The Word: Voodoo drums, especially Ti Ro Ro, Haitian music from folkloric to dance and voodoo, especially Guy Du Rosier, and all sorts of wonderful rare old LPs that touch on Haitian/voodoo with anything from one track to the full album. Related fare, such as Trinidadian shango and other cult music, is listed with calypso if there is no actual Haitian/voodoo (or voodoo-inspired) content.
Ti Ro Ro (or Ti RoRo) is the undisputed champion drummer of all time in Haitian recordings, and collectors with even a mild interest in percussion should jump at the chance whenever a Ti Ro Ro record turns up. The other top name in Haitian recordings is Guy Du Rosier (or Guy duRosier), the top bandleader and singer for several decades. Apart from these two there are some "one-offs" but few instances of one artist making several different records. France and other French-speaking countries are another source of rare Haitian records.
Further below: Haitian/voodoo trade wants
Links: are to artists bio/discog pages in the Hyp Records guide:
Images: accurately represent items but are not always the exact copy listed/purchased
Discount: ALWAYS try to buy more than one item at a time
Red Camp: Camp Inventions; Cook/Sounds of Our Times 1087; deep groove E/V- $20 -- piano jazz/voodoo drum/zither; "bold new design for jazz piano"; a rare and odd Cook LP featuring the improvisational jazz piano of Red Camp, in one instance over a Tiroro background track (just another Cook recording used a drum backing but very effective); also there's some Ruth Welcome; the jazz is rare and fine but the best thing may be the jacket art, which is truly first-rate (and Tiroro-centric); Man I Love, Ritual in Haiti (Tiroro), Caravan, Night & Day, Third Man Theme, Summer Night, Blue Skies, Body & Soul, Black & Blue, I Shout When I'm Sad, Sweet Lorraine, Amor, Little Coquette, Time On My Hands
Choco & his Mafimba Drum Rhythms: African-Latino-Voodoo Drums; Audio Fidelity AFSD-6102; 1963; N/N shrink S $25 -- Haitian/voodoo/drums; a classic!; 14 cuts by drummer Chocolaté (Antonia Diaz Mena) in his most impressive, 12" hi-fi stereo showcase; sensational voodoo-scene jacket; very un-pc liners; some chanting but the whole thing is...SERIOUS BEATS!!!; 14 cuts: Tambor Majimba, Tambor Loco, Claves, Baba, Bembe, Rhumba (Baile Voodoo), Fantasia Haitiana #1-3..
Harold Courlander (rec.): Drums of Haiti (Music of Haiti, Vol. 2); Folkways P-403; (c)1950; 2nd press/jacket w/booklet, deep groove E/V $20 -- fantastic stuff, similar to Ti-RoRo's Voodoo Drums in Hi-Fi (similar rara); drums and vaccines; vodun, ibo, congo, juba, bumba, salongo, etc. dances; some marks and noise
Maya Deren (recorded): Voices of Haiti 10"; Elektra EKL-5; 1953; deep groove, no booklet E-/V+ $75 -- Haiti, voodoo, vocal; rare and highly prized (high value in top shape--this one plays well despite wear); Creole O Voudoun (Yanvalou), Ayizan Marche (Zepaules), Signaleagwe Orroyo (Yanvalou), Zulie Banda (Banda), Ibo Lele (Ibo), Ghede Nimbo (Mahi), Nogo Jaco Colocoto (Nago Crabino), Miro Miba (Congo), Po' Drapeaux (Petro Mazonnei)
Jean Léon Destiné: Festival in Haiti; Elektra 130; (c)1955; [no booklet] deep groove E+/E $30 (or E/V $20, specify) -- Haitian/voodoo; historic set by acclaimed Katherine Dunham dancer/Haiti-exponent Jean Leon Destine, along with equally highly influential master drummer Ti Ro Ro(!!!) and Alphonse Cimber; fantastic music, liners, artwork; this early 12" reissue adds one more cut than on the original 10" and better sound/condition; we've read books on voodoo that namedrop both Ti Ro Ro and Destine as the leading names, so here's the one chance to get them both on one record
