Primary Instrument: Percussion
Los Hombres Calientes: Irvin Mayfield & Bill Summers Vol. 4: Vodou Dance
Los Hombres Calientes is more than a collective of musicians. Los Hombres Calientes is a mission--a musical, cultural and historical mission founded on and bound by the principal that we as all people are one--that all of our intricate individual ancestry leads back to one source. With each album, they excavate the planet through music, sifting through roots in their place of origin to identify and unify the common thread. In the process of disseminating all of this pertinent culture and heritage, co-leaders Bill Summers (percussion) and Irvin Mayfield (trumpet/keyboards) have also deemed it vital that listeners move as many body parts as possible. For the music of the earth in all of its complexity is, in essence, party music.
Volume 4: Vodou Dance, the title of Los Hombres Calientes' latest, six-months-in-the-making musical travelogue, tells you everything you need to know about the vibrant dichotomy of musical archaeology the group is presenting for 2003. “Volume Four” reveals that this is a continuing chapter in their studies, “Vodou” being the root subject of this edition, and “dance” being the irresistible fruit of the music. Its 27 amazing pieces all together--recorded in Haiti, Trinidad, Cuba, Jamaica and New Orleans--that trace the path of this music as Africans crossed the planet. Just under half of these pieces are preludes/interludes. The preludes are like snippets of traditional music that lead into something related yet modern.
“Our records are multi-functional,” Mayfield states. “First, it's truly research, that's why we call them 'volumes.' Once weve recorded 20 volumes, people will see how all of this music is connected. Second, we make music that we like and that we hope people will enjoy. Third, we're always trying to raise the bar of technical facility on our instruments. The band has developed far beyond what it was on the third album. We knew exactly what musicians to use and how to get the best out of them. Id also like to add that this album is definitely our most New Orleans influenced!
“We're still on the same journey,” Summers explains. “We have this idea of trying to exhaust as much of the African Diaspora as it exists in the new world, then move on to other places, although, in recording Vodou Dance we revisited a few places we have already been.” Mayfield adds, “There is more than just Spanish influence in what is called Latin music. There's also Haitian influence. They have some of the purest rhythms on the planet.”
Los Hombres Calientes take great pains to dispel the misguided notion that all African and South American-derived music is the same (Latin) thing, just as all African and South American religion cannot be lumped under the dismissive blanket term, “Vodou.”
“'Vodou' is something that strikes fear in the hearts of many people,” Summers explains, “but we want to set the record straight. The Vodou (proper spelling) music and experience is more prevalent in western culture than most people think, but has been suppressed by more dominant western religions. Through the music, we want to show that there are only positive aspects of the Vodou experience. So we decided to go to Trinidad and Haiti and incorporate that music into this CD.
The most exciting aspect of all Los Hombres Calientes projects is the field recordings they get on their sojourns to other countries. For Vodou Dance, not only did they collect some astounding music, they have amazing stories to go with how they made them happen.
Our travels for this album were more extensive than what wed done in the past, Summers begins. Irvin started calling me Jacques Cousteau because some of these trips got really deep.
For example, after we checked into our hotel in Haiti, we asked the front desk people--all Afro-Haitians--if there were any places we should not go or things we should not do. They gave us a map and said, See these places here and here. You don't want to go there alone after dark because there are no lights and you will be in danger! Well, those are the FIRST places we went and that's where we found the people we needed to spend the time with to get what we wanted. We brought recording equipment with us--16 microphones, a board and A-Dat machines. We already knew that we could never capture the music with the fervent spirit that we desired in a studio. Sure enough, we found it at a house full of drums but no electricity. We respectfully explained what we wanted to do and six hours later, a Haitian man came with a generator. Two hours later the whole house was wired and we were plugged in and ready to start.
Trinidad was no less adventurous! We took a car from Port of Spain to Maracas Beach through the rainforest with the intent of recording there, Summers recalls. When we arrived at the beach and there was no one there, I asked the driver, Is there a village further on? He said, Yes, but I've never been up in there. Our people got really nervous at this point, but I told them, Keep going. I can smell the drums. Ten minutes later we saw some people sitting on a porch eating some beans and rice. I asked the driver to stop. I got out and was immediately attacked by about ten dogs. After successfully fending off this ferocious attack I walked up to the guy who appeared to have some relation to the dogs, told him who I was, where I was from and that I was looking for a house of Orisha worship in the area. He told me to wait one second. He finished his food then said, Come with me. Ten minutes later, we were in the middle of a ceremony. The priest came out afterwards and sat down with us and sang Yeye O Yeye A.”
Los Hombres Calientes is upholding and steadily improving upon what is surely a most important series of world music recordings. Their commitment to the cultural exchange between New Orleans and the Caribbean will provide all those who listen with the vicarious experience of their adventures.
A. Scott Galloway Winter 2003
