The “Majesty” of Calypso-Jazz by Raf Robertson: CD Review

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

There are times when I worry that in the Caribbean Jazz musicians’ quest to find a happy medium to visit calypso or reggae classics, whatever, he gets carried too far away from the fundamentals that make Jazz what it is. As they try to please an audience who has not paid much attention to or developed an appreciation for Classic Jazz and its precursors, the artists omit syncopation, inventive counterpoints and swing. This can be a problem for the authentication of Calypso-Jazz as a recognized sub-genre.

In spite of the best efforts of the forefathers of Calypso-Jazz – Clive Zanda, Luther François and company – the style has not yet broken sufficient barriers internationally to qualify as a sustainable idiom. Question: How many Caribbean Jazz acts are being called upon to headline major festival franchises or tour established Jazz clubs around the world? My point exactly!

The success of Etienne Charles in the last three years has made a dent on the scene to be sure. But that is just one notch in the totem pole. Where do we find the artists to create the next one?

I do not have the foresight to know who the next upstart will be, whether it will be a fresh face or a familiar one. I cannot tell whether Raf Robertson will serve in that role or if he wants to in the first place. What is certain in my mind is that given Raf’s pedigree as a pianist and keyboardist, he has put out a document in “Majesty” that has raised the bar all that much higher for the seasoned campaigners, let alone newcomers.

“Majesty” by Raf Robertson

[Thunder Dome Sounds 2011]

I take it that Raf’s goal on “Majesty” is to put forward another case for the establishment of a Calypso-Jazz standards songbook. Nothing new here. So what then?

Here is the essential difference in my estimation. “Majesty” is more of a conceptual band record than a vehicle of self-promotion for the leader. The superseding elements, therefore, are the arrangements of the six calypso classics to be found here dispersed as they are with a seminal Clive Zanda contrivance and the leader’s own singular idea about how the two styles fit.

With Kitchener’s “Margie,” Raf goes so far as to offer glimpses into the possibilities for the instrumental explorations written into it – a scat confrontation and an A cappella design are in order.

And as if to demonstrate how the primal instincts of a displaced people might have inspired the growth of the calypso idiom, Ras Shorty I’s “Endless Vibrations” is laden – not overburdened – with Marthadi’s pronounced percussion. Add to that a busy drummer in Larnell Lewis whose myriad overlay of patterns from snare to toms and back again are a perfect foil for the almost seamless tonality eschewed by Raf’s keyboard piano and his co-producer, Eddie Bullen’s keyboard. Amidst all of this musicality, neither keyboardist gets in the way of the other.

Yet there is no pretension as to whose date this is, Raf’s. Herein lies no better testament of how Raf conceives his work: concept is greater than the individuals presenting it.

Sticking to that theme, “Forward Home,” taken from the pen of Andre Tanker, speaks to the modern form of reverse migration, home to Trinidad, not Mother Africa. And unlike the forced migration from Africa that bred this Caribbean civilization, the one described in “Forward Home” is voluntary; whereas slaves coming to the West Indies was migration into bondage, ‘forwarding home‘ again is akin to regaining a lost identity, recapturing true freedom.

You see this paradox, encapsulated in “Majesty,” is not just about the music. A bigger story emerges as you immerse yourself into the cloud. That being the case, sonority for Raf becomes increasingly important in setting the mood of the pieces, recorded in Trinidad, Miami and Toronto and mixed in Bullen’s Thunder Dome Sounds studio in Toronto.

Enter Grant Langford whose saxophones on “Forward Home” and “Life is a Stage” (Brother Valentino) is critical to that sound, which makes “Majesty” work. His is by no means an all-out blowing session. To the contrary, Langford’s role is mainly to colour the harmonic and melodic palette of the arrangements. He does so with aplomb and verve.

Raf is ever-present for the length and breath of the CD, but he assumes individual ownership on three tracks, Clive Zanda’s “Fancy Sailor” (a test piece for the Calypso-Jazz genre if ever there is one); “Slave” courtesy the Mighty Sparrow and “Endless Vibrations.” In all instances, Raf outshines himself. But make no mistake, the pianist’s brilliance comes through on the entire date.

This recording is characterized by the historically relevant rhythmic and vocal approaches to Calypso. The singers play their role – a major one at that – Raf choosing not to divest of the lyrics of songs he covers, except for Sparrow’s “Melda.” Now, although those variations appear all the way down the playlist, Raf succeeds in tying the tracks together into a total band concept, never allowing any one of them to become displaced as an oddity. Hence the flow of the CD serves to sustain interest thus making “Majesty” one continuous hit parade.

And the surprises do not end there. Make “Majesty” a must-have in the Christmas stocking and be treated to the “Majesty” of Calypso-Jazz like you have never heard it before…ever.

Raf Robertson's "Majesty", Thunder Dome Sounds

Élan Parlé of Trinidad and Tobago releases free to download “Jazzalypso” CD

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

‘Tis the season folks. Christmas has come mighty early. Calypso Fusion band Élan Parlé out of Trinidad and Tobago has released free-to-download tracks, one a day over the last ten days, from the long-awaited CD Jazzalypso.