Katherine Dunham Presents Drum Rhythms of Haiti-Cuba-Brazil--The Singing Gods; Audio Fidelity AFLP-1803; c.1956; deluxe gatefold (totally split at the spine; E-/E $75 -- Haitian/voodoo/santero/maracatu (the "Singing Gods" are the drums); 1st, classic, great, definitive LP of its kind; loud, raucous, exciting!!!; only the label's 3rd 12" release & RARE!; under the auspices of famous ethnographer-dancer Dunham; w/Choco (drummer Chocolaté--Antonio Diaz Mena), conga superstar Francisco Aguabella (a prized early record for him!), LaGuerre..; Ti-RoRo did perform with Dunham but perhaps not in this session; 4 Haitian/voodoo cuts (Ibo, Yon Valu, Mahi, Petrokita); 4 Brasilian (Samba da Favela, Yemanja, Maracatu, Coco); 2 Cuban (Nanigo, Santo)
Geoffrey Holder & his Trinidad Hummingbirds; Riverside RLP-4004; deep groove E-/E- $65 (or deep groove V/V $25, specify) -- Shango/calypso/Martinique; mainly Shango cult music (the Trinidadian equivalent of voodoo but far rarer, particularly on '50s LPs!) by famous dancer, etc., including similar tunes from Martinique & other places not often heard on LPs of the period; unique & wonderful stuff on the prestigious jazz label's "world folk music series"; the vinyl is incredibly thick, yielding intense sound/bass; 11 cuts: Sol Leve Woyo, Shango Hymn, Fay Oh, Invocation, Hymn to Osine, Pendant Mone dans l'Armee, Wake Song, Adieu Madras, 'Ti Paule, Miss Lily White, Adam in de Garden
[The Drums of] Cyril Jackson: Afro Stereo (Afro Drums) ... Afro
Ferere Laguerre Leads the Choeur Simidor in a Performance of Haitian Songs; Marc 212; E/E+ S $15 -- Haiti/choir; there is actually some good drums in a long track here; very good for its style and impossibly rare (you'll never see it again) on a tiny, old, forgotten Brooklyn label; Sauve, Damballah, Feulles, Haiti Cherie, Ibo Lele, Palmannan, Volo Cadav, Racine Core, Cousin
Guy du Rosier: Haitian Rhythms (w/Ti Ro Ro); Decca DL-8602; 1957; T1/spectral/deep groove E+/E+ $45 (or T1/black/deep groove E+/E $40, specify) (or T2 E-/E- $25, specify) -- Haitian/voodoo/Latin/calypso jazz; recorded at the Riviera Hotel d'Haiti in Port au Prince; one of the very best LPs of its kind (perhaps THE classic, essential Haitian LP in the US), and there aren't that many of this vintage and quality; with drum legend Ti RoRo (huge influence on US jazz drummers)--see below for more of his; mostly original (by Guy DuRosier or his associates); Panon M' Tombe, Piel Canela, Angelina, Shango--voodoo (original), Trois Be'be, Pamela, Anatole, Belle Maripoli, Cao Te Ro Ro, Micaela, Ling Lessou, Ca Qui Tire
Issa el Saieh w/Ti Ro Ro, Ti Marcel, Guy DuRosier, etc.: Hi-Fi Haitian Drums; Capitol of the World T-10110; 1st press (originally sold by Roger's of Okinawa!) N-/N $200 (or 1st N-/N $175, specify) (or E+/N $150, specify) (or 1st E/N- $125, specify) (or 1st E-/E- $75, specify) -- THE BEST LP of its kind: the greatest LP with master drummers Ti Ro Ro (sometimes as Ti-RoRo or Tiroro), Ti-Marcel, and Ti-Rene as well as the other leading lights of Haitian music in its classic period; wide variety including rah rah, invocations, etc.; gorgeous jacket, first-rate liners; very rare, important, and legendary, like the Hi-Fi Cuban Drums LP but much rarer; truly a collector's dream!; Voodoo Drum Solo, Christiana, Damballah, Tele, Artibonite Oh, Moin Tende Youn Canon Qui Tire, Main Diable La, Nous Rive, Voyez Zin, Nou Bre, Ce Gran Chemin M Te Ye, Loa Zao
