The Little Carib Theatre proudly featured the legendary Lennox ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe in Concert! on Friday, 10th August and Saturday, 11th August at the Little Carib Theatre, Trinidad and Tobago. A cultural icon, a pan genius and master composer and arranger, Boogsie Sharpe‘s concert came ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s 50th Anniversary of Independence.
Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharp has been hailed as the ‘Mozart of Pan’, the Michael Jordan of the Steelpan, and honoured with the title of Cultural Ambassador (2000). He has also been awarded the Chaconia Silver Medal (1988) and the Hummingbird Gold Medal (2009) for his contribution to the art-form. Boogsie Sharpe has also amazed audiences around the world.
And for two days, Sharpe serenaded and wooed with his repertoire of compositions, backed by an all-star band: Clifford Charles (guitar), Douglas Redon (bass), Richard Joseph (drums), Tamba Gwindi (percussion) and Chantal Esdelle (piano). The night only got sweeter with a special guest performance by renowned pannist and pioneer in pan music, Ray Holman.
It has been said that ‘Boogsie’, the leader and co-founder of the Phase II Pan Groove Steel Orchestra – the three-time Panorama champions – continues the work that Ray Holman started.
This event was one of many fund-raiser initiatives put on by the management of Little Carib Theatre and is presented to you under the patronage of Mr. Peter Minshall.
In the words of Errol Skerritt, Boogsie is “the most versatile and gifted performer of our national instrument!” What better way to celebrate and commemorate Independence.
Peter Ray Blood reviewed the show for GuardianMedia, Trinidad. Here are the choice excerpts of the write-up, titled “On Becoming Golden…a time to celebrate“
It is one of the most amazing musical experiences I’ve ever had. Attending the recently held Boogsie in Concert event at Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook left me pretty much challenged to find the most appropriate adjectives to describe the night. The venue was packed and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, affectionately dubbed “the Mozart of Pan,” was at his best. For the concert, Boogsie invited to guest with him, his mentor and friend Ray Holman; CAL Invaders poster girl Desiree Myers; and young members of his band, Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove. He also handpicked some competent musicians to accompany him, including fellow Phase II pannist and bassist Douglas “Dougie” Redon; Clifford Charles (guitar); Chantal Esdelle (piano); Tamba Gwindi (percussion); and Richard Joseph (drums).
To open proceedings, Boogsie and his ensemble played the much loved Green Dolphin Street, as well as two of his original compositions — Crying and Baby Ashley. Boogsie then invited his pannists onstage and they performed on two four-pans, two seconds, three tenors and a PHI Electronic Pan. On four-pan as well was Myers while Boogsie played the other PHI Electronic Pan on stage. This pre-intermission set included Sparrow’s Royal Gaol; Boogsie’s Half A Yardie; God Bless Our Nation; and Magic Drum, the Panorama classic composed by Boogsie, Machel Montano and the late Franklyn Ollivierra.
The supporting band and pan ensemble then combined to accompany Boogsie after intermission, a segment that was as magical and mesmerising as the preceding. Opening the show’s second stanza with the late Andre Tanker’s Forward Home, Sparrow’s Memories was the next selection played. Boogsie gave me pleasant memories of my days as a pannist in Phase II when he played another of his compositions, titled I See Aysha….
Moon River, Summer Time, Rose and The Archbishop of Pan completed the programme but it was Summer Time which took Boogsie’s versatility to another level, leaving captive patrons breathless. Excusing all musicians [from] the stage, with the exception of Myers on four-pan, Boogsie showed off the infinite range of his skills on the PHI Electronic Pan and tenor, with Myers augmenting with counter harmonies her well-tuned instrument. Another thrill was Boogsie and Holman teaming up to execute Sparrow’s Rose. This was a fun item as these two exceptional musicians seemed to try to outdo each other while soloing, Boogsie being the aggressor and Holman cool and laid back.
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:
“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.”
Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012, March 24: Act 5Annise 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.
Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012, March 24 2012: Act 1Carlton “Zanda” Alexander & The Coalpot Band
Carlton Zanda: keys
Russell Durity: bass
Makasei Joseph: drums
Anthony Woodroffe: saxophone
All day Saturday, March 24, the winds were stiff, really stiff. One tent sagged to the side as an upright buckled thus calling for some elbow grease to be righted; the backdrop to the Jazz Artists on the Greens (JAOTG) stage flapped like Trinidad’s national bird, the hummingbird, and required a bit of engineering to keep it from being grounded like Redjet; and petite Michele Henderson lamented that the draft would nullify the sound from her flute.
But by show time, 05:05 pm, the flutter from the heavens had subsided only to be replaced by an equal and opposite force of human nature – from stage to The Greens below. Those bearing the brunt of the musical assault were the hundreds of patrons seated on rows upon rows of lily white chairs or otherwise sprawled picnic style on the lawn or in lawn chairs with their “sprinkles” (a term cousin Milton Israel, a far worse Jazz head than I am, coined over twenty years ago) at arm’s length for instant lubrication.
It was a stroke of genius, in my view, to strike up Jazz on the Greens with as strong an act as keyboardist Carlton ‘Zanda’ Alexander rather than going the traditional route of building up the programme for the headliner.
Carlton “Zanda” Alexander is an accomplished Pan-Jazz arranger and one of the more prolific composers in that realm. Carlton Alexander & The Coalpot Band has been his vehicle for Pan-Jazz experimentations for the past thirty years to date.
ZANDA & Coalpot (courtesy Production One Ltd.)
Zanda has not confined himself though to those core elements, but has taken the liberty, and obviously so, to fire things up a bit by accenting the soca variation in his repertoire leading naturally to a welcome diffusion of the style. A fine example of this is “Bondodey,” heard at the end of Zanda’s set. This song, built on a vamp architecture (What did you expect? Zanda is an architect.) is a representation of the lore from Zanda’s youth. Yet, dated as what inspired it, Zanda nevertheless houses the composition in some forward-thinking with triggered saxophone effects by Anthony Woodroffe and astonishingly dissonant piano runs bordering on the avant garde.