Since the CD was recorded in 2009, band leader and keyboardist Michael Low Chew Tung aka Ming sent his Facebook Friends like me a few teasers that Jazzalypso’s release was imminent.

All of a sudden or ‘outta da blue’ like his song from Caribbean Renaissance (2003) says, Ming uploaded the tracks to Soundcloud and shared the good news with daily postings on his Facebook Profile. Confounded about why he would do such a thing, producer Nigel Campbell of Production One Ltd. expressed his disappointment in a Facebook Comment “…that this is not a commodity to be purchased by listeners so that its worth can be validated.” In response, Ming writes in his submission to the Woodshed that “…the bigger problem [is of] the closure of the major radio stations promoting jazz and world music in Trinidad. There is no place for the music to be played. Didn’t seem much point releasing new music. That position is still the same today.” Resigned to the fate of Jazz in Trinidad, Ming adds, “What’s the point, except that we’ve already recorded…and we felt that the audience should get a chance to hear it.

Campbell might have understood this and suggested that Ming pull the tracks from Soundcloud eventually because, as he put it, “It’s still a product that can earn money.”

Ming’s view on the idea of giving away the music free to anyone to listen and download is that hopefully “…they will share it with friends, who will in turn share it with their friends and so on.”

“Kaiso Love,” a take off from Clive Zanda’s KaisoJazz classic, “Fancy Sailor,” is one of those sublime anthems that will awaken the spirit, so poignant and stomach-churning it is. Starting off as a ditty, “Kaiso Love” pulses to a bass-led bridge that the leader crosses to mount an extensive elaboration of the theme that carries the listener on an anticlimactic road march chip. This device is also explicit in “Santiman,” – an arrangement of a sans humanite war song theme – a barn burner if ever there was one. Not too far behind on the applause meter is the title track itself.

One of the greatest challenges a leader encounters in writing an album is ensuring the musical package is coherent in some way. Judging in part by the song titles here, the impression is that Ming is on a search for a character to embody his compositions. In so doing, the he applies unique motifs to the Calypso element in each song.

Writing in to the Woodshed, Ming’s explanation was that the “…album was meant to be more compositional than improvisational, meaning it wasn’t based on specific chords or progressions or odd time signatures but on strong melodic concept.”

Thus, Jazzalypso’s nine tracks, though Calypso-Jazz heavy, are embellished with a smattering of straight ahead swing, zouk, latin and funk thrown in for good measure.

“N’orleans” not demonstrates the leader’s due respect for the straight ahead swing fundamentals of Classic Jazz, but seeks to coalesce the spirits of Trinidad with New Orleans’. The sonic vibrations of “Selafrika” are to this writer an acknowledgement of the Franco-heritage Trinidad shares with so many of the predominantly English-speaking countries of the Caribbean all of which keep strong cultural, even familial ties, with the French Departments. To the writer, Sean Friday, it is a look to Africa as the maternal music of all Caribbean forms. “Jaiso,” the one studio track on the CD, serves up the “rice and beans” of our Spanish-speaking neighbours, sprinkled as it were, with condiments concocted of a traditional latin lilt. The Jaco Pastorius inspired “E-Jaco-Lation” and “Friday’s Groove,” while allowing the bassist to come to the fore, is at once a welcome pander to the forty-year old funk component of Black music.

The Calypso in Ming’s Calypso-Jazz is so lyrical as to fool the brain into believing that his instrumentations are right out of the popular song book of classic Trinidadian Kaiso. It is as though you know the songs, the lyrics too, which you wouldn’t if you are listening to, say, Jazzalypso for the first time.

Ming neither attacks nor belts blatantly. But never is he the sedative one might need to drift away for there is always enough verve to keep up the interest.

This man is the consummate team player who is never one to take and keep the spotlight. His forte is more one of stating the melody and developing the theme then letting the rhythm carry the composition with a balanced musicality that drummer Richard Joseph and Sean Friday must be appreciative of. No wonder they have stuck with him all these years, Joseph from (Elan Parle, 2000), Friday from (Caribbean Renaissance, 2003). This selflessness is clear not only on Jazzalypso but in Elan Parle’s live performances as well. Indeed, the plan behind Jazzalypso was to go with the trio setting, to reproduce the live sound without the luxury of added instrumentation, according to Ming.

Jazzalypso is the 6th recording by this Trinidad based Caribbean Jazz group Élan Parlé. Unlike the previous five, Jazzalypso (parlemusic) was recorded live, all in one take.

For Ming, the bigger picture is that his band will be “…fortunate to attract some more performance…or licensing opportunities [and that] “ultimately people will listen to the band.”

In my mind’s eye, I could hear Ming’s dream, expressed like this: “One never knows where these things will come from.”

If Ming were writing this, he would say, “Enjoy”

St. Lucia Jazz 2010, more than just Jazz

St. Lucia

Some time ago, Iguane Xtet announced a new show for Vieux-Fort on May 04, 2010 at Coconut Bay Resort & Spa as part of the Jazz in the South outfest of St Lucia Jazz. Jazz in the South opened on Sunday, May 02 with a free concert at the Rudy John Beach Park, Laborie with the Wendell Richards Quartet (Mahurney Augier (keyboards), Ron Louis (bass) and drummer Herman Hercules) and Tropix (Michael Seraphine and Shanon Pinel on vocals, Ezra Joseph on bass and keyboardist Shomari Maxwell) of St. Lucia, Dobet Gnahoré, Ivory Coast and Martiniquan band, Bamboolaz. The paid concerts were from May 03 – 05 at Coconut Bay in Vieux Fort.

