Notes & Context: The World of Buyu Ambroise
Alix “Buyu” Ambroise’s stature easily brings to mind Sonny Rollins. A Saxophone Colossus in his own right, “he is one of the most important Haitian jazz saxophonists of our time”. His music magnifies the Haitian experience, nourishing its resilience with bold notes constantly pushing back against tragedy, all while weaving intelligent and generous connections with others. As an oracle of Blues in Red, his tenor saxophone is unapologetically patriotic yet cultivates a masterful spirit of openness.
Born in Port-au-Prince in 1953, Alix Ambroise is a direct descendant of the Jacmel-born General Magloire Ambroise, a signatory of Haiti’s Act of Independence, and the nephew of the prominent Duvalier regime opponent, Jean-Jacques Dessalines Ambroise. Hailing from a family of musicians, his relatives include Hector Ambroise and Jacky Ambroise. In the Chrétien alley, where Les Corvington rehearsed, lived Jacky Duroseau, too. In this musical environment, young Buyu grew up until 1962, when his father, Alix Ambroise Sr.—an amateur of piano, accordion, and harmonica—relocated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A year later, Buyu and his siblings joined him in Africa. When the family returned to Haiti for good in 1966, Buyu found himself in the middle of a new musical wave sparked by young artists who, while respectful of their predecessors, were eager to inject fresh energy into the music. This wave, commonly called mini-jazz, was embodied only by Ibo Combo, who infused their music with jazz and bossa nova elements.
Inspired by these bold and energetic sounds created by a youth confident in its talent and era, Buyu emigrated to New York in 1967 and enrolled at George W. Wingate High School in Brooklyn. While his brother was already enthusiastic about music, Buyu initially showed no interest. But fate had other plans. Music was a required subject at his school. First assigned to a choral class, which he found utterly boring, he begged for a change and switched to flute—but the faulty instrument produced no decent sound. Ultimately, he chose the alto saxophone. And there, he had a revelation. It felt like a crucial path had just opened in his life. As he puts it, that was his first actual encounter with music. Buyu Ambroise didn’t choose music—music chose him.
Despite immersing himself in music theory and practicing diligently, he didn’t initially consider pursuing a career. But destiny, ever proud, had other plans. At Kingsborough Community College, an English professor and trombonist named Bill Lowe invited campus musicians to Friday jam sessions. Buyu brought his saxophone. Lowe introduced him to jazz.
Meanwhile, Ibo Combo had reformed in New York in the early 1970s. Buyu admired the band that had cleverly blended jazz with the revered compas direct. Its members—Reginald Policard, Edgar “Gaguy” Depestre, Michel Laraque, Boulo Valcourt, José Tavernier, and Lyonel Volel were his heroes. He particularly admired Volel, who, like him, was from Jacmel, for his self-made ascent to virtuosity. His admiration extended to Pépé Bayard, Tony Moïse, the Déjean brothers, and Gérard Daniel.
Years passed, and the anti-music demon haunted Buyu. He had even stored away his saxophone at an aunt’s house. But music, persistent as ever, brought Ernst Marcelin, a former high school friend and jazz devotee, back into his life. Marcelin encouraged him to reconnect with his instrument. Buyu developed a renewed curiosity about music from this turning point, especially jazz. Marcelin’s Lenox Avenue residence in Brooklyn became a “musical lab” for Haitian musicians craving innovation. They formed Free Fall, a band embracing risk and freedom. Eventually, their paths diverged: Marcelin joined Tabou Combo, and Buyu joined Ayizan, led by Alix “Tit” Pascal.
Buyu Ambroise pursued various musical endeavors, including joining Ayibobo and collaborating with Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s Tanbou Libète. On WKCR’s “Haitian Hour,” he was introduced to the Saïeh Orchestra and was captivated by Frantz Casséus’ sophisticated compositions. As the saying goes, “appetite comes with eating.” He enrolled in Harlem’s Jazz Mobile program, studying under greats like Frank Foster (Count Basie’s tenor saxophonist). One day, Donald Byrd came to assess the students. Buyu gave it his all in a solo. Afterward, Byrd calmly said: “A solo is not just that. It’s about crafting a melody that tells a story, something soulful over chord changes.” Buyu never forgot the lesson. That’s why he’s wary of modern jazz education—too much technique, not enough soul. Where there’s no soul, there’s no authenticity—only mechanics. True creators like Miles Davis (whom John Lewis called “the great stylist of jazz”) and Charlie Parker played from the depth of their being.
Then there’s John Coltrane—who turned technical mastery into something spiritual. Buyu recalls intense listening sessions of Selflessness feat. My Favorite Things (1969), partially recorded at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival, showcased Coltrane’s hypnotic power. “My mother thought it was just barking,” Buyu chuckled—but she soon realized Coltrane had become her son’s ultimate role model.
