Millot & Henry Ferdinand

Brothers Millot and Henry Ferdinand are united by the music-making they learned through their family tradition in Haiti. They specialize in playing the fututos, or blown pipes of the gagá, a Dominican-Haitian processional tradition, including "La Música de la Isla." Playing interlocking melodies on these monotonous aerophones requires great endurance. The album takes its cue from the practice of fututo playing in the traditional gagá ensembles that move from batey to batey (from one sugar cane worker settlement to another) throughout the Dominican territory.

The Ferdinand brothers play fututos in rará groups in Haiti, as they are called there, but came to the Dominican Republic to play in the impressive "Grupo de Gagá del Gran Jefe Gambao" of the community of Boca Chica in the east of the country during Holy Week. There, they were part of a three-day journey from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday along with other music-making Dominicans. The fututos are part of a whole plethora of aerophonic instruments, including homemade "cornets" and "trombones."