Jazz in the South has taken on a new image this year with a formula spanning four days including a free beach concert (Sunday, May o2) in the village of Laborie followed by three concerts at the Coconut Bay Resort and Spa, Vieux Fort, May 3, 4 and 5.  The Festival also offered master classes for musicians.

The formula may be new, but the emphasis is still the same, Caribbean Jazz but with a welcome foray into the land of the Metal Zouk of Bamboolaz, the headliners for the May 02 concert.

The program is dedicated to Haiti and the musicians of St. Lucia.

Jazz in the South, autonomous as it is from St. Lucia Jazz, is actually hosted some Haitian Jazz greats in the Mushy Widmaier Sextet – Widmaier is a founder of the group Zéklè and Thurgot Théodat, a saxophonist and composer who has performed elsewhere in the Caribbean,  at the Festival de Jazz de Pointe à Pitre, two years ago.

The Mushy Widmaier Sextet had their play on Monday, May 03.  Opening for Widmaier was the pianist Rhea Drakes Jazz Quartet while Théodat had his say on Wednesday, May 05 with the JATT All-Star Ensemble of Trinidad and Tobago.

Théodat busied himself  with two Master Classes in Vieux Fort and Castries on May 03 and 04.  The first, on May 03, was for music teachers in Vieux Fort; the second was at the School of Music in Castries with members of the school’s Jazz band.  The theme of both these classes was the connection of Haitian Voodoo music to Modern Jazz. (gather.com)

The JATT is a quintet made up of the biggest names in Trinidad Jazz: pianist Clive Zanda, trumpeter Etienne Charles, bassist Douglas Redon and band director, drummer Sean Thomas.

In addition, Jazz in the South staged a collaboration called An tonèl, May 05, between St. Lucian poet, Kendel Hippolyte and the master of Ka, Roger Raspail.  That collaboration was created for Festival Vibrations Caraibes 2008 and was recently reproduced at the L’Artchipel in Guadeloupe.

Four days earlier, on Saturday, May 01, Raspail conducted a two-hour Master Class for the benefit of professional and amateur musicians alike at the Blue Oasis in Vieux Fort.    The class focussed on techniques and methods to Jazz and Afro-Caribbean (Cuban, Guadeloupe Gwoka and Reggae) drumming as well as the history and morphology of the drum. (gather.com)

The other invited guests for Jazz in the South was the guitarist Cameron Pierre Trio, a native of Dominica living in London and the St. Lucians Ricardo François and Emerson Nurse, the leaders of Kléwé (with percussionist Athanasius La Borde and Gene Leon on bass guitar).

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Jazz in the South

Dominican guitarist Cameron Pierre met St. Lucian opposite number, Ronald Boo Hinkson at Coconut Bay Resort and Spa at “Jazz in the South” on May 03.

This Festival is organized by Labowi Promotions, the same cultural group which has organized the festival for the past twelve years.

The complete program is available on its website at www.labowipromotions.net.

Jazz in the South 2010: from 2 to 5 May, 2010, Laborie Beach and Coconut Bay Resort and Spa in Vieux Fort. (adapted from Jazz in the South – unvéritable festival de jazz caribéen)

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Soufriere Creole Jazz

Soufriere Creole Jazz took place at the Mini-Stadium in South St. Lucia on Friday, April 30.   The Main act: Jeff Joseph and Grammacks of Dominica, for two nights.  Also performing at Soufriere Jazz was Cuba’s Klimax, which according to the official Klimax website, is one of the “most sophisticated and original of timba bands…created by Giraldo Piloto.”

St. Lucia Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet told Helen FM 100 it was a “very, very good decision to bring Grammacks to Soufriere Creole Jazz.”  He also promised to take the founding members of Soufriere Creole Jazz to Dominica to learn from World Creole Music Festival.  For his part, Jeff Joseph of Grammacks said that “Playing Sulfur Springs is like magic…It was a nice show…It was a pleasure…Just tremendous…People really enjoyed it.”

Soufriere Creole Jazz continued on Saturday, May 01 and concluded on May 02.

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Jazz on the Square, the Derek Walcott Square

The Main Jazz acts: Michael Boothman & Kaiso Fusion on May 03; the St Lucia School of Music Jazz Band, Macadam and Cuba’s Klimax on May 04; and Freewinds Band featuring Carmel and Dominican songstress, Michelle Henderson on May 05.

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The St Lucia School of Music Jazz Band gave Charlie Parker a confusing calypso/soca treatment, did a fair Tarrus Riley, some Big Band Swing, bass heavy Funk and salsa.  The St. Lucia School of Music has in excess of 300 students with about 70 of them studying woodwind instruments.  The School of Music has about 40 children from the Primary schools according to Ryan, the Coordinator of the Woodwind section.

Macadam from Martinique livened up the Square doing traditional Beguine-Jazz.

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Cuban salsa band Klimax was making its second appearance at St. Lucia Jazz in two years.

