RENEGADE QUEENS is a powerful double album from San Francisco which bears sonic witness to the fecundity of women’s Latin and Afro-Cuban music in the Bay Area. From Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia and Brazil the music erupts with rhythmic fire from some superb vocalists and instrumentalists in all-women and mixed ensembles, creating a synthesis of tempestuous and rebellious freedom.

“We were born to drum/ We were conceived in rhythm/ Whether we knew it or not/ It was the beauty and sanctity of the rhythm that created us/ The rhythm of mothers’ birth pains.” So sings Christelle Durandy, from ancestry in Reunion Island and the French-speaking Caribbean in the opening track, and these are key words by poet Avotcja of the entire double album, produced by trombonist Wayne Wallace and film-maker Rita Hargrave.

I ask Hargrave about the album’s conception and subliminal messages, pounding out from the US disaster of Trumpery, Maga, Ice and racist and sexist oppression. “The Bay Area arts community has attracted women musicians from across the country and around the world for decades,” she tells me. “Cultural centres, music schools and summer music camps bring together women of all ages and skill levels to join what Carolyn Brandy [master percussionist and founder of the annual music camp for women called Born to Drum] calls ‘the global movement for women playing drums’.”

“Our musicians come from the internationally known halls of San Francisco jazz to Bay Area community organisations like La Pena or Mission Cultural Centre, which have a long history in dedicating themselves to the education, cultural preservation and innovation of local artists from around the world. We’ve seen the success of regional artists of all ethnicities and their collaboration with performers from all over the African diasporan world.”

And how are they achieving this now, in Trump’s version of America? “The social, political and economic challenges we face are daily struggles for all women. What do we do? We work, teach, get the job done and problem-solve together. We also cherish our allies, male and female.”

Hargrave is proud that Renegade Queens represents the work and artistry of over 50 female musicians who have performed in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Barbados and across the US in New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Florida. 

“The album has received stunning reviews and climbed to the top of the playlist of many Latin and jazz radio stations across the country.”

And you won’t be surprised at that as you listen. Hear the expressive, soulful vocals of Xiomarra Torres from Cali, Colombia, on Me Quedo Contigo, or Venezuelan Maria Marques on the blues-like La Lagrima. They lucidly and movingly tell the stories of the beautiful, multilingual syncretism and unity of the now-times Bay Area.

Voices are matched with deeply affecting instrumental virtuosity. There is the stomping beat of La Mensajera and its succession of inspired solos finishing with the rampaging trumpet song of Marina Garza. The familiar strains of Ellington and Puerto Rican Juan Tizol’s classic theme, Caravan, played by the Montclair Women’s Big Band features warm, inventive solos by Sonja Jason’s alto saxophone and Sarh Cline’s trombone, and the concluding Samba Nova has some bird-like flute from Robin Nzingah.

I ask Hargrave which are her favourite tracks, and she answers: “I love every selection of both CDs because they reflect the artistry, courage and adventurous creativity of this diverse community of women. The first selection, We Are Born to Drum, says it all. We’ve been here since the first day and we’re here to stay — making music, lifting spirits and shaping hearts and minds in our own special way.”

Renegade Queens: Salsa de la Bahia is released by Patois Records.