The spirited and muscular, stick-work of pannist Akinola Sennon fits, hand in glove, with Carlton’s progressive approach to Pan-Jazz. Sennon demonstrated his considerable chops on “Tension” (Shadow) and “Mr. Panmaker” (Stalin). I would like to believe that what I experienced of Sennon on this date was but one side of his personality. I saw enough to want to see the pannist in a more intimate setting where his more sensitive and subtle side would emerge.
It was a deft touch on the part of the leader to bridge Shadow and Stalin with a straightahead original called “Remember When.” I am always impressed by our Caribbean bands who have the gumption to make the statement that while rooted in a Caribbean Jazz sensibility, we have mastered the fundamentals of Classic Jazz and are down with it.
Speaking to Zanda on the backseat of an SUV after his set, I confirmed that he was not feeling well and that the decision was taken to put the Coalpot Band on first in case his condition worsened, precluding him from playing at all.
Not everyone is in agreement as to the wisdom of opening a Jazz Festival or any musical event for that matter with an act who, in fact, has the credence and credibility to be a headliner in his own right.
But for JAOTG, it is like a Usain Bolt powering to the front of the field and letting momentum carry him the rest of the race. Put on a powerhouse like Zanda at the top of the programme and let the energy he generates charge up The Greens for the next four hours. My hairs are still standing on my head.
The Coalpot Band live at JAOTG
Now the question is this: Was the act to follow Zanda, Llettesha Alexander, strong, weak, or indifferent? My critique is next.
The JazZ BuddZ initiative, Production One Limited’s signal of decade number two in the business of mounting Jazz Artists on the Greens (JAOTG), will be a yearly music education programme for the benefit of Trinidad and Tobago’s at-risk youth. “We are focused on giving thanks and giving back as we strive to cultivate a new generation of Caribbean musicians. We are passionate about this venture that aims to bring a rewarding experience to the lives of young people who may not otherwise be afforded such opportunity.” So said Production One Chairman, Anton Doyle in a company press release dated February 28, 2012.
The JazZ BuddZ programme is aimed at coalescing the efforts of the community, its Classical and Jazz musicians and Production One to provide ten music scholarships to under privileged youth from rural Trinidad and Tobago who will benefit from attendance at workshops in voice, steelpan, drums and percussion, piano, wind and string instruments as well as music appreciation.
The programme was launched officially on Friday, March 23 in the lobby of the Little Carib Theater. Present at the function was a small gathering of dignitaries and academics and aficionados mingling with yours truly and the principals of Production One Ltd.
Kicking off the proceedings half an hour after seven was Secretary of Production One, Maria Wellington. In her presentation – “short and sweet” as she was referred to, figuratively – Maria touted JazZ BuddZ as a “an exemplary beacon” of Production One. Walters, Programme Leader of the BFA Music Area of the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s Academy of the Performing Arts, added that JazZ BuddZ was conceptualized, not as a tool of music theory and practice for young musicians – I guess there are ample avenues and houses of learning already in place – but as a means for the young musicians to learn self confidence and social skills while excelling in academics.
That said, Derron Ellies, was ushered to stage front. Ellies, now engaged full-time in the promotion of the PHI, otherwise known as the Percussive Harmonic Instrument, across Trinidad and Tobago, had the unenviable task of demonstrating the dynamics of this ground-breaking instrument that will undoubtedly take more of a position of prominence in steel orchestras in the twin-island republic to begin with and the world over in time.
Derron’s ten-minute clinic with accompanying soundtracks covered Ralph McDonald (Just The Two Of Us) and John Legend (Save Room), using harp and traditional pan settings – a sampling of the extension range of the PHI.
BuzZed by Ellies’ wonderful performance, the guests, including Michele Henderson, Goodwill Ambassador of the Commonwealth of Dominica and headliner of Jazz Artists on the Greens, mingled around the Carib Theatre lobby briefly before dispersing for the night, all pumped and ready for an evening of Caribbean Jazz and other improvisations at Farm Road, St. Joseph on Saturday, March 24.
Percussive Harmonic Instrument
The PHI is a MIDI-based electronic pan that can virtually access synthesized tones of any number of other instruments and a full range of effects in addition to allowing the practitioner to customize own sounds.
There is nothing like listening to the PHI played live – the warmth of the instrument was lost on me on YouTube. The ring of the traditional steel drum is actually dampened by the electronic impulses conveyed by silicone pads housed in a fiberglass dome, soon to upgraded to plastic within the next eighteen months to two years.
Talking to Marcel Byron, one of the innovators of the instrument under the leadership of Dr. Brian Copeland, I discovered that the PHI is not quite ready for prime time hence the all-out marketing campaign now being undertaken within Trinidad and Tobago.
Egged on to tell me more, Byron eagerly pointed out that the PHI, at a couple thousand bucks a piece, (US$2,250 is the unit cost quoted at the Panadigm Innovations Ltd. online store) has the potential to reproduce the sound of a large steel orchestra – without the numbers – never mind the multi-functionality of the instrument.
Jazz on the Hill has been a feature of the Virgin Islands’ entertainment calendar for the past 6 years. Before last year’s fundraiser for St. Mary’s School of Virgin Gorda, it was a two-day open-air event held in May, one week before the BVI Music Festival. In 2011, the format was modified to include a cocktail and Jam Session on Night 1. But after the drenching patrons received in 2011, the producers brought Jazz on the Hill forward to the first weekend in March, which just so happens to be a holiday weekend in the BVI’s.
Over the years, the fixed stage at the base of The Hill was graced with an impressive roster of local, regional and international acts. The lineup on the 02nd and 03rd of March, 2012 was, however, devoid of international artists as the producers favoured British and US Virgin Islands-based bands. The one exception was Elan Parle out of Trinidad and Tobago. As was the case in 2011, the band that anchored the Jam Session on the Friday night also played The Hill on the Saturday. Elan Parle was that band for the Weekend of Jazz on Virgin Gorda this year.