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St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Jazz on the Pier

The NDC (St. Lucia’s National Development Corporation) produced “Jazz on the Pier” at Duty Free Pointe Seraphine just outside Castries central on May 04.  The Main Jazz acts: Red Clay featuring vocalist Kellie Cadogan of Barbados and Trinidad born, St. Lucia resident, Ovid Alexis Rhapsody Band.

“Jazz on the Pier” is dedicated, as it has been since 2004, to showcasing home-grown St. Lucian talent during St. Lucia Jazz.  It was usually on the last Friday before the Main Stage events of St. Lucia Jazz.  However, Tuesday, May 04, 2010 is the new date for the event.

The official launch of “Jazz on the Pier” was on Tuesday, April 20.

Referring once again to Iguane Xtet, we found them before St. Lucia Jazz at Habitation Birloton (April 17) and Coco Grill, Bouillante, Guadeloupe on April 30; and after the festival, Xtet will be at Green K’fé, Deschaies (May 08) and then at leMarboeuf, La Retraite, Baie-Mahault, Guadeloupe. (Source: artistdata)

Speaking of St. Lucia Jazz, the line-up has an expected fare of international and Caribbean heavy-hitters.   In regards to the Caribbean contingent earmarked for this year’s 19th edition of the festival that runs from May 01-09, there is the Saint Lucia School of Music Jazz Band (Black Ants), a group of young and gifted music students whose repertoire consists of, among other styles, swing and bossa-nova; St. Lucia’s Monty Maxwell and guitarist Harvey Millar; and pannist Allison Marquis at the Gaiety on Rodney Bay, Thursday 06; Teddyson John of St. Lucia at Pigeon Island National Landmark, Friday 07;  Cubans “Eliades Ochoa” and “Amadito Valdés”, stars from Buena Vista Social Club, guitar hero Ronald “Boo” Hinkson and friends featuring Tempest and Claudia Edward, May 08; and St. Lucian six string bluesman Carl Gustave on finale night, May 09, 2010. (Sources: caribbeannetnews, stluciajazz.org)

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Fond D’Or Jazz, May 01

The theme for Fond D’Or Jazz is “A decade of music, a blend of cultures”

Main Acts for Fond D’Or Jazz: Shane Ross, Ronald ‘Boo’ Hinkson…

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Arturo Tappin…

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and the Kings of Cadence from Dominica, Midnight Groovers (slide to 05:20:00 for Groovers video).

One other name for Fond D’Or Jazz is that of Linda ‘Chocolate’ Berthier with a fusion of Jazz, Reggae and Dancehall, and gospel.

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St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Jazz on the Grill, the Fire Grill Restaurant, Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, May 02-06

Then there was “Jazz on the Grill,” Fire Grill Restaurant, Rodney Bay, with Rob Zi Taylor Sound of St Lucia Sax, May 6, 2010.

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Jazz on the Edge, The Edge Restaurant, Rodney Bay Marina, Gros Islet, May 04-06

Rob Zi Taylor moved over to the The Edge Restaurant, Rodney Bay Marina for “Jazz on the Edge,” May 6, 6:15pm.  (Fire Grill is at 08:00pm)

The Edge Restaurant welcomed St. Lucian saxophonist Barbara Cadet on May 4, 2010.

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Carolie Jazz, May 07

Another Jazz event during St. Lucia Jazz was “Carolie Jazz.”  Appearing at Carolie Jazz was be St. Lucian, John Polius’ Cosmic Rhythm and brothers Ricardo and Luther Francois with separate bands.

Cosmic Rhythm is a band started by St. Lucian, John Polius while in Italy.  The unit comprises of three Italians and three  Lucians and a Japanese.  However, the Italians (or some of them anyway) cannot make it to St. Lucia  for the festival and will be replaced by local Lucian artists.

St. Lucia Jazz Notes: Main Stage, Pigeon Island National Landmark, May 05-09

Monty Maxwell (Jazz/Blues guitar) teamed up with Harvey Millar (guitar) and Allison Marquis (pan) for an all St. Lucian band, Troisem (3M) on May 06 at the Gaiety on Rodney Bay.

“Millar’s musical style is highly percussive and rhythmic reflecting the combined influences of Bebop, Caribbean idioms…hip hop.” (St. Lucia Jazz website)

19-year old Stacey Charles of  theTempest crew led by Ronald Boo Hinkson will be at St. Lucia Jazz. TEMPEST, featuring Stacey, Zionami, Cylva J and Alpha, will be hosted by Boo Hinkson for his first St. Lucia Jazz set, May 08.  Then Boo goes solo, performing music from his forthcoming CD, on the second set.

The CD tentatively entitled “Shades” follows his ’95 solo debut of “Alive and Well,” “Beyond,” (’03) & “Urban Drift” (’06).  It features Emerson Nurse on keyboards (St. Lucia), Arturo Tappin on Sax (Barbados), and vocals by Stacey Charles (SLU), Baltimore native Tracy Hamlin, Sean Paul (JA) and Teddyson John (SLU).  The CD was expected to be released in the second week of May, before the end of St. Lucia Jazz 2010.

Charles is the one who did the St. Lucia Jazz theme “Come for the Jazz, Stay for the Cricket.”

