The African diaspora throughout the Americas feels to me like a big river, flowing and changing its formation across various lands, but remaining one immense watercourse. Carib is my continuation of that river, a personal and musical stream I began when I became bandleader for my first album, The Departure (1994) where you can clearly hear Puerto Rican rhythms running throughout. Another fork, my album Melaza (2000), has the most substantial connection with Carib because of its flow and the strong influence of the bomba music tradition from Puerto Rico. I believe some of the greatest contributions to contemporary music and culture have come from the African diaspora throughout the Americas. Unfortunately, there seems to be too little awareness of their influence, especially the vital stories told by the music. So, I wanted to approach this album as a means to pay tribute to all Afro descendent communities who have helped define my music and the culture’s broad ranging beauty and idiosyncrasies.’ (D?vid Sanchez) David S?nchez begins his description of Carib with this narrative describing his intent and story behind the recording, setting the tone both figuratively and literally. It would be easy to get lost in his commanding performance on the saxophone; he handles the instrument so naturally it feels like his native language. And yet there is so much more, and we welcome the continuation of the story of the African Diaspora, this time with specific attention on Puerto Rico and Haiti. We have much to learn about how African music has traveled over centuries, and documenting the journey falls short when we use only words. This is an ongoing and fluid narrative presented for us all to learn and grow.
