This sprawling ensemble was born in the wake of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. With the tiny Caribbean republic in chaos and swept by cholera, musicians Steeve Valcourt and Jonas Attis imagined a group that could be an antidote to harsh times, an act of national regeneration that summoned the varied strands and spirits of Haitian music. This cross-generational nine-piece is the result. Their debut is a joyous, glad-to-be-alive affair, packed with voices, chants and call-and-response songs, their origins in church choir and street carnival. There’s a zydeco tinge to Anba Siklon, a barrage of vodou drums on Zao Pile Te, and stately female vocals on Pran Ka Mwen. A potent spell.