Stacey Iman Charles has a new song on Boo Hinkson’s upcoming release.  The track features Sean Paul.

Carl Gustave did some “high-energy” tracks from his CD’s “Too Hard” and “Searchin’ ” on the Main Stage at St. Lucia Jazz, Sun., May 09.

Additional resource: LIME Strengthens its Support to St Lucia Jazz | by carpetmagazine.net

Once again LIME is stepping up to the plate and providing support to St Lucia Jazz.

For the 19th year in a row the company is providing sponsorship support to the premier entertainment event in St Lucia and the Caribbean.

LIME is sponsoring five of the St Lucia Jazz side events – Jazz on the Square, Tea Time Jazz, Jazz on the Pier, Jazz in the South and a brand new event created to add a new brand of entertainment to the St Lucia Jazz season, Caribbean Divas…

JUST HAPPENED: The 2nd Annual Tobago Jazz Experience, April 22-25, 2010 (updated May 3 with a review, photo galleries & video)

Trinidad & TOBAGO

Erykah Badu and Chaka Khan Headline 2nd Annual Tobago Jazz Experience | re-written by the WEC from original Facebook Feed by Avion Hercules and Trinidad & Tobago’s Newsday press article.

For the second installment of the Tobago Jazz Experience, Grammy award-winning R&B divas Chaka Khan and Erykah Badu were the headline performers for the four-day music festival, which took place Thursday, 22 April – Sunday, 25 April, 2010.  Tobago is no stranger to having celebrities grace its shores, and Chaka Khan and Ms. Badu are walking the path of a long list of musical icons such as Stevie Wonder…and George Benson who have all visited the popular tourist destination in recent times for unforgettable musical performances.

The festivities began on Thursday, 22nd April with Jazz on de Waterfront (Milford Road Esplanade) at 4:30 pm. This event featured local musical acts. (AV)  But starting off the shows on the night of April 22 was Arturo Tappin, the celebrated saxophonist from Barbados as well and the Jerry Tilitz Quartet coming out of Germany. (T&TN)

On Friday, 23rd April the activity moved to the Pigeon Point Heritage Park for World Music Night featuring special guests…3 Canal, Mavis John…

Mavis John opened her performance with ‘Jazz In The Callaloo’ after which she paid tribute to the Mighty Shadow by singing several of his songs – ‘Bassman,’ ‘I Come Out To Play,’ ‘I Believe,’ ‘One Love’ and ‘Tan Tan’ – in jazz style.  And of course no such show in Tobago would be complete without Lord Nelson. (trinidadexpress.com)

…and Erica Abi Wright known to the world as Erykah Badu… (AV)

Saturday, 24th April was an all-day music event that started at 5:00 am with Street Beat in Plymouth.  This activity involved a cultural procession and street theatre through the village streets.  After that it was off to Mt. Irvine Bay for some Caribbean Jazz rhythms at Jazz on de Beach.

At 5:00 pm, the Jazz in de East caravan rolled into the picturesque village of Speyside and offered a mix of musical entertainment on the Beach Facility grounds…

In the evening, lovers of Jazz and the steelpan were given another opportunity to enjoy themselves at the Pigeon Point Heritage Park at the Pan Jazz in de Park from 5:00 pm.  Patrons were able to experience the exhilarating sounds of our national instrument from WITCO Desperados and Phase II Pan Groove steel orchestras from Trinidad, led by maestros, Robert Greenidge and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe respectively, as well as the 2010 medium-band Panorama Champions and Steel Xplosion from Tobago.  They were joined by other bands from Tobago… (AV)

Len ’Boogsie’ Sharpe and the Phase II Pan Groove also had the audience calling for more especially whenever Sharpe did solos during the band’s set. (trinidadexpress.com)

clockwise from top left, Bigford, Charles, Woodroffe, Friday, Richards

Complementing the international artistes on the weekend shows was an impressive local line up of artistes which included the Clifford Charles Quartet featuring Clifford on guitar, Tony Woodroffe (saxophone), Sean Friday (bass), David Richards (drums) and Jazz singer Vaughnette Bigford; the Errol Ince Quintet with Errol Ince on trumpet, Leston Paul on keyboards, Earl Caruth on saxophone among others like Dean Williams who performed with pannist Ken ‘Professor” Philmore @ Pazzaz Pan Jazz in de Park, all appearing on Saturday April 24 2010, Pigeon Point Heritage Park at 5:00 pm. (T&TN) Trinidad & Tobago’s Newsday was on hand and reported:

Bigford Shines at Mt. Irvine

JAZZ VOCALIST Vaughnette Bigford thrilled the crowd that turned up for Jazz On The Beach at Mt Irvine Bay on Saturday. She began with “Footprints” and followed with “God Bless The Child”, accompanied by saxophonist Tony Woodroffe.  Beach goers started dancing in the water…as Bigford did “I Just Don’t Wanna Be lonely”, “Wanna Give You Some Good Loving”, “You Can’t Love Without Money” and “Summertime”.  She really had the crowd going with Miriam Makeba’s “Pata Pata”. …Clifford Charles, a guitarist who has been performing for the past two decades…warmed-up the crowd with “You Would Know”,“I Want You” and “Time After Time” / “It’s Carnival”. He was followed by Mt Irvine Bay favourite, the Jerry Tilitz Quartet, whose rendition of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong’s “Hello Dolly” was a delight to listen to, as parts were done in calypso style. The evening’s entertainment continued with the Errol Ince Group and the Ronald “Boo” Hinkson Group…