Without first-hand details of the Friday Jam – no ferry, no ride, no Jam – I have to take Michael Low Chew Tung’s word for it: “Had a very enjoyable gig…in Virgin Gorda that literally satisfied my soul,” he wrote on his Facebook page afterwards. Jazz Singer Vaughnette Bigford whom Ming nabbed for the tour was more effusive. According to her, the Jam (replete with Reggae, Soca…and some Jazz) was one the best.
I cannot account for that Jam, like I said, but I can vouch for Elan Parle’s set up on The Hill. The Master of Ceremonies was not exaggerating when he introduced Elan Parle as the “ultimate in Caribbean Jazz.” The band for this engagement (Ming – keyboards; Richard Joseph – drums; Rodney Alexander – bass; Mikhail Salcedo – steelpan; Anthony Woodroffe – saxophone, flute; Vaughnette Bigford – vocals) served due notice they were up for the challenge from the ‘sound check’ Jazzalypso opener with its slant towards the Calypso end of the spectrum – rolling pan and a burnished sound to boot.
ELAN PARLE, l-r: Alexander, Salcedo, (Kerwin Trotman), Joseph, Woodroffe, Ming Pic: VINO/EP
What a stark contrast they were from the harsh atonal sound of Jeremy Vanterpool and Friends, the Blues-influenced Ryan Diehl Trio and the fledgling Elmore Stoutt High School Jazz Band who preceded them. (I will talk about Vanterpool, Diehl and the ESHS Jazz Band in a later post.)
Elan Parle justified the stature bestowed on them by the MC with a diverse programme in subtleties of rhythm and style that flowed methodically from one rendition to the next.
Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” unveiled a sensitive, reflective side that could not have been any more touching. Woodroffe was illuminant in conviction on this one, sizzling as he developed the theme with a beguiling intensity. And how thoughtful of the arrangers to have Salcedo peg this back on pan for a welcome release of the tension created by Woodroffe’s head of steam.
“Steelband Times” by the iconic Andre Tanker was Elan Parle’s way of demonstrating reverence for this Caribbean classic by virtue of the song’s openness to melodic and improvisatory interpretations by the pannist and saxophonist. Again, Salcedo and Woodroffe wrote singular sonic essays on this ten-minute jive that stood tall on their individual merits. However, I have to say, had they mounted a duel between them and traded fours or something, St. Mary’s School might today be replacing part or all of their roof.
Miss V backstage
These attributes, taken together, would have satiated this fan to the brim. But Elan Parle went a step further, the leader calling on stage The Jazz Singer Vaughnette Bigford for the first of her two effervescent appearances. Part One saw Bigford deliver a pair of standards in “Willow Weep For Me,” written by the little known Ann Ronell and “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” made popular by Randy Crawford.
Changing pace and meter, Miss V and EP somehow transformed Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” into a Trance courtesy of Ming’s keyboard setting that was pretty strange to say the least though delightful.
Woodroffe at once took on the role of balladeer when accompanying Miss V on the flute and sax, matching the gentleness of V’s voice on “Willow” with his flute and crooning longingly with her on the sax as the title of the song “Waiting” rightfully suggests. After a two-song break V returned to stage front to channel Miriam Makeba via “Pata Pata.” That was the ‘spike’ in my black coffee.
That girl can sang. That is all.
Irrespective of the place the music was taking her, Bigford’s voice soared through the night sky hanging over on The Hill to a backdrop of the most remarkable instrumentation by Ming and his sidemen.
Three of the most exciting tunes of the night were Grover Washington’s “Winelight,” Kenny Garrett’s “Wayne’s Thang” and the master Clive ‘Zander’ Alexander’s “Fancy Sailor.”
I had such great fun with “Wayne’s Thang” for its silky intro that served as the repetitive motif for the rare trading that occurred after solo forays by Woodroffe, Salcedo and Alexander in that order. Ming, ever the accompanist, announced himself briefly at times with accents that forced themselves on your consciousness.
Richard Joseph, straight back and stoic, kept time like a Rolex watch; Rodney Alexander worked his way around the fretboard, his fingering leaving nothing to the imagination; Anthony Woodroffe‘s pleasing tone was the perfect condiment to the band’s potpourri of sound; Mikhail Salcedo, armed with four sticks, played the showman in persona and on the pan; and Ming was his usual economical self, buried in concentration over his keys, flinging chordal suggestions to the soloists now and then and segueing from the high notes on the right down to the low ones to the left like nothing else mattered.
As I walked back up The Hill for the last time early Sunday, March 04, I wondered about the lost potential of the festival. Here is an event, set on a Virgin Island already immensely attractive to anyone who has ever set foot on it and those whose knowledge of it is but a fond memory. Furthermore, this is the height of the tourist season so presumably, visitors are in the territory in far greater numbers than at any other time of the year.
The first week-end of March is also a holiday weekend with nothing like Jazz on the Hill taking place. Why on earth were there not truck-loads of folks from Tortola hopping off the ferries to attend the festival? Why is it that the tourists were not encouraged to plan their vacations to coincide with it; and for those in-country not to be motivated to leave their hotels, villas and what not to trek to The Hill for a couple of hours of class entertainment?
Based on past patronage, the potential for Jazz on the Hill is there. My hope is that the producers will start to work on next year’s edition NOW (not later) to ensure that sufficient time is set aside for proper planning and marketing both inside and outside the country. To you I say, do not squander a good thing. The errors made this year ought not to be repeated in 2013.
Seven editions and counting…you have the experience. Work it!
Beginning with the self-penned title track from Victor Provost’s eagerly awaited “Her Favorite Shade of Yellow” (Victor Provost 844553051597), the tone was set for an adventurous exploration of the possibilities open to this pan player whose enormous potential and credentials were long-established and solidified before he hit the record shelves on November 23, 2011.
Every track on the CD is of a unique aural character that makes for a balanced outing, one that ensures the continuous engagement of the listener – essential attributes in my view.
“Beautiful Love” (Victor Young) applies a Brazilian flare with typical samba rim shots turned up high in the mix for effect. Drummer Dion Parson takes the spotlight unabashedly here.
