnny de Miranda (congas, percussion, piano and vocals). His greatest hit was B.B. met R. (Bruine bonen met rijst – Red beans with rice). In the 1960s Woiski had his own production company called MMP. Famous artists who had a contract with Woiski were i.a. Ciska Peters and Edwin Rutten. In the late 1960s Woiski left for Mallorca, where he bought a nightclub. He died in 1981.
CD: B.B. met R. en andere poku’s van Max Woiski Sr. Label: Top Notch (2103), code: TNT316CD. Video
Special thanks to:
Muziekweb Rotterdam.
