Big Jones & His Kawina Band - Bosoe Bana

The songs on this dutch Philips EP are from the soundtrack of the film/documentary "Suriname" done by Herman van der Horst released in 1960 in the Netherlands.
H.van der Horst won the Golden Bear for the best documentary.

Four songs by Big Jones & his Kawina Band where among the soundtrack of this documentary.
Todays songs is called "Bosoe Bana" which is a bunch of bananas and is about a man who is trying to sell these bananas
The song is from the late 50's (probably 1959) and was a huge hit back in Suriname. I remember during my childhood days (during the late 60's) that the song was still frequently played on local radio stations.

For additional information see the scans of this blog

Big Jones & His Kawina Band – Bosoe Bana (end 50’s)

Alberto Gemerts - Lobie Foe Monie Delta-LP-503

Alberto Gemerts is one of the Suriname great singers, songwriters, arrangers, producers and band leaders.
He was born in 1931 and moved to The Netherlands in the 50's where he formed a band with other Suriname musicians he had played with in Suriname and toured Europe (the Scandinavian countries) with them for almost 8 years without returning to The Netherlands.
Musicians might have been A.Parisius, Johnny de Miranda, Max Woiski, Theodoor Kantoor akaTeddy Cotton but I'm not sure of that.

"Lobie Foe Monie" written by Gemerts is about a thief/burglar sitting in jail and telling us how his love for money put him in problems.

This song is from an album done as a tribute to an other great Suriname musician, singer and song writer "A.Parisius aka Kid Dynamite" who lived in Germany and was killed in a car accident in Hamburg 1963.
This albums was probably done in the same year.
8 of the 12 songs on this album where written by A.Parisius.
Kid Dynamite and his Combo played at the Casablanca club at "de Zeedijk" in Amsterdam during the early 50's before moving to Germany.

A.Parisius aka Kid Dynamite

Gemerts had a total of 6 albums on the dutch Delta label and some on other labels to. He has produced many albums and 45's.

Alberto Gemerts – Lobie Foe Monie

Max Woiski sr - So Wan Lobie

Max Woiski was born in Domburg (Suriname) in 1911 and died in 1981. He moved to Amsterdam in the 30's and started his own Club "La Cabana". At first he started playing only Latin music under the artist name Jose Barreto but went back to his roots in the 50's.
In the 60's he moved to Spain, Mallorca and started a Nightclub.

Max Woiski – So Wang Lobbie

Mohd Rafi & Asha Bhosle

Mohd Rafi

As you can read in one of my earlier posts, the population of Suriname came from all over the world.
The people from India/Pakistan make a large portion of that population nowadays .
Todays song is a song me and my brothers used to sing, somewhere in the sixties, when we where on our school vacation on a plantation called "Meerzorg". It was mostly populated by Hindustani people.
A great uncle and aunt of mine had a grocery store near the Meerzorg dock and a orange plantation where we stayed during our vacations.
We spent many great vacations there, fishing, hunting, catching crabs during the tide and catching song birds who came to the rise fields to feed.

Asha Bhosle

If there are people from Suriname who have more of these 50's and 60's Hindustani songs, that where hits back in Suriname, and want to share them................................ Please contact me.

Both performers are from India

CHOTI SI MULAQAT

A Skratie Pokoe by The Stan Lokhin Band

Front Cover of Album

As I said in my earlier post about "The Wash Board Orchestra" many of the members joined different groups when they broke up.
O.Seymanson (the other lead singer) and Carlo Brandon ( the sax player) joined this group.
When Spider Vox broke up, most members started there own or a joined groups.

Rear Cover with Picture of Stan Lokhin

In the song "Kowroe E Moro Mi" the lead complains about the cold in Holland having just arrived you can imagine, having spend your life in the tropics and now getting beaten by the cold. A "hot" topic among newcomers.
I can speak from experience.

The music style is a Skratie variation ( because of the so called "skratie drum" being so prominent).
O.Seymanson is the lead on this song.

Spider Vox (The Stan Lokhlin Band) - Kowroe E Moro Mi

Surinam Golden Gate Boys - Peroen Peroen Mi Patron Philips LP

The Original Golden Gate Boys where immensely popular back home in Suriname and inspired many groups.
One of them is todays group who started singing somewhere in the sixties.

This song is a traditional dating from slavery times probably around 1700.
In the song a "patron" (slave being the foreman) is being made ridiculous by other slaves after foreign pirates/army's have raided their lumber plantations and took all wood with them.

He's being asked why he did not stop them, how much beating he has received and why he's trying to hide he's in pain.
A rare opportunity to get back at him.

The Golden gate Boys are E.Banket, D.Berenstein, E.Vabrie and W.Bergtop.

Peroen Peroen Mi Patron SURINAM GOLDEN GATE BOYS

Orchestra Washboard lead Lieve Hugo - Langa Bere Emi CD '90

Orchestra Washboard to me is one of the best traditional bands ever from Suriname. It consisted of some of the best musicians Suriname had to offer.
This group was immensely popular and they did not know how to stop when they got started and the party was going, that's how this song came to life, improvised just to keep the party going and it kept evolving every time, consisting of traditional Suriname songs from way back passed on by earlier music generation.

Washboard mostly played at house parties in the early years. I cherries the memories I have regarding this band in connection with my grandmothers 70th birthday (Nov 1969), they played like crazy that night and I've never heard "Langa Bere" played better then they did that night.
"Langa Bere" is a saying we use in Suriname for something that keeps on going and going. It can also mean boring, but listening you'll know it's not the case with this song.

This music style is called "Bigie-Pokoe" meaning "Big/Large/Grand - Music/Rhythm/Cadance".
This sound started somewhere in the 1930's under the influence of marching bands, military brass and jazz bands, that's why the horns are so prominent. Don't you just love the sax player.

This version was recorded in 1970 during the Holland tour. You can hear the mix of Winti and Kawina elements which where already there in the '30. Listening to the horns answering the sax in some parts as the backing vocals traditionally do in winti/kawina which is also the case in this song.

The group broke up in the mid 70's if I remember well and most of the members started there own groups ( 5 or 6) mostly in The Netherlands, both lead singers started a solo career with there own band and really made it.

Washboard sometimes played for hours and hours, they had spare musicians that took over when one was tired, just needed to go to the bathroom, maybe saw someone at the party he had not seen for a while or just wanted to dance which frequently occurred during ballads, when they had there eye on one of the partying ladies.

Some of the musicians played several instruments, so after an hour you could see the drummer playing bass or some other instrument.
It was great just watching them.
The rapid swelling of the rhythm and the constant changing you hear at the end sometimes went on for 15 minutes.
But enough of my walk down memory lane.
Enjoy 15 minutes of dancing pleasure.

ORCHESTRA WASHBOARD – LANGA BERE

Sonora Paramarera - Teki Wan Gon

This group from the late 60's is still going strong, although the members have been changing constantly the last 10 to 15 years.
Paramarera consisted mostly of Suriname musicians mixed with those from the Dutch Antilles, Holland and some other South American countries.

They mainly play/played Kaseko, which is a Suriname dance rhythm, but other Caribbean styles where/are also among their repertoire like reggae, salsa and calypso.
Read more about Kaseko Music
The song is a traditional, rearranged by on of the group members. The story is about 2 people having a quarrel, one is very angry with the other who says "Well If You're Angry With Me Then Take A Gun And Shoot Me"
This comment was, and to some extend still is, being used in Suriname to stop a debate or argument about something that was/is going nowhere.

Kaseko is a very joyful rhythm just listen and feel how it brightens your day.

KASEKO song by Sonora Paramarera