“Dolphin Dance” (Herbie Hancock) and “All The Things You Are” (Jerome Kern) make the listener believe, for a moment or two, that this is the drummer’s date. Parson’s nimbleness on the ride cymbals, complete with swishes and washes, dexterous accents on hi-hats and snare, are all over the cuts like a signature. Victor Provost is in the fray, mind you, but does not assert himself to the point of obstructing the balance and emotional drive of the pieces.
Familiar with Joe Williams’ vocals on “Just Friends”? (John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis) Yes? Then work with me on this mental exercise: Ditch Joe and imagine, say, Jon Hendricks when Provost and his cohort take off on the Post-Bop changes on this classic. Don’t get it? Only a vocalist with a frenetic style of delivery could keep up withProvost and band on this one; that is how hard these guys swing.
Not to be ignored is pianist Carlton Holmes whose ten fingers are heard working overtime, all the time. Pay special attention to the intro on “All The Things You Are” for instance and appreciate how the left-hand delivers a bass line that is mirrored later on by bassist Reuben Rogers – a little subtlety that goes a long way to sweetening my coffee.
“Moments [SIC] Notice” (John Coltrane) and “Blue in Green” (Miles Davis) are workshop demonstrations of tonal synchronization, pan versus piano. With piano and pan in perfect tandem, we have fine examples of the care the leader has taken to dampen the inherent ring of the pan to meet the mellowness of the keys. Pan and piano compared favourably for the way they must be approached as lead instruments.
“Mother Theresa” (Victor Provost) harks back to an era that predates the Post-modern era, recapturing the heyday of the quartets and quintets when leaders, though ultra strong soloists, had a penchant for developing cohesive units of musicians with like pedigree and acumen. Provost’s does that, surrounding himself with a killer rhythm section of Holmes, Rogers, Parson and (AND) saxophonist Ron Blake. Spare a thought for Blake who does not get to party all CD long.
“Redemption Song” receives the kind of treatment that is akin to the sensibilities of Big Band Swing. I let my mind go on the 5:43 minute ride to see where Provost’s Bob Marley would lead me. I could not resist filling in a phantom brass section as Holmes strummed some mean Freddie Green licks on his piano. (Had I been absent-minded, I would have thought there was a guitarist on board.)
The shifting rhythmic patterns on “Rainorama” transforms the Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts) composition from minimalist to seamless in the vein of the most rapturous of clubhouse jams. It falters a tad on the bridge, but that takes little from the song.
In February 2011, I went into the Bennett Studios with a hard-hitting rhythm section – Dion Parson (dr), Reuben Rogers (bs), and Carlton Holmes (p) – and endeavored to make not just a great record, but a one-of-a-kind recording. With the assistance of sax giant Ron Blake, who channels ‘Trane on my tribute to my “Mother Theresa”, engineer extraordinaire Rob Harari, and mastering master Steve Vavagiakis, the record found its voice and vibe and took the form of a commercial product. I’m very proud of the result and grateful for the incredible musicians and technicians that made the process possible. (Victor Provost)
Finally, if one accepts the saying that nothing is new under the sun, then Victor Provost may not have broken any new ground on this record. But what is for certain is that he has tilled the already fertile sod the pan was planted in when the American soldiers walked the land of the hummingbird decades ago.
“Her Favorite Shade of Yellow” surely deepens the roots of the pan. Every cover is given a fresh treatment that reveals the oft spoken truism, that creativity knows no bounds. Moreover, Victor Provost has stamped his name very early with a strong contender for the most innovative Jazz CD of 2012.
In fact, Provost’s choice of lead instrument could even become a by-line when all is said and done. Reason being, “Her Favorite Shade of Yellow” is not for an exotic sub-category, Pan-Jazz; it can be proudly labeled as “Jazz”, plain and simple.
Hailed as the “Paganini of the Steelpan,” Liam Teague currently serves as Associate Professor of Steelpan and Co-director of the Steelband at Northern Illinois University , the same institution where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music. He has distinguished himself as the recipient of many awards in his homeland, Trinidad and Tobago, including championships for his ability on the steelpan, violin, and recorder. In addition to being the co-winner of the National Steelband Festival Solo Championship of Trinidad and Tobago, Teague won the St. Louis Symphony Volunteers Association Young Artists Competition in 1998 under the baton of Dr. Paul Freeman.
The 9th edition of Jazz Artists on the Greens (JAOTG) was on Saturday, April 9th 2011. With the demise of the Plymouth Jazz Festival, The Cayman Jazz Festival and more recently the Barbados Jazz Festival, the T&T faithful can be assured, T&T’s premier open air Jazz Festival will continue to sate their desire for top-notch, Caribbean and International Jazz.
Started in 2003, JAOTG, which is produced and presented annually by Production One Ltd., is now considered “a true social calendar event”, fashioned to encourage its patrons to “walk with their mats and festival chairs” and sit where they are most comfortable as they enjoy good company and great music.
In 2011, this event promised and delivered a powerful mix of contemporary Caribbean Jazz styles by some of the most talented performers to grace the JAOTG stage.
Grenada-born pianist, Eddie Bullen, based in Canada
Powerhouse vocalist Marisa Lindsay of Barbados
Cuban clarinettist/saxophone sensation Ernesto Camilo Vega. On the eve of Jazz Artists on the Greens, Vega presented a Jazz Masterclass & Workshop at U.T.T (University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Steelpan phenom Mikhail Salcedo out of Trinidad
Hot young vocalist, Niquet Goldson from Jamaica
Get to know Mikhail
Get to know Niquet
“…the diminutive and dreadlocked Niquet Goldson from Jamaica…performed a mixed repertoire that featured jazz standards like All of Me and Blue Moon, as well as Bob Marley’s Could You be Loved, Body and Soul by Anita Baker, and Nappy Meyers’ Old Time Days. Her sweet, open voice was a nice, easy way to start the show.” Gillian Moore, guardian.co.tt
Get to know Ernesto
Get to know Eddie
Get to know Marisa
Holistic Music School Jazz Band performed on the second stage prior to the main stage event.
