From the Twitter- & other -verses

A few odds and ends collected or sent on Twitter (and other sources) recently.  See @tomusicpix A retweet from @RootsMusicCanada Fair enough. RT @alannealottawa: Kiran Ahluwalia wasn’t impressed that presenter didn’t attempt her last name #cbcjunos http://yfrog.com/ny3sgsaj Via  @RealWorldRec: Creole Choir of Cuba recording ‘Tande’ in the Wooden Room at @RealWorldStudio http://youtu.be/fHBQ-jzgNBU (Creole Choir is better known in Toronto as Grupo Vocal Desandann) 60 years ago: the first rock & roll concert & first rock & roll riot. Alan Freed in Cleveland: http://t.co/0CyVP0uh via Assoc. Music Parents “I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my … Continue reading

Desandann: Receiving long-deserved recognition

Sometime in the late 90’s, I first saw Grupo Vocal Desandann, a 10-member vocal group of Haitian descendants living in Camaguey Cuba. They played that night at Harbourfront, and I fell in love with their music.  However, commercial success and wider critical notice has been sadly a long time in coming. Despite their alliance with Jane Bunnett and Larry Cramer, and periodic appearances in the Toronto area and around Canada, they were little known. The effective ban on Cuban musicians in the US did not help. In 2009, Bunnett and Cramer recorded what was only the group’s second CD (Pwan … Continue reading