Haitian Dances

The Haitian-American guitarist Frantz Casseus recorded this trim but potent album for Smithsonian Folkways in 1954, eight years after immigrating to New York City from Port-au-Prince. Sadly it is one of the few extant documents of the “Father of Haitian Classical Guitar,” a moniker well-earned by his unique combination of facile Flamenco technique (which he rigorously taught himself as a young adult), soulful phrasing (an early review described his playing as “sensitive … with a delicate ear and delicate touch”), and assiduous approach to preserving the folk melodies and rhythms of his homeland.