Having created a true festival atmosphere over the years with an ever-growing audience and concessionaires, JAOTG was re-located to an even more spacious accommodation at the “Greens at WASA’s Head Office”, Farm Road in St. Joseph. This well-lit, secure facility also offered adequate off-the-road parking.
Already offering food, drinks, CDs, musical instruments and festival memorabilia for sale, as well as free give-aways and door prizes, in 2011, the range of festival-related concessions and paraphernalia was expanded to offer a truly gastronomical and artistic experience, among others.
Trombonist Reginald Cyntje is not the only USVI boy who has written original material this millennium. Nor will he be singular in putting out new music on the market this year. Homeboy, Victor Provost, has been at it just as hard, more so after losing his regular gig at DC’s JoJo Restaurant and Bar in 2010.
Provost, a pannist from St. John, United States Virgin Islands, will be in the studios any time now to record his debut CD. Supporting him in this venture are fellow VI musicians, Reuben Rogers (bass) and Ron Blake (saxophone).
While we wait, Provost goes about the business of promoting Pan Jazz and positioning himself for a major career shift as a band-leader. His next best step is as the featured performer at the Fourth Annual Lincoln Park Steel Drum Festival on March 07, 2011.
It seems to me that Provost’s other mission at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center on the 7th, where the Steel Drum Festival is being held, is to inspire young pannists of school age. He trains the champion Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra (PVYSO) that copped a number of national steel drum awards under his tutelage.
Working with youth steel pan orchestras is nothing new to Provost. He would recall being a member of and touring with Steel Unlimited II of the St. John School of the Arts. Provost was born on the island of St. John, USVI. It was there that he began formal studies of pan music when he was age 10.
When not doing his own thing, Provost may be spotted holding down the chrome pans as part of the 21st Century Band. Another charter member of the band happens to be Reginald Cyntje.
The 8th Panama Jazz Festival went ahead from January 10 – 15 as planned and in so doing defied the odds in a country where the local Jazz scene is fledgling at best. But then Jazz impresario Danilo Peréz is the one behind the festival. Thus, walls tumbled, artists were booked, students came in search of scholarships being awarded by to the Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Conservatorio de Puerto Rico and Golandski Piano Institute, young Panamanian music students soaked up the counsel of the masters at clinics, the fans showed their support…and the music played on.
Peréz did not only work his magic in the trenches to put together the Panama Jazz Festival; he was all over the programme as well. For instance, he presented his latest recorded project, Providencia , at the Global Jazz Summit, Anayansi Theater on Friday, January 14 with a band of heavy-hitters…and special guest, Puerto Rican percussionist Paoli Mejias.
Mejias was a busy man throughout the festival too. He teamed up with Bryan Lynch, Danilo Perez Sr., Conrad Herwig and Claudia Açuna to bolster the Vitín Paz Orchestra on Gala Night at the National Theater, Wednesday, January 12. (Vitín was made the patron of this year’s festival, the first time a Panamanian legend has received his proverbial flowers in person.) The Panamerican Percussion Ensemble was all the better for having Mejias front the band in a one-off concert held during the January 14 Global Jazz Summit.
Not so busy was Trinidad born pannist Liam Teague who featured with Black Tea Project on Day 2, Tuesday, January 11 at the PJF TV Studio, San Lorenzo Hall. The next day, the Black Tea Project mounted a late-morning Jam Session at Hotel El Panama. The students who make up the Danilo Peréz Foundation had their own Jam Session on the afternoon of Friday, January 14, at the same venue.
Peréz, the namesake of the Foundation he started, activated himself in the schedule of clinics as well. His master class on Thursday, January 13, at the Boquete, followed immediately after one given by Mejias.
The masters and the Schools of Music held classes in Jazz, Composition, Improvisation, Instrumental including Voice and Flamenco Jazz.
First published on January 19, 2011; updated, January 22, 2011
Heard of the cancellation of the Barbados Jazz Festival, did you? Yes indeedy, the BJF crashed and burned on re-entering the 2011 Jazzosphere. The producers, GMR International Tours Inc. headed by Gilbert Rowe laid the blame gingerly on the festival’s main supporter, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) for not being forthcoming. But reports are that there was a conflict between GMR and the BHTA, which resulted in the eventual deferment of the festival. Whatever the problem – and we will go deeper into that – the festival is off for 2011.
Then there was the Cayman Islands Jazz Fest. That one too hit the dirt. Well, we understand Cayman’s position, having been dealt a serious blow by Hurricane Tomas, the downturn in the economy worldwide and the pressures being applied on Offshore Banking by the United States and most recently a former banking executive who worked in the Cayman Islands.
The Jazz Showcase in the BVI has also suffered, but for different reasons. Since past President of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Dr. Michael O’Neal, retired from the institution, the “young people” went to the Jazz with a scalpel, succeeding in reducing the offering of three concerts per season to just one.
And In the past few months, the single Jazz station in the Caribbean, WMJX, Trinidad, went off the air.
Add to that the relegation of authentic Jazz in the surviving Jazz Festivals and you have a bleak future for The Jazz if something does not give.
Thankfully, St. Lucia Jazz is staid and is expected to hold fast. The one year, 2009, when they drifted a little away from The Jazz, they got an earful. In 2010, they reverted to the old formula. The prospects for St. Lucia Jazz look good. Fingers crossed.
At this moment in time though, it is the Barbados Jazz Festival that lights up the bulbs at the Shed.
GMR’s Gilbert Rowe sat down with Kaymar Jordan, Editor-in-Chief at the Nation newspaper of Barbados in December to clarify the issues. This followed the publication of an Official Press Release on the producer’s website. Asked what specific challenges he faced, Rowe placed the blame squarely on the economic recession.
However, that was a hard pill to swallow since in the same breath, Rowe claimed to have “managed to hold on to all our other sponsors,” which implied that it was only the BHTA that hit the skids and could not come up with their percentage of the sponsorship monies. Either that or the BHTA was just playing hard-ball with Rowe and would not cut him a cheque early enough to give him the six months head start he needed to promote the festival.
