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Percussion Ascension In 'Jolgorio' Frenzy
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Newsday, Percussion Ascension In 'Jolgorio' Frenzy >>
If you've enjoyed the work of singer Susana Baca over the past few years, you have an idea of the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition. But Baca's music is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this genre, and one of the music's most important pioneers, Peru Negro, is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. To commemorate this, the high-energy music and dance collaborative has just released a new album, "Jolgorio" (Times Square Records).
Originally composed of 12 family members, Peru Negro now involves a troupe of about 30 singers and dancers in its quest to preserve the legacy of Afro-Peruvian music. The troupe began in 1969, when members of the Victoria Santa Cruz music and dance company performed in a Lima tourist restaurant. With financial backing from a military government that was intent on promoting national folklore, the group thrived in the '70s and '80s.
They played songs written around the cajón, a wooden box used to pack perishable goods that Afro-Peruvians took up after drums were forbidden by the Spanish crown in the 18th century. Eventually, they incorporated Afro-Cuban instruments such as the bongó, the conga and the cowbell and performed several different dance rhythms, such as the festejo, alcatraz, landó, tondero, zapateo and panalivio.
All of these rhythms appear on "Jolgorio," which roughly translates as "a state of celebratory frenzy." The contrast between the fast-paced festejo and the sensually slow landó (one of the genres favored by Baca) supplies much of the creative tension in the group's presentation. The percussion jamming on "Jolgorio de los Negritos-Guaranguito" is particularly intense. "De España," a tondero, is as bitter a lament about the Spanish conquest as I've heard. Still, the music of Peru Negro is a synthesis of guitars, violins and elements of European and indigenous music, and despite the group's folklore influences, it has a contemporary feel and a festive energy that will get anyone dancing.
02/22/04
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