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[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MassMuzik@aol.com

PERFORMANCE ANNOUNCEMENT
For Immediate Release: December 15, 2005

BAMcafà Live in association with Radio Soleil
presents a Pre-New Year Fiesta-FÃte with
All-Star International Dance Band
CHARANGA SOLEIL
âwhere Cuba meets Haiti & returns to Africaâ

with Special Guest Appearance by
SWEET MICKY
The "Bad Boy" of Haitian Music!

Friday, December 30, 2005
One Show Only at 9:00pm
No Cover
The BAMcafÃ, 30 Lafayette St., Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-636-4100 â www.bam.org

BAMcafà Live teams up with Haitian community radio station Radio Soleil, to
present the final concert of 2005 by the all-star international dance band
CHARANGA SOLEIL. Haitian superstar SWEET MICKY will also join the band for part of
the performance. All are invited to join the "Pre-New Year Fiesta-FÃte" on
Friday, December 30th, at the BAMcafÃ, upstairs at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, NY. There will be one show, at 9:00pm sharp,
and no cover charge. Seating is on a first-come basis. For same-day reservations
only, please call 718-636-4139. For directions and other information, call
718-636-4100 or visit http://www.bam.org/visitor/index.aspx.

CHARANGA SOLEIL brings together three of the worldâs greatest dance genres:
Cuban salsa, Congolese rumba-soukous, and Haitian compas! The brainchild of
long-time New York radio personality Al Angeloro, it is the first time a cross
-cultural project such as this has been launched in the United States. In
addition to the standard charanga instrumentation (flute, violin, piano, bass, conga,
vocals and chorus), Charanga Soleil has included the 21-string West African
kora, Cuban tres, and a full drum set. This variation gives the band a unique
signature while creating room for the musicians to explore such diverse rhythms
as son montuno, danzÃn, rumba, changÃÃ, beguine, bolero, zouk, merengue,
Haitian racine (roots) and much more. It also allows the instruments to perform
non-traditional roles: the tres takes on a soukous lead guitar line, the kora
plays in "clave," etc.

All seasoned master musicians and bandleaders in their own right, the group's
members are: Cathy Lopez (vocals); Goussy CÃlestin (vocals); Colette Michaan
(flute, vocals); Sergio Rivera (piano); M. Salieu Suso (kora, vocals); Lewis
Kahn (violin); Junior Rivera (tres, vocals); Yoham "Chiqui" Ortiz (bass,
vocals, musical director), Abou Diarrassouba (drums); and John Berdeguer
(percussion).

Taking its name from Radio Soleil â the Haitian community station located in
Brooklyn, NY (www.radiosoleil.com) â Charanga Soleil reintroduces the
long-abandoned concept of a radio station represented by an orchestra or big band. As
a pioneer of Haitian-American radio broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
in three languages (Kreyol, French and English), RADIO SOLEIL transmits on an
FM sub-signal from Brooklyn, NY to a listener base of more than 600,000
Haitians across a five-state area, as well as an ever-expanding international
Internet audience. Along with comprehensive news programming, the station remains a
showcase for Haitian and other world musics.

The charanga ensemble â with its distinctive mix of violins and flute â
migrated from Haiti to Santiago, Cuba in the late 18th century, with the addition
of African-Caribbean percussion and vocal stylings in the 1920s. The modern
Cuban charanga has endured as one of the most popular styles of Afro-Cuban music
in the world, particularly in West Africa and (no surprise) Haiti. It is only
fitting that the primary Haitian radio station should bring back the best in
radio tradition by associating itself with a charanga band; hence - Charanga
Soleil!

Born Michel Martelly in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, SWEET MICKY has brought
incredible energy, passion and sensitivity to the world of Haitian music. Often
referred to as the "Bad Boy" of Haitian music, he has won the hearts of the
Haitian people through his musical talent, irrepressible charm and charismatic
persona. While he consistently shakes up the Haitian music world with new
interpretations of compas, roots, twoubadou, salsa, Caribbean soca and jazz-fusion, he
is steadily positioning himself for inter-na-tional recognition and
popularity. Turning out hit after hit, Sweet Micky has recorded 14 studio albums and a
number of live CDs over the past 14 years, while touring constantly throughout
the U.S., Haiti, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.

Band photo and press release in Word format available by request.

For further information about Charanga Soleil, please contact:
Neva E. Wartell - 201-536-4288, massmuzik@aol.com
Al Angeloro - 718-834-8847, alangelo2000@yahoo.com

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