Obed Calvaire

150 Million Gold Francs

Ropeadope

Obed Calvaire is one of jazz’s renowned drummers who made his mark with the SF Jazz Collective and Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, among other ensembles.  On 150 Million Gold Francs Calvaire leads a quintet in an especially timely project, given the ongoing strife in Haiti, as he was born of Haitian parentage. He’s intent on telling the story of how the country’s centuries-long struggles began. The title induces curiosity but is rooted in history.  After Black slaves fought for and won their independence in the Haitian Revolution, their free nation was extorted by the defeated French colonizers, who used warships to demand an impossible sum of 150 million gold francs in reparations. So, the Haitian people were the first to break free of slavery and yet are still suffering for that.  Like so many of the Ropeadope label’s projects, this has cultural significance, in addition to outstanding music.  The cover art itself is striking, depicting a bare-chested Calvaire shackled in front of that stolen bounty to emphasize the still locked-in slave mentality.

Yet, for those who have ever spent time with Haitian people, most come away greatly impressed with their spirit, their joy, and their resilience.  Calvaire doesn’t dwell on the country’s tragic past but instead promotes those same positive qualities of its people. He brings it home by enlisting mostly Haitian and Haitian-American musicians – alto saxophonist Godwin Louis, keyboardists Harold St. Louis and Sullivan Fortner, guitarist Dener Ceide, and bassists Addi Lafosse and Jonathan Michel — with some relationships that trace back to his childhood.

It was essential for Calvaire to recruit those who understand the intricately complex Haitian rhythm language. As he says, “​​There are certain rhythmic phrases that we play that trigger something else — and that something you can only know if you were raised in this musical environment.” When we think of any kind of Caribbean music, we associate with it multiple percussion instruments such as congas, timbales, or even steel pans, yet Calvaire is so skilled, that he handles all these polyrhythms by himself on the kit, with no overdubs. His grounding was formed in childhood in Miami as he points to marathon 40 Days and 40 Nights revivals where he first began substituting for drummers that didn’t show, evolving to become the main drummer.  As neighboring churches joined these revivals, Calvaire first met keyboardist Harold St. Louis, who was then a drummer, before becoming an outstanding keyboardist. Bassist Addi Lafosse — whose father, like Calvaire’s, was a fine singer, like St. Louis, attended that same middle school, but he played trumpet then, and picked up the bass after hearing it played by Calvaire, who’d refocused away from the drums for a while. As you’ve gleaned, musicians in Miami grow up playing more than one instrument.

True to his origins, this is a personal, autobiographical album. The first thing one hears on the record, though perhaps not expecting it, is vocals from none other than Calvaire’s mother singing “Sa Pe Fem Anyen,” a Haitian hymn the drummer recalls hearing at those childhood revivals. Calvaire gives his traps a workout at the end, emphasizing the rhythms deeply embedded in his DNA. The ensemble blends acoustic and electric throughout, with St. Louis on keyboards and Louis on saxophone as heard here. “Just Friends” is of course the jazz standard popularized by Charlie Parker and others, is rather obviously a feature for Louis and is given a Haitian makeover with a compas groove, meant to celebrate the forging of those early relationships. In the mid-section, the blend of guitar and keyboards produce odd sounds, perhaps meant to reflect chanting and singing.

Louis’s brilliant, and increasingly aggressive and at times agitated alto eventually morphs to joy in “Haiti’s Journey” reflecting the nation’s tragic history, natural disasters, and a fervent hope for a peaceful and brighter economic future that the country has long deserved. Sullivan Fortner then launches a deeply emotive intro in “Sa Nou Fe Nap Peye,” translated to “We’re paying for what we’ve done.” This expression of pure sorrow, picked up by the ensemble, forms the lone elegiac piece on the record that traces to the title and Haiti’s historical plight. (To set the record straight, Fortner is the only ensemble member without apparent Haitian heritage, though his hailing from New Orleans, a city that Haitians all but defined culturally, has led Calvaire to question his ancestry.)  Importantly, he relates to the musical language.

The title track is one of most rhythmically intricate, played in alternating time signatures of 4 and 13, the latter number chosen to represent the chronic unluckiness of Haiti’s politically corrupt turmoil, best exemplified musically by St. Louis’s swirling organ, Louis’ agitated alto, and the vocal chanting that colors the last section.  Louis takes a declarative emotively toned intro on “Gayo Ko W,” meant to say, “Enough Is Enough,” let’s put an end to the struggles.  As the tune evolves into a more joyous swing expressed by guitarist Ceide in a riveting dialogue with both Louis and St. Lousi, it becomes a kind of rallying cry. Calvaire’s work on the kit and especially the toms is striking here. The shuffle groove in the closing “Nan Pwen Miray Lanmou Pap Kraze,” sources from Coupé Cloué, the legendary singer, guitarist and musical romancer and exudes joy as a tribute to the generous, loving spirit of the Haitian people that we touched on previously.

Calvaire has created a sonic portrait of Haiti that deserves to be heard. Far too many people dismiss the positive traits of the Haitian people, relegating the country to ‘danger zone’ status without being cognizant of the roots of its struggles.

• Jim Hynes

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