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Riba Dempel: Popular Dance Music of Curacao

Various Artists
1 disc

1. Riba Dempel [At the Market] - Sexteto Gressmann
2. Boca di Tribon [Mouth of the Shark] - Conjunto Cristal
3. Cara Bunita [Pretty Face] - Estrellas del Caribe
4. Lagami Afor [Leave Me Out of It] - Conjunto Musika
5. Zoot Suit - Sexteto Gressmann
6. Praga (Mal Bisia) [Plague (Bad Neighbor)] - Conjunto Cristal
7. Romance - Estrellas del Caribe
8. Chubata di Sabana [Old Goat from the Savanna] - Quinteto Micho
9. Ladron Galos [Gluttonous Thief] - Conjunto Cristal
10. Shi Maraja [Mrs. Maraja] - Estrellas del Caribe
11. Vivir Dejar Vivir [Live and Let Live] - Sexteto Boeljin
12. Decepcion [Deception] - Sexteto Martinez
13. Mi Ilusion [My Illusion] - Quinteto Micho
14. Virginia - Quinteto Rooi
15. Wega di Amor [Game of Love] - Estrellas del Caribe
16. Dulce Corazon [Sweet Heart] - Conjunto Cristal
17. Maricusa - Conjunto Cristal
18. Pantalon Corto [Short Pants] - Conjunto Cristal
19. Ay Ki Redasi [Ah, Such Gossip] - Quarteto Candelaria
20. Baila Tumba [Dance the Tumba]
21. E Kakalakanan [The Cockroaches] - Conjunto Lirico Antilliano
22. Hunga Rol [Playing Games] - Tipico Moderno
23. Linda Rosa de Abril [My Beautiful April Rose] - Conjunto Happy Boys
24. Ta Sina Mes [Like It or Not (That's the Way It Is)] - Estrellas del Caribe
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): OTB 03
Credits

Producer
Engineer John Collins
Personnel: Augusto Gressmann (vocals, guitar, maracas); Erquimedes Candelaria, Augusto Boelijn (vocals, guitar); Wilfriedo Valerian, Jos Carreras (vocals); Haim Tweeboom (guitar); Nicolas Cathalina (accordion); Leoncito "Chito" Borgschot (tenor saxophone); Samuel Ocalia, Edgar Carasol, Juan R. Carmelia, Carlos Martnez (trumpet); Papachi Faries (trombone, bongos); Virgilio "Martina" Hernandez (piano); Norberto "Behe" Bor, Norberto "Boz" Abad (congas, bongos, tabor); Samuel Perey (congas, guiro); Francineth (bongos); Juan Pablo (claves); Jan "Chines" Ositana (maracas).
Recording information: Bokoor Studios.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Samuel Perey; Haim Tweeboom; Jan "Chines" Ositana.
Arrangers: Julian Coco; Augusto Gressmann; Augusto Boelijn.
Who knew that Curaao was such a musically happening place in the early '50s? Those who were unaware of the richly varied music scene of that time and place can be happily brought up to speed by this excellent compilation, which was lovingly put together by sound restorationist Tim De Wolf. Working at times with multiple copies of individual 78-rpm discs, he cleaned and balanced these 50-year-old recordings and brought them up to a surprisingly high aural standard. The music itself is completely charming: dated, to be sure, but in all the right ways. Bands like Conjunto Cristal, Estrellas del Caribe, Conjunto Happy Boys, and Sexteto Gressmann deliver a generous program of merengues, boleros, tumbas, pambiches, and guarachas, all of them replete with massive (and gorgeously arranged) horn sections, multi-layered percussion, and vocals that sometimes hint at a norteo-style melodrama and sometimes evoke the refined showrooms of Batista-era Cuba. The album's title track pays tribute to the central marketplace in Willemstad, Curaao's capital city, where food and products would come in from all over the Caribbean to feed the booming local economy. The musical influences on display here are equally varied: you'll hear hints of Venezuela, Cuba, Africa, and Trinidad all over the place, and just about every selection on this 24-track collection will make you want to dance around the room with fruit on your head. ~ Rick Anderson