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Nestled in the Port of Spain, the Tom Charles, Fitz Vaughn Bryan, Johnny Gomez and Clarence Curvan Orchestras as well as the Vin Cardinal Combo provide alternatively upbeat and sultry grooves for... more

With clarinetist Sid Davilla, Freddie Kohlman's Band blows some swingin' Dixieland jazz at the Mardi Gras Lounge in New Orleans. This is a highly energetic groove with irresistible instrumental solos... more

For this Cook recording, the Brute Force Steel Band of Antigua performs mambos, rumbas, sambas, calypsos and meringues plus a march and a bolero. A Trinidadian / Tobagan innovation that came out of... more

Saucy, ballsy, outspoken, yes, but not exactly an "atrocity." Pay close attention to these calypso lyrics by Small Island Pride and Mighty Cypher.

Juxtaposing the musical talents of vocalists Bomber, Wrangler, Killer and Small Island Pride, the art of the 1950s Trinidadian calypso resonates on this recording. These witty songs provide a lesson... more

If, after perusing the liner notes, the calypso on this compilation "still remains barren of meaning for the gentle listener, he is either blind, deaf, dead, or just a terribly mixed-up kid-what the... more

This is not the glossy, occasionally dross calypso that entertains tourists or wins Calypso King competitions. It is more rustic in flavor, speaks more to non-urban audiences and is accompanied only... more

In a tent somewhere in Port of Spain, calypso kings of past years gather to exchange extemporaneous lyrical insults, just like a game of ping pong. The result is highly amusing, highly enlightening... more

Headliners at Carnival and pan competitions, these six champion steel bands from Trinidad offer listeners songs that hum gently or dance wildly. Participating ensembles are the Katzenjammers, the... more

Polished off with a saucy French Creole chorus, Queen Mother of the Rue Royale Ms. Lizzie Miles treats you to the lustiest "All of Me" you'll ever hear. Tony Costa of the Parisian Room Band... more

Emory Cook gives listeners a tour of high fidelity recording, demonstrating techniques that enhance the sound quality and using musical performances, orations and sound effects to make his points.

According to the liner notes, "Calypso is... a humor-coated pellet of un-camouflaged truth... taking the opportunity of saying something to somebody in song that you couldn't say in polite society...... more

This recording of hand drumming from Port of Spain demonstrates African-derived rhythms performed in Trinidad and the broader Caribbean region, including the nation, koromanti, manding, halicord,... more

This recording juxtaposes two contrasting classical musical styles: Bruce Prince-Joseph performs Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart on a two-manual pedal harpsichord and the Hufstader Singers perform largely... more

This field recording begins to document the tradition of spoken and sung storytelling in Grenada, a small island in the Caribbean. Full of humor, stories are told in English or English patois by a... more

Why "Hellish"? the liner notes explain that it's in part because of the very apparent "pear-shaped atrocities" a listener hears in out-of-tune melodies and unintelligible lyrics. But this is a "basic... more

Did you know that the ionosphere makes noise? Or that that noise is actually possible to record? This recording shows that the ionosphere, part of the upper atmosphere that is ionized by solar... more

This Conga is all alcohol, percussion and one Chinese Trumpet. So says Ariel Fiallo Arias, a citizen of Santiago, in describing a music almost singularly identified with his homeland. With melodic... more

And now ladies and gentlemen... Lord Melody's coming to knock you out now. The audience roars as the calypsonian king boasts about his ugly looks and the "booboo" his children see in the yard.... more

This special collection of 19th-century music boxes, carousels and hand organs yields not only the delicate bell-like tingle we associate with the music box or the huskier sound of hand organ... more

This field recording reflects several musical traditions of the British commonwealth of St. Lucia. Traditions represented include English-influenced military brass bands and marches for fife and... more

Cook Laboratories promises authentic, real sound effects recorded on-location for superior sound quality. Need a rail station train departure announcement, the squeal of a power saw or burble of... more

Here's your opportunity to swing your partner and promenade around the hall. These fiddle tunes are accompanied by dance calls from Al Brundage, who led one of the largest square dancing schools in... more

Recorded in 1955, three sixteen-person steel bands-Big Shell, Brute Force and Hell's Gate-come together to provide a sampling of lively music from Antigua. Many of these meringues, sambas, mambos,... more

Zepoll, an outstanding classical guitarist, was recorded at his home in Monterrey. The Trio Leones was currently playing at a restaurant on Reforma in Mexico City.