The experience  climaxed at the Beach Jazz Fiesta on Sunday, 25th April 2010.  This event featured acts such as Élan Parlé, the Alternative Quartet, the Sean Thomas Quartet…

Sean Thomas and his band kicked off their set with ’Girl From Ipanema,’ and were joined by Marissa Gomez who sang ’Too Late,’ by Carole King and ’Fever.’ The Kariwak Players led by Jazz Experience producer, John Arnold, received applause throughout their set. (trinidadexpress.com)

…Clive Zanda, Digicel Rising Star Champion, Kay Alleyne…

By now you know that Tobago singer Kay Alleyne did the island proud with a fantastic performance at the closing show that so impressed Chaka Khan that the diva invited Alleyne to perform ’I’m Every Woman’ alongside her. Alleyne’s own set was first class; patrons came to the foot of the stage to be closer to Alleyne as she sang ’At Last’ by Etta James, the Porgy and Bess classic, ’Summertime,’ ’Body And Soul’ by Anita Baker and ’You’re Gonna Love Me’ by Jennifer Holiday. (trinidadexpress.com)

…Kariwak Players and Etienne Charles…(AV)

Trumpeter, Etienne Charles and his band also had patrons cheering throughout their performance that saw them performing original material from Charles’ two CD collections to date. (trinidadexpress.com)

…Tabanka The Blues Band, a quartet led by Douglas Redon on bass and the Dave Marcellin Sextet with Dave on piano, Paul Archibald on trumpet, Duncan Prescott on clarinet, Brian Kushmaul on drums, Russell Durity on bass and Krisson Joseph performing the vocals. (T&TN)

Additional resources: visittobago.gov.tt

Additional Brenda B. Butler photo gallery here and here and below…

Elan Parle and Etienne Charles Folklore in Tobago (photo credit: Modupe Folasade Onilu)

Poll for ‘Most Influential Trinidadian Jazz Artists’ closed – with no results – due to poor voting

________________________________

Etienne Charles launches into Common Wealth of Sounds

Trinidad

Trumpeter Etienne Charles celebrated the release of his new album Folklore with a listening party and CD signing Monday, 03 August 2009 at Satchmo’s on 42 Ariapita Ave, Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

Back in Trinidad especially for this event, Charles performed a brief set comprising of a few cuts from the 11-track CD including ‘Santimanite‘ and the title track.

Etienne Charles at Satchmo's (Photo credit: Gillian Moore)

Backing up Charles to a packed Satchmo’s club was a home-grown band of saxophonist Anthony Woodroffe, bassist Reynold Woodroffe, pianist Ronald Acquis, drummer Karl Doyle and percussionist Modupe Folasade Onilu.

The trumpeter told the Trinidad Guardian, “I just feel lucky to be able to present who we are to a whole new audience.” The American audience in particular has embraced Folklore, he says, “captivated by the power of our stories,” thus pushing the CD up the US Jazz charts.

Charles returns to the United States later this year to take up a teaching position at Michigan State University. But before he does, he has a few more engagements in the land of the hummingbird.

The very next one was Common Wealth of Sounds on Sunday, June 16, 2009. Common Wealth was put on by The Jazz Alliance of Trinidad and Tobago. It featured “America’s Classical Music” performed by Charles (trumpet), compatriots Clive Zanda, Dave Marcellin (piano), Douglas Redon (bass) and Sean Thomas (drums), as well as two overseas saxophonists, Barbadian Arturo Tappin and St. Lucian Luther François.

Swing time for Common Wealth of Sounds was 06:00 pm at the C.L.R. James Auditorium, Cipriani Labour College, Valsayn, Trinidad on Sunday, August 16.

Some of these very artists (Charles, Tappin, Zanda, Thomas) and others (Trinidadians, Clifford Charles – guitar, Jason Baptiste – pan, Chantal Esdelle – piano, and Dr. Hollis Liverpool aka Mighty Chalkdust) were scheduled to lecture at JATT‘s “Summer Holistic Jazz Workshop.“

François, Zanda and Tappin (Image courtesy Trinidad and Tobago Guardian)

Common Wealth of Sounds formed part of the JATT‘s “Summer Holistic Jazz Workshop.”  The workshop was launched at AURA on Tuesday, August 11 and got under way on Wednesday, August 12 at the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago.  It came to an end on Tuesday, August 18, 2009.  By that time, the students were fully exposed to Sean Thomas‘ Calypso Real Book, Theory Classes, Dr. Barry Harris’ phrases, lectures and videos of Jazz masters in action.  They would also have participated in Jam Sessions with their lecturers and interacted with the public on the subject of Jazz.

