speaking of jug bands...

Now, why does this make all the sense in the world?



Mungo Jerry's 1970 jug band revival pop hit, in a Caribbean context? This is the beat I had in mind when I compared the groove of some jíbaro tunes to jug bands.

I'm no musicologist, but now that I think about it, this catchy Mungo Jerry/Shaggy beat is a habanera bassline, from the old Havana contradanza which gave rise to danzon and son. You hear this bassline in tango, in European classical "habaneras," in North American jazz, and even--as Robert Farris Thompson pointed out--in today's reggaeton.

Everything really is wired through the Caribbean...