Boula

Gaston Jean-Baptiste – he prefers ‘Bonga’ – is a Haitian drummer, multi-instrumentalist and painter of vivid, colourful canvasses that capture the celebration and transformation at the heart of voodoo – the syncretic faith in which he was raised next to the family’s peristil ceremonial room in historically rich La Plaine. Like his father before him, 60-something Bonga is a houngan, a voodoo priest who honours spirits and heals maladies via the Lwa, the panoply of deities who can be summoned by mizik rasin (roots music). And does Bonga – a traditional drum-maker as well as a maestro – play the best mizik rasin ever.

But we know that already; the drums of the (since 1991) US-based Bonga have graced shows by the Rolling Stones and Celia Cruz and recordings by Salif Keita; his drums have been the engine room of seminal Haitian roots band Foula and powered his own Vodou Drums of Haiti. On this solo work he returns to his roots, singing and playing traditional tanbou (barrel drum) – a symbol of the lifeblood of Haiti – alongside all other instruments, his authenticity palpable. His playing is melodic, multi-textured, given to bursts of improvisation within songs that have paid homage to deities – ‘Oshan’, ‘Alegba’, ‘Ogoun’ – for centuries. Deep.