Young lions of TT Jazz

Trinidad

Young lions of TT Jazz

first published by

Nigel Campbell

August 12, 2009 on Nigel’s Profile

For the first three weekdays in August, young lions in the sphere of Jazz music in Trinidad preened and pointed the way for musicians of other genres and generations to duplicate.  On Monday, August 3, Etienne Charles launched his new CD Folklore at a listening party at the Jazz-themed restaurant, Satchmo’s in Woodbrook.  In anticipation of a short live set, the crowd grew larger than the dining room that hosted it as the night moved on.  Etienne, and fellow young lion, saxophonist, Tony Woodroffe Jr., recently back from studies at Leeds University, played their instruments with a maturity belying their ages.

Etienne‘s music represents the genesis of a transformational moment that comes in generations.  Back in 1956, Sparrow marked that kind of generational shift that propelled calypso forward through the shortened zenith of Belafonte’s Calypso age a year hence.  Trinidad and the diaspora are richer for Charles‘ and Woodroffe‘s sojourn into the musical spaces that exist for local musicians who are brave enough to go into them without fear of the rhetoric of failure.

Folklore is an impressive achievement, and solidifies in my mind that Etienne is at a place musically that most local musicians have not even seen much less entered.  Things can only get better with more interaction with this artist of both profound intellect and subtle style who uses the cannon of local rhythm and melodies to create the new.

A wiser scribe than I once wrote that Jazz is “the sound of surprise,” and I was surprised by the following night’s performance of Karl Doyle’s Blue Culture at The Corner Bar.  The energy was sustained over an hour with a mix of originals and covers that featured the aforementioned Woodroffe and Charles together with Mikhail Salcedo who is becoming the star soloist on the tenor pan.

That youthful energy and large crowd were signals to me of a changing of the guard in the local Jazz scene.  The ultimate surprise was of course the consistency and maturity of the jam!  When the “cats” wailed, the crowd wooed; a musical call and response that grew with every song.  There can be no backing down at this point for Karl and his crew.  Blue Culture have shown that Jazz fusion can be entertaining and popular.  Kudos to them.

Jazz is predominantly about the primacy of the individual voice.  Jazz requires its musicians to make something new each time they take the [band]stand…Not “interpreting” in the way of classical musicians, but inventing themselves anew each night.
Richard Williams, Jazz – A Photographic Documentary (New York: Crescent Books, 1994) 15

Caroline Mair represents, to some, a challenge because of her sound, her look, her personality. Debuting the SONGBIRDS…live series by Production One Ltd. at AURA Restaurant, Caroline performed, for a sold out paying crowd, a set of both original and covers of ballads from the cannon of Broadway to Marley.  No one can fault her for stage presence.  Either you have it or not.

Caroline Mair with Williams (g) and Onilu (p)

Backed by Dean Williams and Modupe Folasade Onilu, she purred, crooned and delivered. There can be no looking back to a time when the female voice was relegated to backing vocals.  This female voice is interpreting the music in ways that are unfamiliar or even uncomfortable for audiences that chauvinistically hold onto examples that are ironically, not of their making.  This individual voice that can both echo a remembered tone and sustain an original searing note has the potential to breach the boundaries of performance spaces globally.  It is an identifiable sound that we can call our own.

I must now compare these three performances with others I have attended in the week prior.  August started good! Crowd. Excellence. Innovation.  These young lions rule.  Everyone else, watch out.  These performances, as a group, stand as a declaration of a new age.  Both in terms of crowd support and performance, that generational shift I have been speaking about is here and now!

One could easily identify four generations:

• The Scofield Pilgrim Generation – those pioneers who were Scofield‘s contemporaries and successors such as Rupert Clemendore, Clive Zanda, Ralph Davies, Errol Ince
• The protégés of the Scofield Generation ranging from Raf Robertson, the Boothman brothers, David and Michael, to “Professor” Philmore and Dave Marcellin
• The New School – students of higher learning in music who finally challenged the status quo in the new century, and who have recorded prolifically: Theron Shaw, Clifford Charles and Ming together with Sean Thomas, and
• The Young Lions – Etienne Charles, Tony Woodroffe Jr., Mikhail Salcedo, et al.

To be at the cusp of change in the culture of a country is to be blessed.  The American experience showed the movement from swing to bebop to cool and beyond.  Our challenge is to recognize and reward the vanguards at the gate.

It is now possible for artistes to easily record and distribute their performance and original output.  To validate that output with critical acknowledgment and financial support is the goal of the modern audience.  To do that over the generations is to be conscious of one’s place in a civilized society.

(Images courtesy Gillian Moore – Etienne Charles; Blue Culture – Karl Doyle; SONGBIRDS…live – Caroline Mair)

Plymouth Jazz is a no go; Tobago Jazz Experience is on the go…

Trinidad

On Tobago Jazz Experience

update 3 on April 24, 2009

The Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago, Tn’T is the first big casualty of the global economic meltdown. The major sponsor of the event, CLICO, collapsed this year under the weight of a US$8146 million loss over the past two years. And to think that CLICO had statutory fund surpluses for three years running, from 2004 to 2006. Compounding matters further, interest from potential patrons abroad was less than satisfactory thereby casting doubt on the viability of the event. This was being blamed squarely on the economic crisis gripping the world and by extension the Caribbean region.

Unable to continue their commitment to the festival, CL Communications Ltd., the promoter of the festival, has pulled out forcing the cancellation of the event for this year at least.

