Spirits of the Caribbean: Desvarieux/Harlow/Perry

A playlist honoring a few guiding spirits....

It’s been rough weeks for those who follow the music of the Caribbean.

You won’t be able to tell that from this playlist, however, because the primary artists were specialists in music designed to make people move, party, and forget their troubles.

These energetic recordings, which represent just a tiny sliver of each artist’s output, honor and then transcend regional and language differences — suggesting a dynamic, shape-shifting island state of mind that exists worlds away from the tourist limbo line. These artists may be associated with particular places, but are better appreciated as citizens of the world: Jacob Desvarieux, the co-founder of the enormously inventive Guadalupe-based Kassav,’ brought the percolating music of the French Caribbean to global audiences; Larry Harlow, the New York pianist, arranger and salsa visionary Larry Harlow, launched important salsa voices from Cuba, Puerto Rico and elsewhere; the Jamaican producer and dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry was a catalyst for early reggae and developed lo-fi sonic innovations that continue to resist facile digital emulation.

Happy Friday!