In 1989, alongside Edy Brisseaux, Lionel Oriol, Jacky Ambroise, Jacky Lherisson, and Joël Théodore, Buyu performed weekly at a New York restaurant called La Détente. The ad hoc group, Metrosonik, was heavily inspired by Caribbean Sextet, a compas-jazz band that Buyu had long admired. Still, the gigs didn’t pay the bills. Holding a master’s in education, he became a high school history and music teacher in 1991, a career that lasted 27 years.
He returned to music in 2002, encouraged by his cousin Patrick Plantin, and recorded his first album. Blues in Red (2004), released via Just in Time thanks to Ralph Boncy’s efforts, received global distribution. Jazz Times praised its “infectious” rhythms and the “enjoyment” of its freewheeling improvisations. The album honors Duke Ellington (via a joyful Caravan) and Haiti’s rich musical traditions. It opens with La Dessalinienne, ends with Konviksyon (a duet with Alix “Tit” Pascal), and features tracks like One Note Rara (a nod to Jobim’s One Note Samba) and Complainte paysanne by Raoul Guillaume, one of the album’s most potent moments. This record firmly placed Haitian jazz on the global map.
His 2006 album Marasa further expanded the Vodou-jazz aesthetic. The term “marasa” (twins) evokes both Vodou spirituality and Buyu’s identity: a product of two cultures, seamlessly fused. The album features Wayne Shorter’s Footprints alongside jazzified Haitian classics like Beethova Obas’ Plezi mizè and Frantz Casséus’ Yanvalou (Nan Fon Bwa).
Jazzpora (2011) even more explicitly embraces fusion, spotlighting jazz greats. It includes Coltrane’s Fifth House and Naima and Shorter’s United and features a beautiful yanvalou performed by Haitian-American trumpeter Jean Caze on Just in Caze. Though less Vodou-infused than previous albums, it remains distinctly Haitian.
A secret: Buyu Ambroise is working on a project dedicated to the music of Frantz Casséus, the eminent Haitian classical guitarist and composer.
An anecdote: In January 2013, Branford Marsalis visited Jacmel for the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival. At the hotel, Buyu handed him the sheet music to Complainte paysanne. Marsalis’ rendition became one of the festival’s most memorable moments.
Buyu Ambroise is a true patriot—but one who avoids the pitfalls of narrow nationalism. His saxophone proudly carries the Haitian spirit in a continuous exchange of giving and receiving with other cultures.
Milestones
1953 – Born May 30 in Port-au-Prince.
1963 – Joins his father in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
1967 – Emigrates to New York and begins learning the saxophone.
1974 – First hears John Coltrane—profound influence.
1976 – Encouraged by Ernst Marcelin to return to music.
1984 – Studies at Harlem’s Jazz Mobile; records Dilijans with Ayizan.
2004 – Releases Blues in Red, critically acclaimed.
2006 – Releases Marasa, celebrating cultural fusion.
2011 – Releases Jazzpora, emphasizing hybrid identities.
2016 – Collaborates on the soundtrack for René Depestre: An Eternal Life Cannot Be Missed.
References & Notes
- Saxophone Colossus (1956) is the title of a landmark album by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins (b. 1930). The term also metaphorically reflects both the towering physical presence and the musical greatness of Rollins—an image echoed in the figure of Buyu Ambroise.
- Blues in Red is the title of Buyu Ambroise’s debut album. It later became the name of his ensemble, The Blues in Red Band. The title also alludes to the colors of the Haitian flag, underscoring the album’s patriotic spirit.
- Jean-Jacques Dessalines Ambroise (1923–1965), a teacher and historian, was a staunch opponent of François Duvalier’s dictatorship. He was tortured and died at Fort Dimanche, the infamous prison where political dissidents were brutally detained.
- Hector Ambroise (1904–1962) was a distinguished pianist and violinist from Jacmel, known for his musical legacy in the region.
- Jacky Ambroise, a contemporary Haitian guitarist and leader of the group Strings, is a first cousin of Alix “Buyu” Ambroise.
- Les Corvington, a band formed by Alix and Michel Corvington, was heavily influenced by the yé-yé pop music wave popular in 1960s France.
- Jacky Duroseau (d. 1974) was a pianist who played with the Ensemble Ibo Lele, which later evolved into Ibo Combo. (See Ed. Rainer Sainvil, Tambours frappés, Haïtiens campés, p.130. NY: Éditions Héritage, 2001.)
