Braata Folk Singers make New York waves

The acclaimed Braata Folk Singers, a choral group founded in New York by Jamaican-born actor, singer and producer Andrew Clarke some two years ago, is fast becoming one of the most popular and renowned performing entities in the New York and Tri-State area.

The 12-member choir, comprised of Jamaicans of birth and descent, has already established its reputation among Jamaicans and others in the wider Caribbean Diaspora for its unique and dynamic presentation of the region's folk music, combining new choral arrangements with intricate choreography, sets and costume elements.

The result is a theatrical presentation best described as 'choral theatre'.

rave reviews

The group recently earned high praise for their appearance as part of the cast of Love Has Many Faces, the new one-act musical production written by award-winning Jamaican playwright, David Heron, and which premiered in New York on April 2.

The response to the group has been so overwhelming that Heron is now showcasing the group in their own Mother's Day production, Mother's Day Braata, at the Nakisaki Restaurant and Dinner Theater in Hempstead, Long

Island, on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

Mother's Day Braata will feature the singers performing many traditional Jamaican and Caribbean folk classics including Dip And Fall Back, Linstead Market, Dis Long Time Gyal, De Blinkin Bus, and Evening Time.

But while the songs themselves are hardly new, producer Heron and Braata artistic director/founder Andrew Clarke agree that the unique style of presenting the material is what continues to set the group apart.

"We stage the songs in a particular order so as to tell a story that the audience can easily follow," explained Clarke, a successful solo performer in his own right and a former student at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

great presentation

"It becomes a narrative told through song and movement, and with choreography by Jamaican Jermaine Rowe (who appeared in London's West End Productions of The Lion King and Fela!), it has the feel of a full-fledged theatrical performance, as opposed to just a musical concert."

Heron, himself a former performer with the internationally acclaimed University Singers, agrees, adding that, "One of the things that attracted me to the group was the fact that the songs are not merely performed - they are presented, and in totally innovative ways. I haven't seen anything like Braata since my days with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Singers, when Noel Dexter's arrangements and the Honourable Rex Nettleford's movements came together to create what we christened 'choral theatre'. The Braata Folk Singers are the best and brightest exponents of this art form in the Tri-State area today."

Heron goes on to say that, "A group like Braata has been despe-rately needed in the New York area for a long time, because what they are really doing is preserving and exposing a vital aspect of our musical and cultural heritage here, which has been sorely underrepresented. They are truly Jamaican and Caribbean cultural ambassadors, who leave a positive and lasting effect on audiences everywhere."

In addition to Heron's latest shows, Braata has also performed to enthusiastic audiences at various events and locations including the Consulate General of Jamaica in New York, City Hall, Bronx Borough Hall and Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The group's repertoire includes a wide range of musical genres such as kumina, bruckins, dinki-mini, revival, mento, ring games and nine-night selections.

Following Mother's Day Braata, the group will turn their attention to their second annual concert season, to be staged at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in Manhattan on June 18 and 19.

Mother's Day Braata is produced by David Heron, IMC Productions and Sure Thing Productions.