In fact, Rowe would have us believe that the latter is true. But why? His explanation in the Nation interview was that the BHTA was only prepared to take responsibility for the international marketing of the festival, which they knew to be inadequate for an event the size of the Barbados Jazz Festival. For the matter, the BHTA supported the BJF with a cash infusion all seventeen years since the first edition in 1993. Rowe made no bones about it; the Barbados Jazz Festival could not survive without tangible support from the BHTA.
And compromising the integrity of the festival by scaling the brand down from an international spectacle to a Caribbean or even Barbadian one was not a viable option for GMR.
When a shoe loses a foot, there is always another foot to step in it. Enter Jazz’N Barbados.
Jazz’N Barbados mounted a major coup in drawing some major Caribbean Jazz acts from neighbouring St. Lucia, Trinidad and Venezuela to join their local Barbadian cast for five nights of Jazz, January 12 – 16, mainly in the outdoors. It was like – how should I put it? – some sort of “Town Hall Jazz,” bringing the sound to the people where they are most comfortable, in De Street, in De Hall, under De Mango Tree, on De Gap and De Second Street and in ‘De Woods’ (my coinage) of Naniki. The one night that The Jazz was taken indoors, it was for a traditional concert under the roof of the Frank Collymore Hall in Bridgetown.
Jazz’N Barbados was pulled together by Limelight Inc. within one week – nine days to be exact – after Gilbert Rowe announced the cancellation of the Barbados Jazz Festival. There to lend a hand was the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Authority (BHTA) that spurned Rowe’s GMR Tours because they would not provide the BHTA with the details of the contracts they were due to sign, presumably with BHTA money. Some of those funds went instead to Limelight for Jazz’N Barbados.
“…[W]e’ve gotten a lot of logistics support from them…we’ve got a lot of guidance, moral support and a little bit of money. Not a lot of money, but even the little bit of money that we received made a big difference,” Grady Clarke of Limelight told NationNews Mobile.
And the people trucked to the Mango Tree at Peronne Gap, Worthing, to take in Trinidadian music educator and pianist, Dave Marcellin & Friends at Jazz’N De Street on Wednesday, January 12, 2011.
The Thursday, January 13, was set aside for the sit-down types to savour The Malcolm Griffith Septet with Michael Cheeseman and the ‘Barbalucian’ (Ok, Drakes was born of Barbadian and St. Lucian parents, but lives and practices her art in Barbados) pianist Rhea Drakes and her St. Lucian band at Frank Collymore Hall.
On Friday, January 14, the fans trekked to Mahagony Ridge for Jazz’N De Trees to hear and see Barbadians Roger Gittens Big Band and Friends, saxophonist Arturo Tappin and songstress Rosemary Phillips. Visiting the Ridge on the night was Trinidadian multi-instrumentalist Michael Boothman whose primary instrument these days is the electric guitar.
The next day, Boothman was ferried to the mecca of live music in Barbados, St. Lawrence Gap. The name of this event? (You guessed it!) Jazz’N De Gap. The date? Saturday, January 15.
Now, those of us who have been to De Gap are well aware that the live bands hardly ever unplug, taking the night owls through the night, literally to daybreak. No wonder then that Jazz’N De Gap featured a fat cast that included Barbadian drummer Antonio “Boo” Rudder & Friends, Rudder’s compatriots David “Ziggy” Walcott on his tenor pan and Tappin at Hal’s; Mike Sealy Quartet, Ricky Aimey and Boothman at Paolo’s; the Barbados Community College’s BCC Ensemble featuring Kirk Layne and Reggae Fusion All Stars at the Reggae Lounge. Returning home, so to speak, for this Jazz action was Trini pianist Raf Robertson.
YVETTE BEST filed this report for NationNews Mobile. We have reproduced it here unedited.
St Lawrence Gap was a jazzy zone Saturday night as Jazz’N Barbados made its fifth stop for the season.The parking lot between Paulo Churrasco Do Brazil and Sweet Potatoes was the central place for Jazz’n De Gap, where patrons gathered to hear some of the finest talent in Barbados and the Caribbean, and the developing talent out of the Barbados Community College.Under mostly clear skies, and with a cool night breeze blowing through, patrons were treated to selections from Boo Rudder and his group, the Ziggy Walcott Band, Raf Robertson and friends and Rickey Aimey and his friends.It was not the original concept where the gap was closed off and music playing from the various establishments and on the street, but fans had a delightful musical treat that took them close to 2 a.m. And for those who still had not had their fill, the vibe continued with a reggae fusion jam in Reggae Lounge with John King and his group.
Clifton Henry of NATIONNews.com also had something to say…
David “Ziggy” Walcott one of the best, if not the best, steel pan player on the island, was met by screams of approval from both locals and visitors. He did not disappoint.
Songs like Never Too Much by George Benson and Through The Fire soon had everyone in a dancing mood. Following would be David Rudder’s Bahia Girl, and a Mighty Sparrow medley that included The Lizard, Melda, Drunk And Disorderly, Jean And Dinah and Big Bamboo.
Walcott would eventually rock the street with Rihanna’s current No. 1 selection Only Girl In The World.
There are no more adjectives that can aptly describe Arturo Tappin’s musical genius. Badd by Michael Jackson, Independent by Neo, Green Light by John Lennon and Roll by Alison Hinds were among his servings in a most spectacular performance.
Cadogan (on mic), Luther (sax) Photo, Lennox Devonish
The Jazz fans would have had a busy time of it on that Saturday – I can tell you – if they would have had any chance of taking it all in for home-grown C4 Kaiso Jazz Fusion, a quartet from the Barbados Community College (BCC) and a St. Lucian contingent comprising of the Luther Francois Quartet (with Luther’s brother Ricky on drums and Barbadian singer Kellie Cadogan) and Blue Mango, a group of Lucian and Martiniquan musicians, disturbed the peace at the Naniki Amphitheatre of the Lush Life Nature Resort in St. Joseph, Barbados, from 1:00 till 06:30.
YVETTE BEST of NationNews Mobile was on tap and filed this edited report.
