The week in Caribbean Jazz ending July 06, 2012 – a sampling from the Woodshed

The first week of the month of July was relatively quiet in the Caribbean, but as active as ever for Caribbean Jazz artists abroad.

Guadeloupean saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart promoted his newest CD, The Art of Dreaming, at New Morning (7 Rue des Petites Ecuries), Paris on July 3. In concert with Schwarz-Bart was Baptiste Trotignon on piano, Thomas Bramerie playing bass and Hans van Oosterhout behind the drum kit.

Back in the Caribbean, on the same Tuesday, Blue Culture presented Jazz Quarters – Dean Williams at La Casa de Ibiza, 163 Tragarete Rd., Woodbrook, Trinidad.

The namesake author of The Chantal Esdelle Caribbean Jazz Corner weblog was at La Casa and published a critical account of the show, reproduced below.

“Beautiful people on stage and in the audience, that was my first thought as I entered Casa de Ibiza last night. Guitarist Dean Williams and the three young men, Rodney Alexander (bass), Alpha Simpson (drums), Anthony Woodroffe (sax) were definitely worth a second look….  I found myself thinking, “this sounds like Stevie Wonder”, “this sounds like Marcus Miller”, “this sounds like Steve Coleman”, “this sounds like the horn lines from Etienne Charles’ Douens”, “this reminds me of Omar Hakim”, “that calypso soca groove sounds like Kid Creole”.  These references were not necessarily a good or a bad thing, simply and interesting one.

In the first set these musical styles and references were more apparent since Dean presented standard material first and they actually played Stevie’s “Isn’t she lovely” into John Legend’s “Ordinary People”, followed by Ralph MacDonald’s “Just the two of us”, and ended with Gershwin’s “Summertime”. They played all of these in Funk/R&B style so it would be hard to navigate away from the style of drummers like Hakim, bassists like Miller and guitarists like Benson who have defined that style of improv for decades, or to resist quoting themes from popular songs like Maniac from Flashdance.  So they stayed close to the flight plan and did a good job of it.  The problem, though, was balance.  Bass, drums and guitar is a hard rhythm section format.  The middle/chords/colour that we get from an extra guitar or keys can easily be and, in this case for me, was missed.  I tried to figure out why [and] settled on a few possibilities.  Maybe the bass took up too much and the guitar took up too little of a presence in the mix; maybe the obvious skill gained by the drummer and bassist from study and transcriptions should now be harnessed into thinking well about establishing a smoother and less static underlying groove when playing together in this combination.  Anthony’s solos on sax and his and Dean’s singing on “Just the two of us” and “Summertime”, respectively, took my attention away from the thinking and allowed me to enjoy the last two pieces in this set.

After the break…, we were treated to originals.  Dean let us know that they were his originals re-arranged by Jesse Ryan.  Jesse joined Anthony in the sax section for the second set.  The additional sax made a marked difference to the sound.  Perhaps the background lines and solos gave Dean a chance to fill in the middle.  Whatever it was it did change things.  Although most of the originals were clearly built around familiar musical examples – Dean’s song for his daughter, was reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s song for his daughter (Isn’t she lovely) in several respects, the horn lines in Tanzania were a bit too close to the ones Etienne wrote for his original Douens, and the Kid Creaole take used to establish the groove for Dean’s Caribbean inspired piece was a bit shaky (timewise) – I was glad to have them.  I was glad to have them because I could feel the enjoyment and excitement that the group and the audience felt in experiencing them.  Rodney and Alpha had a really good time with their solos in this half, especially in the last piece, Super Speed, and I really appreciated their approach to playing with the time.

All in all it is clear that these musicians are listening and transcribing and I believe that they will come more and more into their own.  They also have a really nice audience to grow with….”

Festival Internazionale del Jazz della Spezia, Italy, was home for a day to Puerto Rican bassist Eddie Gomez and Cuban traps man Francisco Mella with Dave Kikoski and Dave Liebman, July 05. Created in 1969,International Jazz Festival of Spezia is into its 43rd edition.

Meanwhile, Miguel Zenon 4tet was in Gent, Belgium for the Gent Jazz Festival. That was just the beginning of Zenon’s foray into Europe. The very next day, July 06, the Quartet was in Rioja Alavesa, Spain to be part of the IX Big Band Festival.

Then it is on to Ducs de Lombard, Paris, France for a two-night stay, July 07-08, before jetting off to the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Angola and on and on.

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The weekend of June 29-July 01, 2012 – a sampling of Caribbean Jazz from the Woodshed

The Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival celebrated its 35th anniversary, June 30-July 01 with the likes of the Cubans Pedrito Martinez (percussion) and pianist Arturo O’Farrill and his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and Grammy winner Michel Camilo of the Dominican Republic.

Camilo, in Saratoga for his fifth festival appearance, introduced his 2011 “Mano a Mano” album with master conguero Giovanni Hidalgo and bassist Charles Flores at the Amphitheatre in Saratoga Springs, NY on the afternoon of June 30. Martinez performed at the Gazebo Stage a couple of hours later that same evening. The ALJO played the Amphitheatre on July 01.

John Santos, a percussionist out of the Puerto Rican tradition, made his John Santos Sextet available for a benefit at Yoshi’s, San Francisco, California on June 30. Across the country, Virgin Islander Shirley Crabbe and David Budway were present at 76 House, Tappan, New York for their own benefit.

The week in Caribbean Jazz ending June 29, 2012 – a sampling from the Woodshed

The Week in Caribbean-Jazz – a sampling

The unqualified highlight of the week was the CD launch of Dion Parson & 21st Century Band: “Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Vol 2” held at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC), NY on Wednesday, June 27. The band’s two sets on that night was in fact the start of a five-night residency at Dizzy’s. Their run ends on Sunday, July 01.

The CD release party got under way, not with a live performance, but a panel discussion on “The Origins and Future of Caribbean Jazz” just before the first set on Wednesday. 21st Century Band invited trumpeter Marcus Printup of the JALC Orchestra to be their special guest at the discussion of “the origins of the group’s unique sound, inspired by their Caribbean-African cultural heritage and modern American jazz.” Printup is appearing with 21st Century throughout their stay at Dizzy’s.

Fans were delighted to experience the band live online on Thursday, June 29 in HD quality. JALC streamed the scheduled 09:30 in full. The Woodshed will publish a review of the concert here shortly.

21st Century Band is Dion Parson (drums), Ron Blake (sax), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Reuben Rogers (bass), Carlton Holmes (piano), Victor Provost (steel pan) and Alouine Faye (percussion).

The Wall Street Journal writes in its June 29, 2012 paper that their “…book juxtaposes Caribbean treatments of jazz classics (like “Seven Steps to Heaven,” heard on their album, not coincidentally recorded live at Dizzy’s) with jazz treatments of calypso (“St. Thomas”) and reggae (Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”). 

Experienced through the band’s bright rhythms and vivid tonal palette, the 21st century looks and sounds like the best time to live.”

21st Century Band, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola June 2012

Other notable performances were Ebe Gilkes Trio at Waterfront Café on the Careenage in Bridgetown, Barbados on Tuesday, June 26 and Courtney Pine at the Sweet Sixteen, St. Kitts Music Festival at Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre on Friday, June 29. The Courtney Pine band was Pine (saxophone), Cameron Pierre (guitar), Robert Fordjour (drums), Omar Puente (violin), Darren Taylor (double bass).

This is what Toni Frederick of WinnFM thought about Courtney Pine at Sweet Sixteen:

St. Kitts Music Festival: Night Two

“By the time U.K.’s premier jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine and friends took [to] the stage, the grounds were packed from the front of the stage to the VIP stands.

The charismatic Pine stole the audience’s heart when he shared with them, that he had attended the St. Kitts Music Festival for years, since its days at the Fort Thomas grounds dreaming that someday he would be on the stage.

“Tonight, my dream came true,” he told the crowd.

