Was Thursday, July 19 Caribbean Jazz Day, or what? That was a full day, if you ask me. You just did. Here is the answer:
Le bar La Rhumerie, La Créole Beach Hôtel & Spa BP, 61 Pointe de la Verdure, 97190 Le Gosier, Guadeloupe, received the exceptional Sonny Troupé & Gregory Privat duo on July 19 – and July 20 – for two exclusive concerts.
Mozayik: Guillaume, Bourjolly, Torres
Sticking with the Francophones, Mozayik, you know, that Haitian band based in New York, was the second act of the Summer Jazz Series being put on by Psalmist Productions Inc. (PPI) every third Thursday at Rustik Extension, a new performance space located directly next door to the Rustik Tavern, its mother restaurant and bar, on 471 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY in the heart of Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill.
According to Executive Producer of PPI, Elona Dotson, “We have some well known [sic] and some up and coming jazz artists participating in this series…” of JaZz Live, which concludes on October 18, 2012.
Rustik owner Frantz Metallus boasts, “… Rustik will have great music to add to its great food and bar, offered with great presentation and service. It’s going to be good times at Rustik this summer!” No doubt, Eddy Bourjolly (guitar), Gashford Guillaume (drums), Gene Torres (bass), Ted Cruz (piano) & Jean Mary Brignol (Haitian drums) – proved him right on Thursday, July 19.
Also in New York, at Zinc Bar in Greenwich Village, New York NY 10012 (82 West 3rd Street btw Thompson & Sullivan) on Thursday was John Benitez Timba Zinco. This boy from Rio Pedras, Puerto Rico carries the weight of a great deal of experience garnered from his associations with the likes of Tito Puente, Michel Camilo, Dave Valentin, Eddie Palmieri, David Sanchez, Danilo Perez, Chucho Valdez, Dave Samuels and Mongo Santamaria.
John Benitez
Benitez talks about his music thus: “For me it’s all the same, one great dance music… [All] the Caribbean, South America and New Orleans are but an extension of African music, music with that special bounce…” Bet Zinc Bar is still bouncing and giddy from the aftershocks from this bass-man called John Benitez.
And oh, did I say that John Benitez was on the Zinc Bar stage on Wednesday as well. This time he was a side-man to Manuel Valera. Billboard magazine predicts that Valera is “destined to play a role in the future of jazz.” Only 22 years old, this contemporary Modern Jazz pianist from Cuba has undertaken already undertaken Solo Piano Concerts, in the Jazz Piano Trio format, and leads the Cuban Jazz Ensemble called “The New Cuban Express” and a Large ensemble which features a Jazz Quartet plus Woodwinds and Strings.
John Benitez joined forces with Yosvany Terry (Alto sax and Chekere), Mike Moreno (Guitar), Ludwig Afonso (Drums), Samuel Torres (Percussion) and Valera (Piano) to form the Manuel Valera New Cuban Express for Wednesday’s Zinc Bar engagement.
USVI pannist Victor Provost was on show on the 19th too, at Rosslyn Farmer’s Market in Rosslyn, VA.
On the cusp of the weekend, Friday 20, Cuban trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval showed up at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA. A protégé of the legendary Jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval is one of the most celebrated artists of our day, having won 4 Grammy Awards, 6 Billboard Awards, and an Emmy Award to go with that. Here in the Caribbean, read St. Maarten, Connis Vanterpool and Friends and Mosaic were all in Karakter, the Karakter club that is.
Rewind to Tuesday, July 17 for saxophonist Jesse Ryan’s engagement at La Casa de Ibiza, Trinidad and Tobago. Telling the tale as usual was Nigel Campbell:
“Jesse, ably supported by Theron Shaw [guitar], David Richards [drums], and Rodney Alexander [bass], plays with the maturity and age of a Coleman Hawkins. With David and Rodney swinging and Theron showcasing his chops to his younger musician friends, the quartet fills the empty space with echoes of an era and an aesthetic of a storied 52nd street after hours club.
Jesse’s composition “Por Fe” begins with a tricky rhythm. And by switching time signatures to segue into a languid melody and harmonic piece, David Richards is allowed to play the “rhythmatist.” All good. Solos shared by Jesse and Theron.
Jesse plays Stevie’s “You Are The Sunshine of my Life” without making it sound like smooth jazz. He achieves this by stretching the melody in a joyride of “consonant dissonance” on the alto sax.
With a swinging 3/4 rhythm, David Richards’ “3 Blues and 4 Cents” percolates with incandescent joy. Jesse, Theron and Rodney make the music jump up. I can see bodies in motion with this song.
Audiences in TT are a unique lot though, when you think of it. The artiste must face down an empty room at the start of his set, but gain the confidence of patrons wandering in throughout the set. It’s really a hard road to tread as a local jazz musician.
The risk a musician takes with a young audience by introducing unknown originals would be lauded in metropolitan spaces. In the TT space in 2012, a maturity has happened. Karl Doyle with his Jazz Quarters is building a new jazz audience that musicians would be wont to cultivate with new material from an expanding local canon.
Jesse obviously has specific ideas as this band ventures into a jazz realm not heard in TT by modern jazz bands. This young man has progressed as an improviser and an interpreter of the American jazz songbook.“
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