Various Artists: Caribbean Celebration (Putumayo/digital outlets)

With Womad in the rear-view mirror and reggae the easy default position for many local artists, we point to this collection of Caribbean music beyond Jamaica.

Quite far from there in fact, with a number of the Haitian artists here based in Canada, they must feel lucky to be distant from their homeland right now but distressed by what is happening there.

But here are musicians from Martinique, Colombia, Dominican Republic, French Guiana and Barbados, and two – the group Ram and solo artist BelO – still based in Haiti.

This 10-song collection merely scrapes the surface of the musical diversity in that region but as an entry point to the sophisticated sound of Daniel Bellegarde, joyful pop of Elkin Robinson and jazzy warmth of Chris Combette among others, this plays well.

Especially on a fine autumn day.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here.