Pine…presented a crowd-thrilling and eclectic set, hitting notes with his soprano sax that had the audience gasping.  He also introduced them to the masterly musicianship of Cuban violinist Omar Puentes, who made the instrument sing and  the crowd burst into applause.“

Otherwise, there was Brownman Ali, the busiest Toronto Jazzfest musician, according to CBC Canada, continuing his jaunt around his city, sitting in on a Modern Jazz set with Strange Attractors at Cherry St. Restaurant on Monday, June 25 and a Latin Jazz one with Arecibo, Friday, June 27 at Winchester  in Cabbagetown; and leading his own Cruzao Latin Jazz Trio at Poetry Jazz Cafe on Augusta Avenue, Wednesday; and the Brownman Akoustic Trio at Winchester on Thursday.

Brownman’s compatriot Mikhail Salcedo was not half as busy, but he was busy enough on Tuesday, June 26 at a JazzQuartersTT presentation of the Mikhail Salcedo & The Salcedo Quintet at La Casa de Ibiza, 163 Tragarete Rd., Woodbrook, Trinidad. Pannist Salcedo stretched The Salcedo Quintet along a gauntlet that lead to the transformation of “Bacchanalist” into a Jazz/R&B hybrid and other “world fusion” interpretations that involved the leader wielding 4 pan sticks and playing the piano (on Bacchanalist) and his cohort supporting him on tabla, conga and electric sitar (Dean Williams).  The most impressionable of them all, as listed on Nigel Campbell’s Facebook Timeline, were Chick Corea’s “Spain,” Ray Holman’s “Memory of Your Smile” and, well, “Bacchanalist.”

The weekend of June 22-24, 2012 – a sampling of Caribbean Jazz from the Woodshed

This past weekend in Caribbean-Jazz – a sampling

This past Saturday, we heard the Arturo O’Farrill Trio at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2, 196 Allen Street, New York City, NY.

Come Sunday, the ALJO was at Confederation Park in Ottawa for the city’s annual Ottawa Jazz Festival. Ottawa Citizen Jazz blogger Peter Hum and the crew were witness to the concert and posted the following review in the OC.

Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in Confederation Park (concert review)

It can sometimes seem like a stretch to take in Latin jazz in Confederation Park when the weather is less than tropical.

But Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra blew past the clouds and chill to endear themselves with listeners protected by ponchos and umbrellas while the rain spat down.

The New York-based group takes seriously its mandate to uphold the torch of Latin big band jazz…. [T]he band played music that expertly combined grand and sophisticated writing and improvising with visceral and venerable rhythms.

After a tender introduction for pianist/bandleader O’Farrill, the group’s first tune, Obsession, might have lead to mamboing in the park had the weather been more amenable.

Piece after piece was strong and vivid, with notable, spirited solos by trumpeters Seneca Black and John Bailey, trombonists Earl McIntyre and Reynaldo Jorge…and saxophonists Jed Levy and Bobby Porcelli, to name a few.

The musical embrace of O’Farrill’s band was broad geographically and deep historically.

A highlight — especially for jazz fans who fret that the Ottawa festival has become too enamoured with jazz’s new sounds and even non-jazz — was a slow, slinky version of Juan Tizol’s classic Caravan. Newer was O’Farrill’s stirring and celebratory A Wise Latina, which commemorated the installation of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

The band was equally adept handling the nuevo tango of Argentina master composer Astor Piazzolla (Tuangango), the funky piece Three Afro-Cuban Moods penned by O’Farrill’s legendary father Chico, and a mighty, specially commissioned salsa closer called Acma Vacia….

O’Farrill was the winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003. The ALJO took the award for “Best Latin Jazz Album” in 2009 for its 2nd album, Song for Chico.

With another weekend drawing to a close, there was no letting up.

The drums kept being played…in Barbados:

Drummer Vere Gibson and The Crustaceans 5-piece swing band featured at Lobster Alive Lunch with Jazz over on the Bay Street location of Lobster Alive restaurant in Bridgetown, Barbados on the afternoon of Sunday, June 24. The Crustaceans line up is Gibson, Dr. Mike Krimholtz (keyboards), Cecil Bascombe (electric bass), Stewart Jenkins (trombone) and John Duckhouse (trumpet) supplemented occasionally by Andy Voss on trumpet and Bob Brown doing vocals.

Still to come in Barbados was Andre Woodvine at Lanterns. Barbadian saxophonist Woodvine played two sets at Lanterns in the Bougainvillea Beach Resort, Maxwell Coast Road, Christ Church, accompanied by the accomplished guitarist Stefan Van den Bossche.

The Hammond B3 organ and the trumpet… in Toronto:

The Kingsley Ettienne Trio showed up at the Orbit Room, 580A College Street (upstairs) Toronto, Ont M6G 1B3 from 03:30 pm to 07:00 pm, June 24 with Neil Brathwaite on sax, JoJo Bowden on the drums and, of course, Grenadian Ettienne playing the B3 organ and doing the vocals.

Trinidad was in the house too, but at Musideum…Where music LIVES! Brownman + 1 Jazz duo show number 2 took place at the Musideum, 401 Richmond St. W. Main Floor (at Richmond St. W. and Spadina), Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8 starting at 4 o’ clock through 6:00 pm. Show number 1 was at the same venue the previous afternoon.

And Afro-Cuban Jazz…in New York:

The Caribbean had already made its presence felt at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in the person of Tessa Souter – one half of her is Trinidadian – at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 19.

This Sunday night, critically acclaimed jazz musicians, Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sanchez, vibist Stefon Harris and trumpeter Nicholas Payton, Ninety Miles, unite to recreate their distinctly unique collection of songs that was borne out of a Cuban-American musical collaboration over the span of a week in Havana, Cuba. Go to Kilbourn Hall, ESM, Rochester, New York.

Ninety Miles was last seen and heard on Friday, June 22 at Confederation Park for the annual Ottawa International Festival, which just got under way in the Canadian capital.

Ninety Miles in Confederation Park (concert review)

[I]ts members are nothing if not creme de la creme jazz players. Vibraphonist Stefon Harris and pianist Edward Simon, in fact, are members of that certified jazz all-star group, the SFJAZZ Collective, which played. Ninety Miles trumpeter Nicholas Payton is a former member of that band too.

So it made sense to expect from Ninety Miles epic and original music of an all-star band’s calibre. The group filled a set with five sprawling tunes that featured the punch of Payton’s horn and David Sanchez’s saxophone over the shimmer of Harris’ vibraphone and marimba and Simon’s piano, girded by bassist Luques Curtis, drummer Henry Cole and the congas and percussion of Mauricio Herrera, the band’s sole Cuban-born member.

Visceral rhythms and exultant feeling have always counted for much in Latin jazz, and the same holds true for the 21^st Century spin that Ninety Miles and other like-minded contemporary bands put on it. In Confederation Park, the group grabbed the audience’s attention immediately with Harris’ Brown Belle Blues, a punchy extravaganza. The set’s mid-point piece Echo, by the band’s former pianist, Harold Lopez Nussa, and Sanchez’s set closer, City Sunrise, with the requisite last-word drum solo by Cole, were richly layered and filled with similar musical fireworks.

Less overtly heated, but no less impressive, were Harris’ groovy And This Too Shall Pass and Payton’s slow, simmering The Backwards Step. The trumpeter made a big impression on his piece with a patient, moody solo that stressed long tones and sound. His spare but full-bodied approach, later emulated by Sanchez, summoned the other musicians behind him and allowed them to play more as he played less….

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The week in Caribbean Jazz ending June 22, 2012 – a sampling from the Woodshed

Caribbean-Jazz – a sampling

On Tuesday, June 19, Ginny’s Supper Club welcomed Grammy award-winners and three-time Grammy nominees Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) to their stage at 310 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027 for the premiere of its new suite, “The Offense of the Drum.” Ben Ratliff of the New York Times sat in on the gig. Here is his take of the show.

Sounds Out of Several Worlds Converge in a Harlem Supper Club

Arturo O’Farrill Band at Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem

by Ben Ratliff

Published: June 20, 2012

The pianist Arturo O’Farrill was introducing a fresh composition on Tuesday night at Ginny’s Supper Club, the new room underneath the Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem, and it was hard to find the patrons’ attention, much less keep it….

But Mr. O’Farrill fought back, first with ideas, then with sound. As the leader of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra he reflexively thinks on an enormous scale; he’s drawing at all times, in various combinations, from Africa, Europe and the New World. The new piece, about 15 minutes long and in two parts, was called “The Offense of the Drum,” inspired by attempts to silence drum circles in New York City public spaces….