Tiroro & his Voodoo Drums (Ti Roro et ses Tambours Vaudou); Request/Sounds of the Caribbean Collectors Series SOC SLP-733 (reissues Monogram); E-/E- S? $100 -- Haiti/voodoo/drums; super-rare masterpiece by legendary drummer and ambassador of Haitian music Ti Ro Ro (Raymond Baillargau); worth it just for the introduction (sampling heaven!); Announcement & Introduction (AWESOME!!!), Ceremony No. 1 (etc. -- 9 tracks following intro)
Tiroro--"Best Drummer in Haiti"; Cook Road Recordings 5004; deep groove E+/E $60 -- Haiti/voodoo/drums; master drummer and ambassador of Haitian music Ti Ro Ro (Raymond Baillargau) in one of the most significant Cook LPs; one of only a very few LPs that's all him
Ti-Roro/Ti-Marcel: Voodoo Drums in Hi-Fi; Atlantic 1296; 1st/black/deep groove N-/E $125 (or 2nd/red-purple N-/E $100, specify) (or 1st/black E+/V+ $50, specify) -- Haiti/voodoo/drums; rare!; incredible percussion as well as deep bamboo flute sounds (also mainly percussive) in some of the most impressive ra-ra performances ever captured by these two masters of the art (and the only great, major-label record of authentic voodoo drums) in a Haitian setting with exceptional amateur musicians; terrifically sinister jacket design (for collectors it may be worth it for that alone); directed by the great Issa El Saieh with Ti Ro Ro!
Various: Caribbean Dance Party; Gateway GSLP-3544; 1977; N/N shrink S $60 (or E+/E S $40, specify) -- caribeat/disco/voodoo/mazurka/beguine/cadence-lypso; hip, modern, funky LP that few know about (packaged as a limbo-instruction record but sure isn't!!!); very impressive, versatile mix of Haitian voodoo, drums, disco, reggae, mazurka; Gateway is a STRANGELY ADVENTUROUS old Pittsburgh label with awesome titles of many kinds--this is one of our favorites!; with Ti Emile (Chaud I Chaud, Fanmi Grand Gile), Gramacks (La Vie Disco, Take Good Care), Johnny Grey (Se Fe Local, Moin Ain Min 76), Black Affairs (Black Affairs Ca Wake, Doucine), Gilles Sala (Petit Roi Des Ananas), Puissance 8 (Revanche de Maguy)
Various: Caribbean Festival--Music of the West Indies; Puerto Rican Visitors Bureau E2-KP; deep groove E+/V+ $30 -- calypso/Haitian/voodoo/Caribbean; rec. by Lisa Lekis; offered for the fantastic Haitian cuts w/Ti Ro Ro ("Drum Medley"), Michel Dejean, etc.; perhaps worth it just for the extensive liner notes, but the Ti Ro Ro track (no announcer on this one, not the same as other Ti Ro Ro recorded by Lisa Lekis) is the first reason to have this one; wear and noise, goes with the territory on this one so far, but the jacket is fine
Various: Saturday Night in Haiti; Monogram 856; E+/E- $50 -- Haiti/voodoo; fantastic rare collectors item (says so itself, but it's true) with Ferere Laguerre and Choeur Simidor, Guy du Rosier, Rodolphe Legros, Felix Guignard & Ensemble Ibo Lele, Louis Lahens, Auguste Durosier, Orch. Citadelle, Rene Daure, and probably Ti Ro Ro uncredited; reissued in 1973 as Request/SOC SLP-748 but only the Monogram has the original artwork; La Mercie, Bamboche Paysanne, Chaille Aux Pieds, Damballah, Palmannan, Li Bon Chou Chou, Volo Cadav, Intro Ibo, Adeline, Maria Leve, Contravention No-No-No, Ibo Lele
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