French West Indies inspires latest release from UK-based Jazz guitarist Cameron Pierre

January 15, 2012 Leave a comment

DOMINICA

submitted by Ayeola George, AGSelectPR

“I love Jazz music and its tradition for it offers me the unique opportunity of self-expression unmatched by any other art form,” says the Dominica-reared Pierre, who had only one day of rehearsal with the musicians prior to recording the live album. Radio Jumbo consists of ten tracks, two of which see vocal contributions, one each by Dominicans Michele Henderson and Dave Joseph.

Henderson, hugely popular in the French West Indies, masterfully covers Stevie Wonder’s “Another Star,” while Joseph gives a stirring narration on the track “Traditional.” Pierre debuts his banjo playing skills on “Traditional” as well as the title track “Radio Jumbo.” A staple of the Jing Ping bands he listened to as a child; Pierre says he always dreamt of incorporating the traditional African instrument into his music.

Recorded in just one day at London’s Holodeck Studios, and featuring renowned French pianist Mario Canonge, Cameron Pierre’s Radio Jumbo is a mix of French Antillean rhythms and influences fused against a backdrop of jazz interpretation.

The album was named after a radio station from his teenage days in Dominica called Radio Jumbo and reflects the Creole heritage of both Pierre and Canonge (who hails from Martinique). Sharing a love for sounds such as zouk, cadence, kompa, and beguine and influenced by bands such as Tabou Combo, Magnum Band, Malavoi (of which Canonge was a member) Grammacks, Exile One and others, working together was easy. Pierre, who first saw Canonge perform at a party in Paris in 1994, found his way to the Canonge’s band’s rehearsal the following day. It took 16 years, though, for the two to actually get together to record any music.

During the recording of Radio Jumbo, Canonge was instrumental in getting Pierre’s ideas across to the musicians (including a string quartet) who were not familiar with some of the French-influenced rhythms. Still, they all shared a Caribbean sensibility: drummer Wesley Joseph is of St. Lucian descent, and the bass player Michael Bailey and percussionist Donald Gamble have a common Jamaican heritage.

Pierre is hopeful that a European and Caribbean tour with Canonge can take place this year. In the meantime he plays the UK jazz circuit with his own Cameron Pierre Band, and tours with Courtney Pine, who produced the album with him.

Radio Jumbo is available online via HMV, Amazon, iTunes and Pierre’s Official Website under the Destin-e Records label.

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ABOUT CAMERON PIERRE

Composer, producer, arranger, teacher, Cameron Pierre is a respected staple on the UK Jazz scene. Pierre taught himself to play the guitar at age sixteen and began his musical career in the reggae genre playing for artists such as Barrington Levy, Al Campbell, Dennis Brown and Wayne Marshall. He found his niche with jazz and cites George Benson, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker as some of his greatest influences.

His music unabashedly reflects his rich Caribbean heritage.

To date he has released six albums: Friday Night (1997), Return To The Source (1999), The Other Side of Notting Hill (2002), Devotion (2003), Pad Up (2007) and now Radio Jumbo featuring Mario Canonge (2011).

Pierre has also worked with Pee Wee Ellis, Orphy Robinson, Alex Wilson, Jazz Jamaica, Dennis Rollins, Omar Puente, Junior Walker, Joe Cocker, and numerous others in the jazz genre.

In 1994 he formed ‘Creole’, a multi-cultural mélange of musicians from Africa, Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean, enjoying wide critical acclaim for their performances at the Glastonbury and Womad Festivals. He is the first artist signed to saxophonist Courtney Pine’s Destin-E label and has toured Europe and the Caribbean with Pine. Pierre’s own The Cameron Pierre Band has performed at the London Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, Brecon Jazz Festival in Wales.

CAMERON PIERRE ONLINE

Homepage, Myspace, Reverbnation, Facebook, You Tube

ABOUT AGSelectPR

AGSelectPR is a boutique public relations firm specializing in the Entertainment Industry. The company aims to create and execute successful communications campaigns for its clients. Central to the company is the goal of relationship building with clients; as well as media sources, that disseminate AGSPR’s releases; and the general public, to whom we are introducing our clientele. The company is based in Jamaica and is a division of On Target Communications Group.

Filed under Caribbean Jazz, Dominican Jazz, Dominican Music, Entertainment, Jamaican Jazz, Jazz, Jazz Music, Martinique Jazz, Music, St. Lucia Jazz Tagged with Courtney Pine, Dave Joseph, Donald Gamble, Jing Ping, Malavoi, Mario Canonge, Michael Bailey, Michele Henderson, Radio Jumbo, Wesley Joseph

About M. Minchie Israel
I have a modest artistic background in the arts, especially in the realms of poetry, theater and radio. I have done a bit of acting as well as writing and directing for the stage before dropping out upon leaving the Caribbean a few moons ago. I am hoarding volumes of crudely-bound poetry dating back to my teenage years. Publishing any of them is not on the cards...yet. I spent a total of seven years moonlighting as a general programming announcer and Jazz jockey, primarily on DBS Radio in the Commonwealth of Dominica back in the eighties and the very early nineties. I did a short stint on Kairi FM in Dominica in the late nineties while "in transit" between Canada, where I completed a five-year programme of study, to the British Virgin Islands where I currently reside. Jazz and Other Improvisations (coincidentally, J.O.I. are my daughter's initials; her name is Jazmin) have become the theme of my life outside of work. I study the history of Jazz with a passion, more so about Caribbean-Jazz and Jazz musicians of Caribbean descent. I spin nothing but Jazz in the CD player, really. Jazz is what excites the pants off me. However, I love listening to national radio stations from the Caribbean and the Americas if for no other reason but to keep a tab on popular musical trends happening in our region and the world over. After all, Jazz musicians are notorious for incorporating pop music sensibilities into Classic Jazz and Blues structures. The Woodshed is meant to attract Caribbean-Jazz artists, Jazz artists born of the West Indies, Jazz producers and programmers, Jazz writers and curators...and of course YOU the aficionado. If you fall into any one of these categories, you really need to reach out to us at The Woodshed to learn about our goals and objectives to build a loose network of Shedders dedicated to sharing every piece of Caribbean-Jazz news there is from around the Jazzosphere. Knock on Wood at the Primary Menu at the top of this blog for all of our Contact information. Please send us a note or an email to let us know that you wish to have a key to the Woodshed. Now...go forth and spread The Jazz.