And his 18-piece band started up: first one unaccompanied trumpet in a minor key, then a full brass arrangement, then a pile of 6/8 rhythm with backbeats and melody threading through it. Suddenly there were stop-time breaks, and different kinds of drum sounds came from the back of the room: a djembe, the West African hand drum, as played by Ayanda Clarke; and a Japanese taiko drum, played by Hiro Kurashima. The swirl of sound was exactly what the set needed; that’s exactly what it took to get the audience on board.

Otherwise the band played some of the repertory it has been building up over the last decade, most recently in its home-base performances at Symphony Space and Birdland; it included Guillermo Klein’s dense, stirring “El Minotauro”; a salsa piece by the Spanish composer Miguel Blanco; and a piece by Mr. O’Farrill called “On the Corner of Malecon and Bourbon,” which walked backward through jazz history, connecting individuals and styles.

The piece started with Mr. O’Farrill’s splashy, polytonal Cecil Taylor impression, ran through some aggressive baritone-saxophone blues (the sound of Hamiet Bluiett, as played by Jason Marshall), to Charles Mingus (a bass solo by Ricardo Rodríguez), eventually to ragtime and finally to the clave. The music was both schematic and full of rough joy. Whether you knew jazz or not, it didn’t require explanation.

Come Sunday, the ALJO will be at Confederation Park in Ottawa for the city’s annual Ottawa Jazz Festival.

O’Farrill was the winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003. The ALJO took the award for “Best Latin Jazz Album” in 2009 for its 2nd album, Song for Chico.

Winding back to Monday, June 18, The Wicked Jazz Trio of St. Maarten – drummer Fred York, pianist Christian Amour and Jerrel Seymonson – gigged at L’éssentiel Live Music Place located at Hope Estate on the French side (St. Martin).

Tuesday, Tessa Souter was in concert at the Montage Grill on 50 Chestnut St, Rochester, New York 14604-2318 for the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.

JAZZ FEST 2012, DAY 1: TESSA SOUTER…

by Ron Netsky

You might say that Tessa Souter chooses her collaborators wisely. We’re talking guys like Beethoven, Fauré, and Chopin. Her new album, “Beyond The Blue,” features her lyrics set to some of the greatest melodies ever written, and she sang a lot of them Friday night during her first set at Montage Grill. Even though they were not familiar to the audience the way jazz standards would have been, she got strong responses.

My favorite song of the night was “Prelude To The Sun,” based on the second (slow) movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The arrangement (by Rochester’s Joe Locke, who plays on the album but was not at the show) beautifully accents the tune’s wonderful counterpoint.

Souter’s voice was gorgeous on the classical/jazz fusion pieces and on the few standards she performed. The audience seemed absolutely entranced by her rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “The Look Of Love,” which featured a mesmerizing guitar solo by Tom Guarna.

Fete De La Musique has run for 31 years. Since 1982, the French Ministry of Culture has facilitated this free all-night celebration, also known as World Music Day, all over the world where Alliance Française has put down its roots. The Fete takes place every year on the longest day of the year, June 21, in 100 countries including countries in Europe and the Caribbean.

In Trinidad, 15 bands – some professional, some amateur – performed at 4 different venues, namely Coco Lounge, Drink Wine Bar, Fiesta Plaza Movietowne and Shakers Cocktail Bar. Guitarist Dean

Fete De La Music pics

Williams Band played at Shakers on the Avenue, drummer Sean Thomas Quartet of the Jazz Alliance of Trinidad and Tobago (JATT) at Fiesta Plaza.

Not to be left out of the mix, Alliance Française de Bridgetown, Barbados presented C4 and Guests performing music from France and the French Caribbean. C4 comprises virtuoso pannist Andre Forde, keyboardist Stefan Walcott, producer and drummer Lowrey Leon Worrell, and bassist Richard ‘Bill’ Evans.

Still in Trinidad, on the same day, Thursday, the annual Birdsong Scholarship Benefit Concert, held at the National Academy of the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, featured a multinational cast involving Trinidadian pianist Rafael Robertson and the Birdsong Small Ensemble, honorary Trini panman Andy Narrell and Vincy keyboardist Frankie McIntosh.

Yet again, the Blackberry Bro, Nigel Campbell was in the house from where he texted that the production was of the highest standard of live performance with Raf finding “the “jazz” in the compositions of [Andre] Tanker and Shorty I…. His sextet making real the possibilities of Antillean music in the world fusion landscape.”

For Nigel, the arrangement of “Sailing” was sparkling. And the piano and voice duet of Frankie McIntosh and Vaughnette Bigford could be described with “One word: sublime.”

If Nigel had one reservation, it would be that Raf didn’t play his compositions! “Our artists need to maximise their copyrights and create demand for the local canon,” he lamented, even as he praised the quintet for faithfully reproducing the Andy Narell sound.

Rounding off the week in Caribbean Jazz, the renowned pianist Mario Canonge and Mitan Trio with Michel Alibo (bass) and Arnaud Dolmen (drums) are doing two consecutive nights at Centre Culturel Sonis (at Rond-point Ignace) in Abymes, Guadeloupe. Their stint ends, Saturday, June 23  2012, at 8:00pm.

Canonge released Mitan, a jazz album that was much acclaimed by the critics in 2011.

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• Music Review: Arturo O’Farrill Band at Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem (nytimes.com)
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The weekend of June 15-17, 2012 – a sampling of Caribbean Jazz from the Woodshed

This past weekend in Caribbean-Jazz – a sampling

Another one of those busy times for paternal Jazz fans all over is Fathers’ Day. The Woodshed abounds with listings planned for that day, June 17. However, the Father’s Day concert of the Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival and Abstract Entertainment’s 2012 production of PanJazz, “Music – The Original Social Media,” stood out from the heap.

As a prelude to the Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Fest’s Father’s Day concert, a Dinner Jazz session was held at Glenn’s Jazz Club, Tower Isle, St. Ann in addition to the Sonny Bradshaw School Band Competition and Jazz Treasures at the Two Seasons Guest House, Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth on the Saturday. Then on Sunday, June 16, Jamaican fathers celebrated the Closing Father’s Day concert in the Turtle River Pk., Ocho Rios.

More here…

This weekend, on Saturday, June 16, the eighth annual presentation of Abstract Entertainment’s Pan Jazz 2012′s production of Music – The Original Social Media took place at Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th & Broadway, New York City.

For this show, vocalists Alison Hinds of Barbados and Thandiswa Mazwai were backed up by an All-Star band led by Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles, whose participation in PanJazz was his seventh overall and his fourth as musical director. Notable band mates were Jacques Schwarz-Bart playing saxophone, Leon Foster Thomas and Victor Provost of St. John, USVI playing steelpans.

Returning, after an exciting collaboration last year, was the legendary South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, St. Lucia’s famed guitarist Ronald “Boo” Hinskon and Suriname’s Etienne Stadwick. Appearing for the first time with PanJazz was the multi-faceted Martiniquan percussionist Mino Cinelo.

This year’s production was dedicated to Ralph MacDonald, Grammy award-winning percussionist, songwriter and producer.

Trinidad and Tobago had its Saturday night action too, mind you. Saxophonist Jesse Ryan fronted a band of Theron Shaw (guitar), David Richards (drums) and Rodney Alexander (bass) at the Fiesta Plaza, Movietowne.

The ever-present Blackberry Bro, Nigel Campbell, lamented that Jesse’s original compositions like “Algun Dia” although fleshed out with “dissonance, swing, improvisation, rhythm and time changes, alternative chording,” had little impact because local audiences, save for a selected core of a few dozen fans, are not comfortable with new music and do not reflect that accepting energy to the artist.

Also on Saturday, June 16, Trombonist Reginald Cyntje of St. Thomas, USVI helped promote an appreciation for African-American history and culture at the fifth annual Juneteenth celebration at Watkins Regional Park in Maryland.

Juneteenth commemorates the abolition of slavery in the US.

