Latin  •  Tropical

Beguine

Overview Albums Songs

Throughout the long history of the Beguine, the dominant sound has been that of the clarinet and trombone (both solo and as a duet), and it can still be heard today throughout the Antilles musical milieu, from the most traditional music to the cadence era or the pop sounds of today's zouk. While the phrasing often recalls New Orleans jazz, the overall sound is unmistakably Caribbean. Any contemporary music that uses beguine as its base, even that which ventures as far off as contemporary jazz, is considered "beguine moderne." The classic music of carnival in the Antilles is an uptempo version of the beguine rhythm, called "beguine vide."