RADIO GUANTANAMO: GUANTANAMO BLUES PROJECT VOL. 1 - JANE BUNNETT
A longtime American military base that exists as a tiny enclave in Cuba, Guantanamo has become notorious in recent years for its treatment of prisoners. But little has been known about the region’s unique changui music before Canadian soprano saxophonist Jane Bunnett’s rollicking new CD. This is the latest and perhaps most revelatory of Bunnett’s explorations of Cuban culture. (Given Canada’s friendly diplomatic relationship with the island, she and her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, have collaborated with Cuban musicians since 1991.) Here she and an incredible band of Cuban changui players and American jazz maestros (including Dewey Redman, who blows angular tenor-sax soul on “Yemaya”) vibrantly bring to life the province’s festive Afro-Cuban music. The multicultural convergence includes West African polyrhythms, exhilarating call-and-response vocals and even zydeco flourishes, delivered by squeeze-box ace Johnny Sansone on “Give Me One Dollar.” Billboard