On the lighter side, Smooth Jazz saxophonist Eric Darius, whose heritage is traceable to Haiti and Jamaica (the birthplace of his father and mother), flamed the Red Cat in Houston, Texas while Shirley Crabbe, a descendant of the British Virgin Islands did her thing at Old 76 House in Tappan, NY.

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The week in Caribbean Jazz ending June 15, 2012 – a sampling from the Woodshed

This week in Caribbean-Jazz – a sampling

Another one of those busy times for paternal Jazz fans all over is Fathers’ Day. The Woodshed abounds with listings planned for that day, June 17.  However, the Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival lined up Jazz daily in the lead up to Fathers’ Day.

Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Fest began on Saturday, June 09 with Opening Jazz Day at the Courtleigh Auditorium, Kingston. This auditorium became awash with the sounds of Jamaica, namely the Jamaica Big Band, Desi Jones (drums), Marjorie Whylie (piano), Karen Smith (piano), Ladies of the Keyboard (Dr. Carol Ball, Kamla Hamilton, Dr. Kathy Brown, Joy Brown) and the Energy Plus Mento Band; and Brazil (Ba-Boom).

A Jazz Brunch at Hotel Four Seasons on Sunday, June 10 and Jam Sessions at the Jazz villages in Kingston at the Four Seasons Hotel and in Ocho Rios at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, all week-long, kept the JA J-Fans fed and psyched up for the Big Day that is Fathers’ Day.

But before the Big Day, ethnomusicologist Herbie Miller and pianist Marjorie Whylie presented at an Educational Jazz Workshop. That was on Friday morning.

On Saturday, June 16, there was a Dinner Jazz session at Glenn’s Jazz Club, Tower Isle, St. Ann, the Sonny Bradshaw School Band Competition and Jazz Treasures at the Two Seasons Guest House, Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.

More here…

Starting on Tuesday, June 12, Paquito D’Rivera was the master of his own domain, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center.  D’Rivera (alto saxophone, clarinet) teamed up with Diego Urcola (trumpet, valve trombone), Alex Brown (piano), Oscar Stagnaro (bass), Mark Walker (drums), and Arturo Sabile (percussion) for Paquito D’Rivera’s Boleros de Chopin, an explosive mix of be-bop, boleros, and Frederic Chopin.

If you planned on celebrating D’Rivera’s 64th birthday with him on Wednesday night, tough luck, the show was sold out. The rest of the residency might have been as well. You would have  been better off just watching the international ambassador of jazz live online at Dizzy’s on Thursday night, June 14 at jalc.org/live.

Tuesday gone – and every Tuesday for as long as I can or will remember – the Ebe Gilkes Jazz Trio held court at the Waterfront Café, off the Careenage in Bridgetown, Barbados. Gilkes landed in Barbados in 1957 fully intending to move to the UK.  But as with most things, he landed the girl too, and England receded from his plans.  Since then, Barbados has been his domicile and The Waterfront Café the home  for his piano playing. It is two years now since Gilkes released a CD, a fine outing with his Waterfront Café trio and guest, Andre Woodvine.

Still in Barbados, the NJ3O Jazz Band, a three-piece band with Andre Forde on drums and a leaning towards swing, bebop and Latin, was Live at Blakey’s Bar in Hastings, Christchurch on Thursday.

One up on Gilkes is Trio Zalizé, which launched a new album, actually the fifth incarnation of Jazz Ka Philosphy, at Baiser Salé in France on Tuesday. Trumpeter Frank Nicholas, bassist Michel Alibo and drummer Sonny Troupé have produced in Jazz Ka Philosophy a self-described cocktail of thundering rhythms – reinvented from the Guadeloupe tradition – and melodies that when intertwined with the avant-garde, Caribbean style, oscillate between the traditional and modern.

Without a doubt, the Woodpick of the Day for Thursday would have been the mini-concert at Martin’s On Woodford Jazz And Piano Bar, Trinidad put on by pianist Raf Robertson featuring vocalist Nyol Manswell (singing in Spanish and all) and some of Manswell’s Berklee friends (an Italian guitarist, a St Thomas saxophonist and a Canadian bassist plus Charles Ryan, Gerion Williams and James Fenton.)

Nigel Campbell, the Blackberry Bro was in the Martin’s audience at Woodbrook, Port of Spain and reported that Raf led the students in the art of Kaiso-Jazz – “A masterclass in the “kaisojazz” envisioned by Scofield Pilgrim” is the way he put it. The young musicians, he said, responded by challenging the master, making magic on Raf’s “Pan for Carnival” and Sparrow’s “Slave.” “Pan for Carnival” was given “a bluesy makeover with harmonica and a Coleman Hawkins’ style sax by the Thomian Jonte [Samuel].” The BB Bro texted that Nyol tinged the lyrics of Raf’s arrangement of Sparrow’s “Slave” – redone some years ago by Raf and again on his recent CD “Majesty” – evoking Ellington and showing that a Trinidad songbook is ripe for reinterpretation by skilled musicians.

The weekend of June 08-10, 2012 – a sampling of Caribbean Jazz from the Woodshed

This weekend in Caribbean-Jazz – a sampling

This was a very busy weekend for Caribbean Jazz aficionados here in the Caribbean and in the United States of America, particularly in the DC area.

Trinidad’s Etienne Charles & Kaiso floated its brand of Kaiso-Jazz as opening act for Jamaica’s Monty Alexander’s Harlem Kingston Express that doubles Classic Jazz with one-drop Reggae to produce not so much a fusion of styles but a bifurcated marriage. Charles and Alexander’s joint musical exposé of the Caribbean’s musical experiments was The Hamilton’s contribution to the city-wide DC Jazz Festival, which ended Sunday, June 10, 2012.

Twins Jazz is another venue where  Caribbean Jazz could be heard during DC Jazz Fest. One of the several events and venues inside of the Jazz Fest concept, Twins Jazz hosted the USVI’s Reginald Cyntje Group (Amin Gumbs – drums, Herman Burney – bass, Victor Provost – steel pan, Christie Dashiell – vocals and of course Cyntje on trombone) on the Sunday.

This was Cyntje’s second appearance at Twins Jazz on 1344 U St. NW, DC in as many days, having featured with the Kenny Rittenhouse Quintet together with Jay Jefferson – drums, Cheney Thomas – bass,  Sam Prather – piano and the leader playing trumpet.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, June 09, Provost was front and center in a television broadcast of a November 26, 2011 performance of Dion Parson & The 21st Century Band on WTJX, Channel 12 in the United States and British Virgin Islands. The regular 21st Century septet – Parson: Drums, Ron Blake: Sax/Flute, Rashawn Ross: Trumpet, Reuben Rogers: Bass, Victor Provost: Steel Pan, Carlton Holmes: Piano and Alioune Faye: Percussion – was on hand for Jazz Meets Quelbe, a two-some with the premier Quelbe (string band) Band of the US territory, Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights, executed at the Island Center, St. Croix.

Further south of St. Croix, in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was Première Rencontre autour du piano 2012. This piano summit, starring Alain Jean-Marie, started on June 04 and ends on June 13.

Further still in the south Caribbean sea, Trinidadian fans, Sunday, 10th June, 2012, flocked to The Little Carib in Woodbrook for Poetic Vibes, a special edition of “Synergia: A fusion of Art, Jazz and Poetry” featuring artists Mikhail Salcedo and The Salcedo Quintet plus Freetown Collective and to the St. John Ambulance Headquarters in Port of Spain to support Rotary Jazz, In Service to Youth. Rotary Club of St Augustine West hosted its annual Jazz Brunch for the eighth time there. Elan Parle, Chantal Esdelle and Moyenne were there too.

Back around to the middle of the Caribbean arc, there was Walkin’ In My Own Shoes – Jazz and Vocal Showcase curated by Kellie Cadogan. This showcase at the Frank Collymore Hall, Spry Street, Bridgetown, was one for Kellie’s protégé Voices 101 and Kellie Cadogan herself – one of Barbados’ finest Jazz singers. The 1688 Orchestra is a unique Caribbean musical ensemble of big band and steel pan dedicated to the craft of instrumental performance.  1688 was Kellie’s back up band on the night.

