Christmas is a time for music in the Caribbean. It is an important part of the social scene and is always heard at parties and gatherings. Christmas music is a good gift not only for people in the islands but for island people away from the islands. Just as the Caribbean has a wide variety of music, it also has a wide variety of Christmas music.
Probably the most interesting Caribbean Christmas music is Parang from Trinidad and Tobago. This music is a blend of Latin American Music and Calypso and is totally unique. The songs can be traditional or original and the original songs can be sentimental or funny. Parang is fun music and even if you don’t know the songs, you will find yourself singing along after a couple of listenings.
JW Records puts out an excellent series of CD’s called Parang Soca Christmas 1, 2 & 3 and the Ultimate Soca Parang Party. These albums feature artists like Baron, Crazy, Bindley B., and Kenny J. Another good album is Sabor, Sweet Christmas Music by Scrunter & Leon Coldero.
Another favorite is A Reggae Christmas from RAS Records. This album features such artists as Freddy McGregor and June Lodge and is fairly mellow reggae.
Pan Assembly’s Christmas Album features steel pan performers Earl Brooks, Ken Philmore, Boogsie Sharpe and others in a Christmas setting.
Two other Christmas albums of interest are Byron Lee’s Christmas in Jamaica and the Mighty Sparrow’s Christmas Ballads. These are re-issues of older albums and are sentimental music, not calypsos.
Christmas music is a good investment, it never gets old, it just becomes traditional.
For a full range of Caribbean music, check out www.parrotfishmusic.com.
Mr. Fish
