LE GROUPE AYIZAN SOUS LA DIRECTION DU GUITARISTE, COMPOSITEUR, ARRANGEUR ALIX '' TITE '' PASCAL. PHOTO PRISE EN 1986 PAR EDDIE RODRIGUEZ DU NEW YORK TIMES, UN DES PLUS PRESTIGIEUX JOURNAUX DES ÉTATS-UNIS. Un article sur AYIZAN, paru dans le New York Times du 12 décembre 1986, sous la plume du journaliste John Pareles. POP/JAZZ; FROM HAITI, THE RHYTHM OF AYIZAN Ayizan means ''Mother Earth,'' one of the four natural forces (along with water, sun, and wind) in the vodun cosmology. The six-member group, led by the guitarist Alix Pascal, uses electric guitars, percussion and vaksins; its songs are built on rhythms from rara and vodun and on modal harmonies and melodies from rock, pop and African sources. The lyrics are in Haitian Creole or English. ''A lot of people here look at Haitian culture as something different and strange,'' Mr. Pascal said. ''But if you just open your mind, you can see the direct connections between Haitian culture and black American culture and African culture. They're all basically the same thing.'' Bringing Back a Rara Beat For Mr. Pascal, Ayizan represents a new step for Haitian rock. The better-known Haitian bands play dance music based on a rhythm called the compas direct. The compas beat is related to the merengue - the rhythm from the Dominican Republic (which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti) - and, distantly, to vodun rhythms. It worked its way into Haitian big-band music. During the 1950's, the Haitian guitarist Nemours Jean-Baptiste recast the compas for smaller groups using electric guitars - an idea that was taken up by such groups as Coupe-Cloue, Les Skah Shah and Tabou Combo, for whom Mr. Pascal was a guitarist and arranger in the first half of the 1970's. According to Mr. Pascal, the compas - an understated dance for couples - appeals to Haiti's middle and upper classes. ''Like French ladies and gentlemen, they avoid the commotion and the twisting of the whole torso, what the Europeans called savage dancing,'' he said.... READ MORE : https://m.facebook.com/groups/767941593328285?view=permalink&id=1030457113743397 www.facebook.com/groups/HaitiLegends #AYIZAN #TitPascal #Worldmusic