Partnering with the London School of Music, Cadogan has had phenomenal results mentoring a range of people across the Caribbean to excel in voice and drama. Walkin’ In My Own Shoes is a culmination of  that effort. Cadogan’s own East Point Productions Inc, a voice and drama development company that offers a range of services customized to educate, entertain and ‘inspire lives through the arts‘ produced and presented Walkin’ In My Own Shoes.

Elsewhere in Barbados on Sunday were some smaller pieces of Jazz action, the Jazz Brunch Buffet at Naniki Amphitheatre in the Lush Life Nature Resort, Suriname, St. Joseph and dinner entertainment at Lanterns in Bougainvillea Beach Resort, Maxwell Coast Road, Christ Church.

Patrons who attended the Naniki Jazz Brunch experienced Claudio Debourg’s Latin saxophone styling. Barbadian pianist Stefan Walcott accompanied the native of Caracas, Venezuela.

Jazz seekers also found saxophonist Andre Woodvine, also of Barbados, at Lanterns accompanied by accomplished guitarist Stefan Van den Bossche.

Another one of those busy times for paternal Jazz fans all over is Fathers’ Day. The Woodshed abounds with listings planned for that day, June 19.  However, the Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival has more to come, Jazz daily in the lead up to Fathers’ Day.

Coming back north, Miguel Zenón presented Caravana Cultural, the music of Duke Ellington at Centros de Usos Múltiples in Vieques, Puerto Rico on the Sunday.

Jamaica Ocho Rios began on Saturday, June 09 with Opening Jazz Day at the Courtleigh Auditorium, Kingston. This auditorium became awash with the sounds of Jamaica, namely the Jamaica Big Band, Desi Jones (drums), Marjorie Whylie (piano), Karen Smith (piano), Ladies of the Keyboard (Dr. Carol Ball, Kamla Hamilton, Dr. Kathy Brown, Joy Brown) and the Energy Plus Mento Band; and Brazil (Ba-Boom).

Ocho Rios jazz fest opens in fine style by Basil Walters

THE opening night of 2012 Jamaica International Ocho Rios Jazz Festival at the Courtleigh Auditorium, New Kingston, on Saturday, was an eclectic mix of musical expressions across borders and cultures. Jazz, mento, samba, and salsa were the strong doses of musical offerings….

The ladies of the keyboard were adventurous, individually and collectively. Power of the dynamic Dr Kathy Brown, the smooth elegance of Dr Carol Ball-Thompson, the dazzling mastery of Kamla Hamilton, and the superb Joy Simons-Brown delivered outstanding jazz standards [and a jazz-mento medley].

Each was an extraordinary serving from Dr Ball-Thompson’s renditions of My One and Only You and They Can’t Take That Away From Me to Kamla Hamilton’s interpretation of Home Sweet Home, Joy Simons-Brown’s take on No Where No Better Than Yard, and Kathy Brown’s original Afro Blue as well as Jammin….

The perennial Karen Smith gave another amazing and energetic set with the 1963 Grammy Award Song of the Year, On A Wonderful Day Like Today, written by Anthony Newly made popular by Shirley Bassey.

The dynamic diva captivated her audiences with The Way You Look Tonight, but her most profound artistic execution came with her classy remake of John Holt’s rocksteady anthem Memories By The Scores.

Festival director Myrna Hague was her usual fabulous self as she entertained with the Bob Marley’s hit Waiting In Vain backed by the Jamaica Big Band….

A Jazz Brunch at Hotel Four Seasons on Sunday, June 10 kept the J-Fans fed and psyched up for the week ahead and the prospect of the Big Day that all fathers usually look forward to for familial reasons only. This year, Jamaican fathers will have one more reason to celebrate.

Sugar Isle Jazz Festival: A rare fest in Barbados this June

BARBADOS

One year ago this January when the Barbados Jazz Festival faltered unceremoniously and petered out, it seemed as though Barbados was heading into a Jazz festival recession. Since then, some moderate Jazz events were added to the island’s calendar thus serving as a boost to the outings of working Jazz musicians at various local establishments on Barbados.

Tom Hinds has amped up the scene with Art & Jazz on Sunday afternoons at the scenic Naniki Amphitheatre, with invites going out to attractive international and Caribbean Jazz acts like Raf Robertson, Annise Hadeed, Dougie Redon, Richard Bailey, Theron Shaw and Luther François as complements to Barbados’ home-grown talents, Rhea Drakes, Arturo Tappin, Roger Gittens, Stefan Walcott and Kellie Cadogan.

Now musician and promoter Deryck Walcott who conceptualised Christmas Jazz has added another layer unto the Barbados landscape with a Jazz festival in June. Walcott produced the inaugural Sugar Isle Jazz Festival at various venues on the first weekend of June. Performances were held at the Frank Collymore Hall, Plantation Garden Theatre and the Garfield Sobers Stadium. Sugar Isle Jazz Fest had on tap an exciting line-up of some of the best in Barbados, from around the Caribbean region and further afield.

To start off, on Friday, June 01, Haitian songstress Pauline Jean and Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca came in from the United States, their musical home base, to play the Swing Night under the Jaleel Shaw Quintet at the Frank Collymore Hall in the heart of the capital, Bridgetown.  The Nation News of Barbados sent out a reporter to cover the show.  Natanga Smith Hurdle christened it thus:

JAZZ WITH LOTS OF SUGAR

by Natanga Smith Hurdle, NATIONNEWS.COM | Sun, June 03, 2012 – 12:04 am

Alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw blew the audience away when he closed the show on the opening night Friday of the CIBC FirstCaribbean Sugar Isle Jazz Festival. But the evening got off to a swinging start with the Haitian American Pauline Jean.

Jean’s presence, as well as her voice, is going to capture you from the first note. Beautiful and powerful, it has been compared to those of Cassandra Wilson, Nina Simone and Sarah [Vaughan]…. But there’s a difference in Pauline’s music; being of Haitian descent, she sings in English, French and Creole. And with her first song she transformed Frank Collymore Hall into a dusky, smoky room somewhere down in Louisiana, Baton Rouge.

There’s no doubt Pauline and her band can swing. While she allowed her songs to thrill, the band’s individual arrangements with Elio Villafranca on piano, Shirazette Tinnin on drums…and Johnathan Michele on bass went back and forth from funky to traditional jazz.

If Pauline is good…swinging…she is even better singing ballads, with lovely and soulful renditions of Haitian folkore, featuring Wongolo which she says is near and dear to her heart. In this song, in her native tongue, you could hear the passion, power and pride in her voice.

Her bubbliest best

…. Also with Panama M’ Tombe, a satire about a Haitian politician and his hat, she was at her bubbliest best, engaging and energetic, dancing around the stage, taking you on an emotional ride. Each rendition was met with enthusiastic applause….

On Saturday, June 02, The Plantation Garden Theatre came alive with the Caribbean Jazz of The Golden Apple Project, mentored by the saxiest of them all, Barbabian saxophonist Arturo Tappin.  GAP’s personnel for this Caribbean Night was Rhesa Garnes on vocals along with David Carnegie (drums), Darien Bailey (keyboards), Romaro Greaves (sax) and Neil Newton (bass). The Golden Apple Project, was introduced to the Caribbean Jazz stage during this year’s Tobago Jazz Experience by Tappin.

The GAP opened Caribbean Night for an all-star Caribbean band featuring Trinidadian pannist Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, Barbadian sax man Elan Trotman, Vincentian keyboardist Frankie McIntosh, Trinidadian bassist Ron Reid, Jamaican guitarist Maurice Gordon plus an Antiguan drummer, Rico Anthony.  The all-stars closed out the show with their Jazz interpretations of some of the biggest hits from Lord Kitchener, Mighty Sparrow and Bob Marley, David Rudder, Edwin Yearwood and Alison Hinds.

HAND IT TO THE BANDS

by Natanga Smith Hurdle, NATIONNEWS.COM | Tues., June 05, 2012 – 12:05 am

IN BAJAN PARLANCE, the two bands do “bad, bad, bad” Saturday night at the CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Sugar Isle Jazz Festival at The Plantation Theatre on Caribbean Night.

The Caribbean was represented by the Golden Apple Project, the local [Barbadian] band, and the Caribbean All-Star Band, which included Trinidadian Len “Boogsie” Sharpe on steel pan. Earning an encore and standing ovation each [of] the two bands brought their own style, sound and concept to the stage.

