A Trip to Vodou Jazz honors the spirit of our late Artistic Director, Master Drummer Frisner Augustin of Haiti and Brooklyn. It takes issue with the categories that power brokers assign to musical styles and genres. While the performance pays homage to Mr. Augustin during the ten-year anniversary of his passing, it will also call attention to his unique fusion of the traditional song and drumming of Vodou (an Afro-Haitian spiritual practice) and jazz, a fusion that highlighted the many points of intersection between the two and their shared history. By centering the drum in the jazz ensemble Mr.Augustin questioned its typecasting as a rhythm-only instrument. The concert continues Makandal's work of educating, healing, and challenging stereotypes while keeping Haitian magic alive.

Image: Frisner Augustin. Photo by Chantal Regnault.