A CD of live recordings that contain the “missing link between calypso music from Limón and jazz music from New Orleans,” will hit Costa Rican stores the first week of October, according to Melisa Williams of independent record label Papaya Music.
The album, entitled “Calypso Limón Legends,” features the voices of five Afro-Costa Rican calypsonians from the Caribbean province of Limón, known affectionately as Lord Blue Rock, Shantí, Junní, Lenkí and Congoman. These masters of calypso limonense should stir memories of tunes heard in the 1960s and ‘70s throughout Limón, many of them composed by none other than Cyril Sylvan (Lord Blue Rock) or Herberth Glinton (Lenkí). Besides playing music at the annual Limón Carnaval, the artists have labored over the years as fishermen, butchers, sailors and mechanics.
The disc’s 12 songs were recorded from a series of concerts Papaya Music sponsored last year. One of the organization’s founders, pianist Manuel Obregón, put together the collection along with music researcher Manuel Monestel. Obregón plays piano with the Limón Legends and Monestel plays the banjo and sings.
The CD will be presented in a concert Oct. 1 in the southern Caribbean beach town of Puerto Viejo, as part of the Arta Viva 2006 festival (see separate story). Concerts are also scheduled for Oct. 5 and 6 at the Jazz Café in the eastern San José suburb of San Pedro, and for Oct. 20 and 21 as part of the Limón Carnaval.
“Calypso Limón Legends” will be available at music stores throughout the country for about ¢6,700 ($13).