First up was Golden Apple Project with David Carnegie on drums, Neil Newton on bass; Rhesa Garnes with vocals, Romaro Greaves on saxophone and Darien Bailey on keyboards. They had a tremendous set, switching from jazz to soca to reggae to ballads….

They deserved the standing ovation for the jazz rendition of the Carnival hit Bacchanalist.

Elan Trotman. Elan Trotman. Elan Trotman. Not only is his music easy on the ears, he is also easy on the eyes. He was included in the Caribbean All Star Band, put together four days before the event, along with “Boogsie”, Frankie McIntosh from St Vincent on keyboards, Maurice Gordon from Jamaica on guitar, local lads Wayne Poonka Willock  and James Lovell on percussion, Rico Anthony from Antigua on drums and Trinidadian Ron Reid on bass, who rounded out a fabulous octet….

Trotman squeezed every note out of the tenor sax and titillated with the soprano sax. Dipping and shaking as he brought out each warble with the latter, he held a note so long it took your breath away. “Sweeeeeet” said two different audience members simultaneously.

Gordon produced memorable moments, finding a gimmick or two to add drama. The theme of the band was cooperation and when “Boogsie” came on stage to rapturous applause, he added a different element to the band. He had those steel pans rocking in their stands. Poonka and Lovell combined to do baaaadd on the drums, playing congas and timbales, respectively.

Trotman stole the spotlight in the last song Just The Two Of Us, sometimes layering over the beat, other times floating all over it and checking in just enough to bring things back to the stage, even when he went into the audience. Standing ovation.

The band played Could This Be Love and indeed it was. Kudos to both bands for cohesive ensemble performances. And what a display of music it was.

Speaking to WayneG of The All Caribbean Jazz Show on BlogTalk Radio, Cheryl Holder, Secretary of the Barbados Jazz Society, lamented that the Swing Night was not very well attended due to a clash with a major political event taking place in Barbados at the same time.  However, according to Holder, the Caribbean Night featuring Pauline Jean and her band, which had Elio Villafranca in its ranks, brought the people out in their numbers. Singing in Creole and English, Jean’s performance was enthralling, if I am to put words in Holder’s mouth.  Holder also noted that International Night, because it was not quite Jazz, attracted a fine general crowd.

To climax the inaugural Sugar Isle Jazz Festival, a hand-picked band of star-studded names like Grammy award-winning guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Butler and American smooth jazz saxophonist Mindi Abair paid tribute to one of the greatest R&B and pop artistes of all time, Stevie Wonder, on International Night, June 3 at Kensington Oval, a sports stadium transformed into a theatre for the night. Gospel a capella group Take 6 opened that show.

The Bajan Reporter | Leading pianist and Image Award Nominee ONAJE ALLAN GUMBS to perform at CTO’S Rum & Rhythm, TRIBECA 360 in New York, June 08

See on Scoop.it – Jazz by Caribbean artists

“One of music industry’s most respected and talented collaborators will feature prominently at Rum & Rhythm, a stellar Caribbean Week in New York event organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

Onaje Allan Gumbs, who has worked for more the 30 years with an illustrious list of jazz, R&B and pop artistes, will entertain guests at the Jazz Lounge at the remarkable and exclusive Tribeca 360 in Manhattan, which will host Rum & Rhythm on Friday 8 June 2012….

The multi-talented entertainer will perform at the Tribeca 360’s Jazz Lounge during stellar event ending Caribbean Week in New York. Born in Harlem, New York, of Caribbean parents – his father Anguilla, his mother from Montserrat …”

See on www.bajanreporter.com

WoodPicks of the Day: Mushy Widmaier, Barbara Cadet, Carl Gustave at St. Lucia Jazz, May 04 2012

HAITI

ST. LUCIA

May 04, St. Lucia Jazz ’12

Independence Square, Vieux Fort: Mushy Widmaier (Haiti); Sisterhood featuring Barbara Cadet (St. Lucia)

Ocean Club Jazz: Ocean Club, Rodney Bay: Carl Gustave Band (St. Lucia)

We now invite you to view the JazzinCaribin Calendar below for details on this and other Caribbean-Jazz events taking place in the region and further afield. Also, go to the right Sidebars here at the Woodshed to link to Facebook for yet more listings.

Related article

• St. Lucia Jazz launches No.21 (updated May 02, 2012) (woodshedec.wordpress.com)

St. Lucia Jazz launches No. 21 (updated with May 05 action)

ST. LUCIA

LAUNCH OF ST. LUCIA JAZZ 2012

Original post, February 08, 2012

Update 2, May 02, 2012

On Thursday, January 26 2012, the twentieth edition of St. Lucia Jazz was launched live on radio and television – for the first time. Stakeholders of the festival gathered ‘in-studio’ at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa and Beach Resort on the Pigeon Island Causeway to await the much-anticipated announcement of the line up for the purportedly pared down event.

As background, St. Lucia Jazz actually started in 1991 as the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, as it was called then. It was – and still is – a marketing ploy to boost tourism in the off-season.

In the ensuing 20 years of its existence, St. Lucia Jazz has become a world-class event that has featured the biggest and heaviest names in Jazz, Cadence, zouk, reggae, pop, R&B and everything in between. Name them and they have been to (Anita Baker, Boys II Men, Kenny G, Rihanna, Santana) and performed at (Boo Hinkson, Luther Francois, Shane Ross, Teddyson John) St. Lucia Jazz.

Speaking at the launch, St. Lucia’s Director of Tourism, Louis Lewis stated that the country has “…every reason to be proud… It has not been an easy road. We have many challenges.”

Referring to the idea of carrying the launch live, the Director of Tourism rationalised that the goal was to “…reach out to people who cannot participate in the Jazz Festival.”

As for the festival, Director Lewis revealed that St. Lucia Jazz has now opted for a wider embrace of the so-called fringe events – he prefers to call them “community events” – by bringing together the ancillary community organisations that have produced those ‘outfests’ at venues in Castries, the East, South and elsewhere on the island under one banner, one festival, St. Lucia Jazz.

This fresh approach comes with some well-needed changes to the format, the point being that St. Lucia Jazz is no longer living up to the original objectives. To address this issue, a different track is proposed, one that focusses on a tighter festival. The result is a reduction in the number of acts to address the problem of the increasing length of the festival days. With shows ending as late as 10:00 pm at the Main Stage on Pigeon Island for instance, it is felt that the character of the national park has been so stultified as to eliminate the lure of a picnic  and the child and elderly-friendly atmosphere  it fosters.

Regarding the so-called Community Events like Jazz on the Square, it was noted that they have steadily outlived their usefulness. Singling out the Derek Walcott Square (Jazz on the Square), complaints abound that it is hot, parking is limited and the businesses in the area have not embraced it. Apparently, the surrounding business houses are harping on the noise and the perceived disruptions to their mercantile activities. So…the action has been moved to Pointe Seraphine just outside central Castries.

The St. Lucia Jazz producers claim to recognise that the Jazz Festival is not living up to the original objectives, hence the formation of a core group of people who were tasked with the responsibility of doing some brainstorming. They have concluded that the Jazz Festival is not living up to the original objectives and that the focus should be on tightening it up. Therefore, the decision was made to reduce the number of acts in part because the increasing length of the festival days has stultified the event.

As an added incentive for patrons interested in attending the weekend of concerts at Pigeon Island National Park and to cater to the high demand for an “up scale” VIP corporate experience that gives patrons a premium view of the stage, a Gold Pass is being reintroduced.

Looking further forward into the future, St. Lucia Jazz believes some bold steps need to be taken if for no other reason but to reinvigorate the festival and transit this marquee event to something that is more truly St. Lucian.

The expectation is that they will continue to enjoy the logistical support of the sponsors, particularly Platinum Sponsor, Digicel, which has just renewed its association with St. Lucia Jazz for a second three-year term. Digicel’s Country Manager for the Eastern Caribbean, Geraldine Pitt, told the launch party that Digicel is “excited to put on a show as never before” this year, stressing that their sponsorship is gratitude for the support of the St. Lucian people to the company. That relationship, she noted, strengthens the company’s resolve “to provide an avenue to market the event throughout the Caribbean… This is the commitment of Digicel!”