- The musical predecessors mentioned include Nemours Jean-Baptiste (1918–1985), saxophonist and founder of Compas Direct, and Wébert Sicot (1930–1985), a saxophone virtuoso celebrated throughout the French Antilles and French Guiana. Buyu was especially impressed by Sicot’s mastery.
- The mini-jazz movement was an offshoot of compas direct, distinct in its youthful energy and instrumentation. While many groups like Les Corvington and Les Difficiles mirrored Anglo-Saxon pop or French yé-yé, Ibo Combo innovatively blended jazz into Haitian music.
- In jazz, a jam session refers to an informal gathering of musicians improvising—a key part of Buyu’s musical journey.
- Lyonel Volel, a fellow Jacmelian, excelled as a saxophonist (alto and soprano) and was a role model for Buyu.
- Pépé Bayard was a multi-instrumentalist (accordion, piano, violin) who created a uniquely Caribbean pop style. See: Pépé Bayard et son Orchestre – On Tour in Haiti (1968).
- Tony Moïse (b. 1939 in Côte-de-Fer) was a significant figure of the mini-jazz era and played saxophone with the renowned band Shleu-Shleu.
- The Déjean brothers, André (trumpet) and Fred (saxophone), were prominent musicians in the Haitian music scene.
- Gérard Daniel was one of the greatest Haitian saxophonists of the 20th century, particularly revered in French territories. He played with Djet-X, and his album You and I, made with guitarist Mario Mayala, remains a compas classic. See: GM Connection – You and I (1980).
- Ernst Marcelin, a gifted keyboardist, played a vital role in Tabou Combo’s resistance to the late 1980s zoukwave led by Kassav. Tragically, he was fatally shot in 1989 after a performance.
- Marcelin studied bebop with jazz pianist Barry Harris (b. 1929), a highly respected educator in the jazz world.
- Buyu called Marcelin his “kavalye pòlka”—a Haitian Creole term meaning a loyal and faithful companion.
- Marcelin’s first recording with Tabou Combo was the 1987 album Kite m fè zafè m.
- Ayizan was a leading Vodou jazz or jazz-rasin group, alongside Foula. Buyu played both tenor/soprano saxophone and the vaksin, a traditional rara wind/percussion instrument. Their only album, Dilijans (1984), became a cult classic. (See W. Décembre, From New Orleans to Port-au-Prince: Histories of Jazz, p.50.)
- Michel-Rolph Trouillot (1949–1985) was a leading Haitian anthropologist and thinker. He is known for his influential work, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Beacon Press, 1995).
- L’Heure Haïtienne was a weekly program on WKCR, Columbia University’s radio station, serving the Haitian diaspora in New York.
- Issa El Saieh (1919–2005), a legendary bandleader, saxophonist, and clarinetist, was a towering figure in Haitian music.
- Frantz Casséus (1915–1993) is considered the father of Haitian classical guitar and profoundly influenced Buyu’s style.
- Jazz Mobile is a Harlem-based nonprofit jazz education program co-founded by pianist Billy Taylor (1904–1984), who had collaborated with Issa El Saieh in Haiti during the 1950s.
- Frank Foster (1928–2011) was a key tenor saxophonist for the Count Basie Orchestra and a faculty member at Jazz Mobile.
- Donald Byrd (1932–2013), full name Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II, was a renowned jazz trumpeter and professor, instrumental in jazz education.
- John Lewis (1920–2001), pianist and founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet, once described Miles Davis as “the great stylist of jazz.”
- Ralph Boncy is a highly regarded music critic, cultural journalist, and former lyricist for the group Zèklè. He currently lives in Montreal.
- See “Buyu Ambroise: Blues in Red” – JazzTimes, May 1, 2005.
- La Dessalinienne is the national anthem of Haiti and opens Buyu’s debut album.
- Buju Amboise’s cover featured “Konviksyon” Emmanuel “Manno” Charlemagne (1948–2017), Haiti’s most iconic protest singer.
- One Note Rara is a playful nod to One Note Samba by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and incorporates elements of the popular rara tune Grenn Zaboka (also known as Men Yo).
- The melody of Complainte paysanne, by Raoul Guillaume (1927–2020), opens John Coltrane’s Kulu Sé Mama. Though it’s officially attributed to percussionist Juno Lewis, it is, in fact, Guillaume’s creation.
- In Haitian Vodou, Marasa refers to twin spirits. Symbolically, it reflects Buyu’s dual identity—Haitian and American—peacefully merged within him.
- Wayne Shorter, saxophonist and composer, is among the greatest innovators in modern jazz.
- Yanvalou is a Vodou rhythm and dance, often used in ceremonial contexts.
- Jean Caze is a young Haitian-American trumpeter featured on Buju’s Jazzpora in the piece Just in Caze.