The hills, up north, came alive with music as the first day of Jazz At Naniki – A Caribbean Jazz Festival, started in St Joseph…The Luther Francois Quartet, with singer Kellie Cadogan, was among the acts that serenaded the audience…
Actually, Jazz’N Barbados served up a two-day menu of Jazz at Naniki in parallel event with their Jazz’N this and Jazz’N that all over the place. Saturday’s course was the first serving.
Come Sunday, January 16, the Elan Trotman Quintet and Arturo Tappin out of Barbados assembled with Trinidadian bassist David “Happy” Williams for the second go round the Jazz buffet, held within earshot of Naniki Restaurant.
The fanatic who would have imbibed The Jazz at Naniki would then have had to Jazz’N up Second Street, Hole Town, like bats out of hell to catch Trinidadian elder pianist Robertson, Aimey, Walcott, Tappin and Venezuela’s Ernesto’s Salsa Band featuring Trinidad’s Rellon Brown on trumpet.
Now that Jazz’N Barbados has staked a claim for an expanded event in January of next year, it will be interesting to see how it coalesces with a possible return of the Barbados Jazz Festival.
ParkARTS, an initiative of the mayor of Boston to present Jazz in Boston parks, has collaborated with Berklee College of Music to present Ron Reid and the Sunsteel Sextet in Highland Park, Fort Hill on Sunday, August 01, 2010. A free to the public concert, this annual Jazz at the Fort concert featured two Trinidadians, prominent Berklee associate professor in contemporary writing and production and pannist, Ron Reid and current Berklee summer student, The Jazz Vocalist, Vaughnette Bigford.
Reid’s Sunsteel Sextet, a band made up of Berklee alumni and faculty, is equally comfortable playing Caribbean folk songs, Calypso, Afro-Cuban and Jazz melodies, making them an ideal fit for workshops and lecture demonstrations at colleges and high schools alike.
Bigford, for her part, is actively studying, shedding and honing her act as a Jazz singer into a marketable product. One can tell that she has a hunger for knowledge; and that she has the chops to validate it.
Her dedication to the art of Jazz is well-recognized at home, judging by her resume, which can only continue to grow. But notice of her has also spread beyond the shores of Trinidad. Bigford’s appearance at Jazz at The Fort with Ron Reid and others was just the latest manifestation of this.
One month ago, Bigford was granted the honour of participating in a July 04 commemoration of Louis Armstrong’s birthday at, get this, the Louis Armstrong Museum in Queens, the home of the great Satchmo.
VaughnetteBigford reminisced to the Woodshed Collective about this unforgettable date on July 06:
If someone would have told me five years ago that I would be singing at the home of Louis Armstrong I would have said no way. This weekend was phenomenal.
This journey started back in April of this year when, headlining the Mt Irvine Jazz Festival in Tobago, was “Gwyn Jay Allen”, a Sierra Leone born, English gentleman who believes that he was born to “keep the spirit of Satchmo alive”. Man when I checked out this guy’s stuff I said to myself, “this man really does sound like Louis Armstrong”.
Well Gwyn came to Tobago and was a hit with the local audience; we hit it off immediately. As a matter of fact, I performed immediately before him on the beach and his words to me were “No, what the hell. Do you want me to sing after that set”?
He did mention to me that he had been invited by the Assistant Director of the Louis Armstrong Museum in Queens, New York to perform as part of a presentation that commemorated Louis’ birthday on July 4th, and that he thought I should come so I could be his “Ella” (making reference to Louis/Ella duets). At the time, I did not give it a lot of thought. I knew that I would be at Berklee and I was not sure that the time would have permitted me making that trip.
Last week, he sent me an email asking where I was and further tried to convince me to make the trip. I am currently in the middle of mid-term exams and every day matters. After consideration, I decided to make the trip – undeniably the best decision I ever made.
I got to Queens, met Gwyn and the band (all graduates of Manhattan School of Music – John Davis, drums; Phillip Dizack, trumpet; Matt Arinoff, bass; and Karim Merchant, piano) and after that, pure magic.
A beautiful audience made up of jazz lovers and Louis fanatics as well as some of Louis Armstrong’s personal friends (men and ladies in their 90’s). We did three pieces together namely “They can’t take that away from me,” “Stars fell on Alabama,” “Someday,” and I did “Boy from Ipanema” as my solo piece. They lapped it up; they loved it and I felt so appreciated. It was like such a moment, just to be in the space, in the yard, at his house, among his instruments and books. WOW, what a feeling.
Gwyn’s and my voice worked so well together and the band was fabulous; these guys were swingin’. I loved every minute of it. I think though the highlight of the evening for me was when I was introduced to an older woman who I was told lived next door to the Armstrong’s and was Louis personal friend. She kissed me and said to me “My dear, you are a delight, such a voice. Ella would be proud of you.”
What more could I want? I thank Gwyn so much for taking me along for this ride.
V
Woodshed Note: I watched part of a television programme this Sunday morning, August 08, which gave viewers a tour of Jazz venues and landmarks in New York. An elderly lady – I did not get her name – was introduced in an interview as Louis Armstrong’s next door neighbour and close friend. Could well have been your lady.
Steel Pannist Mikhail Salcedo assembled a full band with a vocalist for a trip to La Casa de Ibiza on Tragarete Road, Woodbrook, Trinidad, July 27.
Salcedo’s band consisted of David Richards – drums; Modupe Onilu – percussion; Dean Williams – guitar; Kevon LaFleur – bass; Rodney Harris – keyboards; and vocalist Tramaine Lamy.
Nigel Anthony Campbell was in the house, armed to the teeth with his Blackberry. Here are Nigel’s comments of Mikhail Salcedo LIVE @ Jazz & Fusion Tuesdays, strung together, edited and embellished by Israel:
The place was full and Mikhail was blowing up. On the bandstand with him were Rodney Harris, Modupe Onilu, Dave Richards, Kevon LaFleur and Rodney Harris.