The launch was impressively choreographed and MC’d in spirited fashion. However, if I am afforded one pet peeve, it would have to be the appearance of Mervin Wilkinson and 1090 who was a waste of time, playing pop and reggae at the launch of a Jazz Festival.  The chatterboxes on Scruffy TV agree.

Now for the line up

OPENING: April 30: Mindoo Phillip

Moon River Jazz: (Canaries)

Tuesday, May o1: Ronald Tulle Jazz Project

JAZZ IN THE SOUTH (Labowi Promotions)

April 28: Coconut Bay Resort & Spa: Sisterhood (Barbara Cadet), Loula Trio featuring Ricardo Francois |April 29: Black Antz Jazz Combo, Rupert Lay Quartet, Etienne Charles

Tuesday May 01: Rudy John Beach Park – Cameron Pierre (Dominica/UK) featuring Fred Nicholas (Dominica) Ricardo Francois, Emerson Nurse (both St. Lucia); Miki Telephe (Martinique); Alibi (St. Lucia) featuring Richard Payne, Teddyson John and Francis John; Loula Trio featuring Ricardo Francois; Laborie Steel Pan Project (St. Lucia)

Thursday, May 03: Saint Lucia School of Music, Castries, 4pm – 7pm – Master class with Cameron Pierre, UK-based Dominican guitarist, a stalwart of the British jazz scene since the 1980s, who recently released his fourth CD, ‘Radio Jumbo’.  

Friday, May 04: Independence Square, Vieux Fort – Mushy Widmaier (Haiti); Alchimik’s (Guadeloupe) Cancelled; Sisterhood (St. Lucia)

Sunday, May 06: Coconut Bay Resort & Spa, Gil Tony’k (Martinique) featuring Tony Chasseur and Gilles Voyer; Sakésho with Andy Narell (US), Mario Canonge (Martinique), Michel Alibo (Guadeloupe) and Gregory Louis; Rupert Lay Qtet (St. Lucia); Black Antz Jazz Combo (St. Lucia)

Ocean Club Jazz: (Ocean Club, Rodney Bay, May 02-07)

Wednesday, May 02: St. Lucia School of Music Sextet

Thursday, May 03: Emerson Nurse Quintet

Friday, May 04: Carl Gustave Band

Fond D’Or Jazz: (Dennery)

Saturday May 05: Fond D’Or Nature & Heritage Park – Exile One, Arturo Tappin, Boo Hinkson, Derek Yarde Project

WATERSIDE JAZZ (Caribbean Events at Duty Free Pointe Seraphine, May 07, May 09, May 11)

Monday May 07:  – Clifford Charles, Frantz Laurac Quartet, Alibi featuring Richard Payne

Friday May 11: Nicholas Brancker

MAINSTAGE: (May 09-13)

Wednesday, May 09: Gaiety on Rodney Bay – Ronald “Boo” Hinkson

Thursday, May 10: Gaiety – Luther Francois followed by Mario Canonge

Friday, May 11: Main Stage, Pigeon Island National Landmark – Derek Yarde Project ‘DYP” – En Kweyol

Saturday, May 12: Pigeon Island National Landmark – Alison Marquis Nonet featuring Andy Narell

Sunday, May 13: all-star cast of Richard Payne (St. Lucia), Joel Widmaier and Jean Caze (Haiti), Sonny Troupe (Guadeloupe) and of the The Wespe Pour Ayiti Project; Hugh Masekela

Jazz on the Grill: (Fire Grill and Lounge Bar, Rodney Bay, May 07-09, May 11, May 14)

Monday, May 07: St. Lucia School of Music

Tuesday, May 08: Rob Zii & The Vibe Tribe

Wednesday, May 09: Carl Gustave & BMF Band

Friday, May 11: Luther Francois, Emerson Nurse Band

Monday, May 14: The Encore (Jam Session)

JAZZY RHYTHMZ: (JQ Rodney Bay Mall, May 07-11, May 14)

Tuesday, May 08: Boo Hinkson and Friends

TEA TIME JAZZ: (La Place Carenage, May 09-10)

Wednesday, May 09 – The Black Antz Combo

Jazz on the Bay: (Rodney Bay, May 04)

CARELLIE JAZZ, May 01: Carellie Park – Sisterhood, Ricardo “Ricky” Francois, Royal St. Lucia Police Band, Cornell Phillip

 

WoodPick of the Day: Eric Darius at Mallorca Smooth Jazz Festival, April 27, 2012

HAITI

JAMAICA

Eric Darius

Mallorca Smooth Jazz Festival, Spain, April 27, 2012

Eric Darius – saxophone

Protur Biomar Gran Hotel & Spa, Sa Comar, Mallorca, España, 09:00 pm, April 27

Tampa, Florida-based urban instrumentalist, producer and composer, Eric Darius, has broken down the door of the Woodshed, demanding attention. But on Friday, April 27, Mallorca, Spain is the focus of his attention. Darius brings to Mallorca the passion of his Haitian and Jamaican roots, embodied in his lead instrument, the saxophone.

The result is Contemporary Jazz that to him is a “vehicle for change.” Darius confesses that Contemporary Jazz is the genre that has fuelled his early success. “I’m ON A MISSION to celebrate every style of music from Jazz, R&B, Pop and Reggae to Hip-Hop, Rock and Gospel,” he explains in his biography.

It seems to me that Mallorca is up for fun times with Eric Darius, April 27 (03:00pm E).

https://twitter.com/#!/ericdarius/status/188039271091945472

WoodPick of the Day: Mario CANONGE et Michel ZENINO in PARIS, April 25, 2012

MARTINIQUE

Mario CANONGE et Michel ZENINO Duo Jazz, Le Baiser Salé, PARIS, April 25, 2012

Mario CANONGE et Michel ZENINO Duo Jazz

Mario Canonge – piano, Michel Zenino – cbss.

Le Baiser Salé – 58, rue des Lombards – 75001 – PARIS 

Martinique pianist Mario Canonge is in duo with Michel Zenino playing “Jazz standards” at Le Baiser Salé in Paris this and most every Wednesday from 19:30 hrs (Paris time).

Canonge’s pianisms are endowed with a Caribbean accent that perfectly aligns Zenino’s double bass with clarity and empathy.

More than just a gifted pianist, Canonge is a musician whose distinctive feature is his adaptability, whirling from one style to another, Jazz, zouk, salsa, you name it!

If you cannot make it to Paris, catch Canonge at St. Lucia Jazz in the Caribbean in May.

https://twitter.com/#!/lebananierbleu/status/191200701081329666

Michele Henderson at Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012…

…good to the last drop

Michele Henderson with Ming and Friends, Act 4 – The Grand Finale

Michele: vocals, flute

Michael Low Chew Tung (Ming): keys

Richard Joseph: drums

Modupe Folasade Onilu: percussion

Kevon La Fleur: bass

Dean Williams: guitar

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

DOMINICA

The saying goes, “You never know what you’re gonna get till you get it.” Actually, that’s no saying; I am just saying … whatever I want. But it’s true, isn’t it?

Look at it this way: You love Jazz. There is something going on at Farm Road, St. Joseph, Trinidad called Jazz Artists on the Greens. It is your understanding that some female artist from the Commonwealth of Dominica called Michele Henderson is headlining. That name sounds familiar, you think, but that doesn’t matter. At least, you have somewhere to go on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

You get to The Greens on time. The booths form an arc and inside of it, white chairs are lined up in rows and columns. The J-Fans, die-hard and casual alike, are streaming in. The atmosphere seems good.

You are a bit distracted; there are old friends to get reacquainted to and new alliances to forge. There is a stir on stage. Thanks to the artistry of opening acts, Carlton “Zanda” Alexander & The Coalpot Band, Llettesha Sylvester and Clifford Charles Quintet, the show is chugging along quite nicely, building up to the headliner.

