ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ & MAGDELYS SAVIGNE

OKANTOMI BY OKAN

Lulaworld Records

Magdelys Savigne, composer/vocals/percussion; Elizabeth Rodriguez, composer/vocals/violin; Roberto Riveron, bass; Frank Martinez, drums; Jeremy Ledbetter, piano/keyboards; Miguel de Armas, synthesizer; SPECIAL GUESTS:  Amado Dedu, congas; Reimundo Sosa, percussion;  Anh Phung, flute; Elmer Ferrer, guitar; Pablosky Rosales, Tres/guitar/vocals; Jorge Betancourt, piano; Lara St. John, violin; Luis Deniz, saxophone;  Dayme Arocena, Marta Elena, & Eliana Cuevas, vocals; Dayan Ogbelera, spoken word;  Roberto Riveron, Tamayo/vocals; Matthew Girolami, double bass; Kathryn Knowles, cello; Sarah De Niverville, viola.

These two multi-instrumentalist women have taken their name (Okan) from the Spanish word for heart and soul.  With the Afro-Cuban religion, Santeria acting as a base for their music, the two singers and composers bring a female perspective to this Cuban musical genre.  The Santeria music has long been dominated by men, so these two women create a distinctive and personal world of jazz fusion that embraces their history, their culture and their unique perspective. These talented women have already won awards.  They’ve been chosen as Top Album of the Year by NPR, Alt Latino, Le Monde & CBC.

They open with “Eshu Nigue (Elegua)” a very hypnotic chant that draws me into the music like quicksand.  Just vocals and percussion is a very effective arrangement, quickly introducing me to the style and genre of their music.  Magdelys Savigne plays percussion and sings. Elizabeth Rodriguez is a master violinist and vocalist. Together, they are fire!

“La Reina del Norte” (written by Elizabeth Rodriguez) is full of joy and percussion. It features Rodriguez on violin and inspires me to sway hips and pat feet. This is joyful dance music. It fuses classical forms with popular Latin styles from Cuba. Some of these styles were called ‘Street Music’ developing much like fusion jazz or hip hop. “Okantomi” was created to praise Oshun, the orisha that protects people from harm while far from home, like struggling immigrants in other countries. Roberto Riveron’s bass is tenacious and present to set the groove. On a song titled “Preludio y Changui” the ladies fuse western classical music with Cuban genres of changüi and danzon, featuring the dynamic violin solos of legendary Lara St. John alongside OKAN’s Elizabeth Rodriguez. It showcases the virtuosic talents of OKAN leaders and members.

The voices of Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne blend like bread and butter. Their musicianship is already legendary, and they are two-time Juno winners, Grammy and Latin-Grammy nominees. They complement each other with both tone and energy.  This is Latin jazz with a twist.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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