In a display of versatility, the band played in a Latin style (“All Blues”); exercised some rhythm changes (“Donna Lee”); revisited the music of 1950’s Bud Powell recast as Pan jazz, doing something in 2010 that was hard to do in the 50s; found that African rhythm in us; then smoothed things out in the vein of Luther, Wonder and Benson as a complement to a Lord Kitchener medley and a set of original compositions by the leader and band vocalist Tramaine Lamy.
La Casa got an opportunity to hear Salcedo originals, “All About Groove, ” “Demerara ” and“Back to the Beginning ” as sung by Lamy who did o ne of her own compositions called “Stray. ”
If nothing else, Tramaine had her phrasing down while exhibiting great stage presence – a quality performer if ever there was one. But unfortunately, we have the most unemotional audiences in Trinidad; this lady was putting down work and the audience were like statues.
Etienne Charles’ “Folklore” took on extra dimensions at the Sixth Annual Pan Jazz 2010 held Saturday, June 19 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center on Broadway & 60th Street, Manhattan.
Even so, Charles was listed as a supporting act to three steel pannists – Leon Foster Thomas, Andre White and Freddie Harris Jr. – touted as the “next generation of dynamos” on the steel pan.
That said, Charles was the center of a theatrical representation of his sophomore album, Folklore, that Trinidad Carnival designer Brian MacFarlane developed into a production all its own. Notwithstanding, MacFarlane’s “Folklore Tales of the Caribbean” was not standalone theatre. To the contrary, the folkloric characters of Trinidad and Tobago, indeed the Caribbean, as rhythmically described on Charles’ CD, track by track, and thematically displayed in the production, were woven into the overall programme for Pan Jazz 2010.
Charles performed a number of songs from the CD while the other artists appearing on the show tailored their sets to suit the Folklore theme. So it was Jazz meets the Steelpan at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, June 19 with the theatrical interpretations of Caribbean Folklore featuring Charles, Guadeloupean sax man, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, White, Thomas and Harris III and Thelonious Monk Competition Winner Ben Williams and Sullivan Fortner Jr. (Source: The Afropop blog)
At the top of the month of June, Charles and Folklore (Charles – trumpet/percussion; Brian Hogans – saxophones; Milan Milanovic – piano; Eric Wheeler – bass; John Lamkin – drums) performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Washington DC.
That was how it sounded…
Etienne Charles Quintet, Live at Kennedy Center
Less than a month earlier, Etienne Charles brought Folklore, with a different configuration, to his alma mater, the Fatima Old Boys, to no less verdant effect than what he conjured at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.Simon Lee, guardian.co.tt renders his take on the proceedings:
…Saturday night’s Fatima Old Boys (or should it really be Past Pupils?) ‘Musical Blends’ picnique musicale, brought several serious slices of postmodern Creole jazz to the courtyard of one of Port-of-Spain’s prestige schools. Past pupil Etienne Charles and his superb ensemble (including former schoolmate Tony Woodroffe on sax) played a double set which conjured up the forests of central Africa; the panache of St Pierre, Paris of the West Indies in the late 19th century…steelband yards and clashes; shady figures from Trinidad’s folkloric imagination à la Alfred Codallo; cultural icons living and dead (Kitch, Sparrow, Lord Superior)…
After paying respects to his alma mater (“It’s so good to be back at school without wearing a uniform”) Etienne’s original composition — Dance with La Djablesse — served notice of both his precocious talent and the magic to come. There was more than a hint of Miles Davis in Etienne’s sumptuous, sensual phrasing before he turned his hand to percussion, adding to the chopped beat which signatures the uneven dance steps of La Djablesse.
The following ‘Prayer for Lynette’, written for his deceased aunt, rose in elegiac minor key to the string of lights curling up Hololo Road into the St Anns’ hills…
…The subtlety, depth and intensity of his music owe much to the many hours he has obviously spent listening to and absorbing our musical heritage…
…The trumpet and the pan have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship, a combo of scintillating brillo. So it was a bonus when Etienne called his ‘favourite melodist” Ray Holman to the stage for Gershwin standard ‘The Memory of Your Smile’, and his own composition ‘Red Beans and Rice’, played over a rattling New Orleans inflected back beat.
The happy picnickers, who quaffed carafes of wine and munched on canapés, were served a second set, drawn largely from Etienne’s second album ‘Folklore’, which will surely be recognised as a classic of neo Creole jazz. Rhythmically and melodically, the ensemble approached the density of Afro-Cuban jazz, recalling both Irakere and the more recent work of the santero jazz pianist Omar Sosa.
Etienne’s long Miles’ inspired plaintive notes deserve more than a passing comparison to Davis’ Sketches of Spain delivery, in the range of moods evoked, and the nuances which are a sign of musical maturity. Paying tribute to the profound influence classic kaiso has had on his own development and referring to his work in progress—the aptly named album ‘Kaiso’—he referenced the mighty duo Sparrow and Kitch, first with his version of Birdie’s ‘Rose’ and then a romping take on Kitch’s ‘Sugar Bum Bum’. With notes as clear as the half full moon floating overhead, Errol Ince’s successor inveigled the Fatima crowd, acknowledging the genes of his grand and great grandfathers in his version of Rudder’s ‘Old School’ and blowing his way into what we all hope is a bright future.
Etienne Charles live at Fatima College featuring Brian Hogans – alto sax, Milan Milanovic – piano, Earl Travis – bass, John Davis – drums, Modupe Onilu – percussion and some special guests, Ray Holman, Anthony Woodroffe and 3 Canal
The Little Carib Theatre proudly featured the legendary Lennox ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe in Concert! on Friday, 10th August and Saturday, 11th August at the Little Carib Theatre, Trinidad and Tobago. A cultural icon, a pan genius and master composer and arranger, Boogsie Sharpe‘s concert came ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s 50th Anniversary of Independence.
After paying respects to his alma mater (“It’s so good to be back at school without wearing a uniform”) Etienne’s original composition — Dance with La Djablesse — served notice of both his precocious talent and the magic to come. There was more than a hint of Miles Davis in Etienne’s sumptuous, sensual phrasing before he turned his hand to percussion, adding to the chopped beat which signatures the uneven dance steps of La Djablesse. 
Woodshed Entertainment Collective 