Michele Henderson at JAOTG (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

Then Michele Henderson walks on and Ming and Friends strike up with “Agua de Beber” (Antonio Carlos Jobim). Richard Joseph fleshes out the bossa nova beat and the atmosphere changes for you. Didn’t it? The Greens become electrically charged … up. And all those of you who might have been absent-minded for some reason over the previous three hours, sit up (at first) and take notice for the Lady in Red is dancing … with you. Fatal attraction! Smitten!! Mind-blowing!!!

Not letting up on the tempo, Michele re-acquaints us with the well-worn but evergreen Errol Garner classic “Misty” in intoxicating fashion, her pipes flowing notes with fluidity, power and passion.

That’s the word, “Passion!” For it is passion that connects the artist to the essence of a song … and her audience … our soul. Michele has this attribute, Passion, in abundance here.

This characteristic feature becomes more evident on her next delivery, the sappy Rogers and Hammerstein pop song turned Jazz standard that becomes so because of the improvisational and harmonic possibilities it lends itself to. Michele calls on lead guitarist Dean Williams to act as a foil to her immeasurable vocalizations.

One could be excused for hazarding a guess that Ming and Friends is Michele’s longtime backup outfit. They are not of course. However, in witnessing how confident and seamless the players are matching wits with her, one wouldn’t know it. By the end of the command performance, the band will have kept pace with their leader, locking horns with her no matter what she threw at them – Classic Jazz, Latin, Bossa, Zouk, Pop and Reggae.

This brings me to the dawning realization that Bob Marley is after all a staple on the Jazz circuit, eliciting all sorts of interpretations. For the most part, a Marley is played straight, a solo or two passing for Jazz interpretation, which in some instances is hardly credible and boring.

On the night of March 24, Ming and Friends added themselves to the short list that is balking that trend, the easy way out. On “Waiting in Vain,” Richie’s drums and Kevon La Fleur’s bass handle the one drop rhythmic formula, leaving it to Ming on keys and Dean to inject stylistic Jazz sensibilities that set Michele’s cover apart from the rest.

Michele with Ming and Friends at JAOTG (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

I  argued in this series of JAOTG reviews that a critical hallmark of a musician is a repertoire that does not exceed her limitations. Michele does not have to worry about that. She can pull a rabbit out of a hat and turn it into vocal gold.

For the purpose of this critique, I have to say that it is one thing for a Caribbean singer rooted in a French Antillean culture to deliver a Martinican call to arms in “Fo Daw Leve,” and a Groovy-Zouk original called “Pani Pawol.” It is an entirely different kettle of fish to pull off Chic Corea’s, “500 Miles,” “Armando’s Rhumba” and especially “Spain” (Concerto de Aranguez).

“Spain,” a staccato adaptation by Corea of the Joaquin Rodrigo adagio for an Al Jarreau collaboration must not, under any circumstances, be attempted at home without professional or parental supervision. Yet, Michele nails it to the door frame and pins it down like a WWF wrestler – the epitome of true and unfettered talent.

Michele does not, however, hug all the glory for herself. She lets Richie and percussionist Modupe Onilu in on the action via “500 miles,” letting them trade for a bit and then giving Modupe room to squeak the inside of his bongo drum while straddling his signature congas to reach the mic.

Modupe squeaks (courtesy Production One)

With all this drama taking place on The Greens, riveting and transfixing “all and sun-dry,” as one notable politician once put it, the best was still one song away. I speak of Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do.” Michele had the folks on The Greens abandon their chairs and charge to the front of the stage to occupy an area that remained largely unoccupied throughout the previous four hours of the show.

Pumped up by this reaction, the band took its game up another notch, unbelievably so. Zen Master Ming got off his haunches, a wide grin on his face. Priceless! Dean, surged forward, leaned back and threatened to shred his six-string axe as Michele hovered over him, demanding more.

Then it was all over, though not quite. Michele had earned a standing ovation – although it could be said that everyone was already on their feet. “The Diva,” quoting a member of my party, graciously offered a reprise to end the pandemonium on Farm Road.

Surprisingly, no one saw it fit to call the Fire Brigade. Maybe Production One Ltd. would be wise to have a tender on standby if ever Michele’s craft lands on The Greens again. 

Most Memorable Moment in technicolour (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

Legendary Caribbean-Jazz pianist Raf Robertson wraps it up best. “This is the first time that I have experienced Michele and what an experience! And she plays the flute. This girl serious.” Do I Do, Raf…Do I Do.

Related articles

• Pannist Annise Hadeed closes Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012 on a question mark (woodshedec.wordpress.com)
• Clifford Charles heats up Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012 (woodshedec.wordpress.com)

Pannist Annise Hadeed closes Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012 on a question mark

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012, March 24: Act 5

Annise Hadeed with Richard Bailey, Theron Shaw & Douglas Redon

Hadeed: steelpan

Bailey: drums

Shaw: guitar

Redon: bass

I am putting this out there: it is uncommon, in my personal experience, for the pan to be utilized as a lead instrument on a strictly straightahead set in the context of a Jazz Festival. All the more reason why I was taken aback – and pleasantly so I might add – by pannist Annise Hadeed’s offering at Jazz Artists on the Greens on Saturday, March 24.

Annise Hadeed (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

One may query the wisdom of scheduling a guy like Annise as the final act, after Michele Henderson and her band of Trinidad and Tobago’s finest musicians led by Michael Low Chew Tung aka Ming. We could complain about the quality and dynamics of the sound of Annise’s pan, and that his choice of instrument from the family of steel drums was not quite suited to The Greens. No one would be wrong either in citing Annise for not engaging an audience already on a musical high from having died and gone to musical heaven, thanks to Michele. Frankly, I am not sure if any of the acts on the bill could have topped Michele. Truth be told, none could!

Given this context, I will take Annise Hadeed for what he was worth, a highly skilled practitioner of the pan who presented a remarkable set that included a couple of bona fide Jazz Standards, a Calypso-Jazz standard by a Trinidadian pianist of note and several originals by the leader. That was, however, a blessing and a curse for Annise.

Here is the problem Annise faced: For a pan soloist playing contrapuntal arrangements calling for heavy syncopation and, very critically, more than casual interplay between the instrumentalists, Annise adopted an unacceptable role of (what should I call it?) guest soloist. The guest soloist takes a few choruses here and there and then slinks to the side of the stage, letting the band play on.

This is important. As lead soloist, Annise does not have the luxury of stepping away from his instrument and laying out as much. His job is to bind himself to his instrument like, say, a pianist would, suggesting ideas and patterns to his cohort thus remaining in the fray, ever-ready to take or retake the spotlight to restate or extend the melody and add flavours in harmony. Annise does not do that, opting to play the head, expand the theme some and then side-step to give his band free reign. Whereas Clifford Charles and Llettesha Sylvester could get away with that because of the character of their sets and set lists, Annise could not for reasons now very obvious.

But all that is not to say that the band dynamics are not considerable. I mean, give drummer Richard Bailey his due, pinging the ride cymbals on “How High The Moon” (Morgan Lewis) and “Someday My Prince Will Come” (Frank Churchill), cracking the snare on Brother Valentino’s “Dis Place Nice” and Clive Zanda’s Calypso-Jazz standard “Fancy Sailor” while Douglas Redon keeps the beat and pulse like a buoy marker. Annise, for his part, plays the changes deftly on his originals, “Spur of the Moment” and “Square Up.” And guitarist Theron Shaw gets all abstract on the tail ender, “Cornertalk,” another Hadeed original.

Bailey, Shaw, Hadeed & Redon (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

As usual, the crowd began to trickle out of the WASA grounds as Annise Hadeed drew his set to a close and the curtains began to come down on Jazz Artists on the Greens. That was entirely expected, which is precisely why the producers put on Michele Henderson as the penultimate act.

In spite of the pros and cons I have expressed, there is no coming away believing that Annise was not an the act to help the fans warm down after the blistering show put on by Michele Henderson with Ming and Friends.

My feeling though is there is more to Annise playing live than what I saw between 09:00 and 10:00 pm on Saturday, March 24. Annise whet my appetite; and I would go on a limb to say that the rest of The Greens salivated as well.

 

Related articles

• Carlton “Zanda” Alexander stirred the Coalpot at JAOTG, Trinidad, March 24 2012 (woodshedec.wordpress.com)
• Clifford Charles heats up Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012 (woodshedec.wordpress.com)