The music industry's most profitable products may well come from the industrialized world, where pop, rock and hip-hop reign, but some of the world's most beautiful sounds comes from small countries where the artistry expresses hope for troubled times.
That would explain the creative and commercial success of the celebrated Haitian singer Emeline Michel, who brings her inspirational and soothing expression of the island nation's essence to Miami's Gusman Center on Oct. 2. It may be a particularly poignant and emotional evening, given the recent death and destruction Haiti has suffered from Hurricane Jeanne.
The concert marks the world premiere of the singer's new album Rasin Kreyol (Times Square). In commemoration of Haiti's bicentennial, Michel will perform songs that combine traditional and contemporary Haitian rhythms with lyrics that speak to the social and political conditions on the island.
In Michel, concertgoers will encounter an acclaimed singer, dancer and songwriter who sings in Haitian Creole and French. Her songs blend the Haitian genres of konpa, twoubadou and rara with jazz, pop, bossa nova and samba.
Born in Gonaives, Haiti, Michel began singing gospel music in church. She studied at the Detroit Jazz Center, returned to Haiti as a professional musician and has worked in France and Canada.
For nearly two decades she has steadily built a reputation as one of Haiti's most innovative and celebrated artists, producing a number of influential albums. Among them are 1996's Ban'm pase (Let Me Pass). On the album's title cut and Mwen bezwen (I Need You), she effortlessly fused jazz, blues and samba, and gained a reputation as a leading Haitian Creole songwriter.
Michel also won acclaim for 2000's Cordes et Ame (Strings and Soul), where she sang of perseverance. The album relied heavily on her voice and acoustic guitar.
For the last several years, the singer has performed in concerts worldwide, from Belgium to Japan. But she closely follows the turmoil of her island nation, and as a queen of Haitian music, her sound remains rooted in her homeland.