Plymouth Jazz Festival was scheduled for April 24 – 26, 2009.

However, all was not lost.  It was not inconceivable that an alternative, but smaller event, would be organized for the same time to save face and keep the festival alive, somewhat.  So said Oswald Williams, Tourism Secretary in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).

Not to be cynical and overly insensitive to the plight of a hitherto successful company that is CLICO, it must be said that while Plymouth Jazz may have been a boon for the service industry on Trinidad’s sister island, it was for the most part a prostitution of the Jazz theme.  The festival built a shameless reputation of plugging itself as a Jazz Festival without exhibiting even a meagre semblance of tokenism in patronizing the rich and verdant Jazz practitioners that the twin-island Republic has birthed.

In simple English, Plymouth Jazz was never really a Jazz Festival.

But the question is this: if a festival can be successfully marketed as Jazz and in so doing draws aficionados to the Caribbean shores, what is the point of packing the front of the stage with pop acts?  Answer me that!

If Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival is taken as a point of reference, 69 per cent of first-time visitors to Jamaica for the festival came specifically for Jazz; 77 per cent of repeat visitors came for Jazz; and 72 per cent of visitors indicated that Jazz was the specific reason for them visiting Jamaica.  If that is the case, would you not say that Jazz music can sell itself, without the help of pop? And on top of that, these Jazz fans spend money.

According to a Jamaica Observer report, the visitors spend 14 times more (US$187 per night) at the festival than the local patrons (US$13 per night).  Consequently, if the idea of using pop acts as head liners at Jazz Festivals is to draw the local population, forget it.  On that basis, the following Mark Dennis graph is a good illustration of the contributions made to the economies of Caribbean festival countries by the largely foreign crowds.

So farewell, my dear Plymouth Jazz Festival.  You have one year to find a formula that is true to the Jazz that sits in the middle of your name.  Use that time wisely.  In the meantime, we wait…

(Sources: caribworldnews.com, imagesnewsletter.com)

But we did not have to wait for long because of Harold Homer…

It is a pity that your exhortation to the producers of the Plymouth Jazz Festival “to use their time wisely to arrive at a formula that is true to the Jazz that sits in the middle of its name” will neither be heard by them nor if it is, would it be taken into their consideration.  And I say so because I am convinced that the driving force behind the promotion group has insisted on several occasions that their formula is/was correct.

The good news, if any can be gleaned, is that in seeking to salvage the situation and prevent an absolute failure of the single, largest revenue-earner for the island, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) has moved to establish a THA-produced Jazz Festival Season that will seek to convert some of the traditional fringe events into the main Festival.

Pan Trinbago with its Pan Jazz in the Yard presentations, and which has over the past two years carved out the Wednesday and Thursday night spots, will be the THA’s highlighted shows for those nights.  These shows will take place at the Redemption Sound Steel Orchestra Pan Yard.

Friday night the Festival will move to what will now become the main Festival stage located at the internationally acclaimed Pigeon Point.  THA has retained this night for itself and, word on the ground has it that the opportunity will be used to feature some local, but unfortunately not-so-Jazz, performances.

The Pigeon Point Stage will on Saturday night be turned over to the group, Production One, which has been producing Caribbean Jazz concerts on the sister island of Trinidad since 2003 and took a significant step by presenting a predominantly Latin Jazz show during the Plymouth Jazz Festival Season last year.  Production One will this year again present a mix of local and international Jazz performers.

On Sunday evening, the THA will use the main stage at Pigeon Point to present the festival’s main act George Benson.

If the THA, or better yet the “converted fringe events”, prove to be successful, it could mean not only success at saving face but it could lead to a weaning away from the stifling C.L. Communications Ltd.’s dominance that some in the local community have been railing against for some time now (especially since they had flat out refused to include any Jazz).

Following is the Revised PROGRAMME for TOBAGO JAZZ EXPERIENCE

22nd April	Pan Jazz in d Yard featuring Andy Narell Liam Teague Ronald ‘Boo’ Hinkson (St. Lucia)                            Tilitz Quartet (Germany) Victor Provost                                   Kersh Ramsey                                                           Silver Stars…Redemption Sound Setters Pan Yard, 7.00 pm	PAN TRINBAGO (www.pantrinbago.co.tt)
Thursday, 23rd April	Pan Jazz in d Yard featuring Len Boogsie Sharpe Rudy Smith Mavis John Caribbean Airlines Invaders Kariwak Players…Redemption Sound Setters Pan Yard, 7.00 pm	PAN TRINBAGO
Friday, 24th April	World Music Night featuring Caribbean INXS Princess Adanna Guardah Knight Fire Fusion Shadow 3 Canal Ella Andell Calypso Rose Shurwayne Winchester and the Y.O.U.…Pigeon Point Heritage Park, 7.00 pm	THA (www.visittobago.gov.tt)
Saturday, 25th April	Latin Jazz featuring Élan Parlé Canefire (Canada) Bellita y JazzTumbatá (Cuba) Mungal Patasar and Pantar – Pigeon Point Heritage Park,Jazz on de Beach, 7.00 pm – Mt Irvine, 10.00 am Beach Jazz – Speyside, 4pm, featuring local TNT Stars.	PRODUCTION ONE, MT IRVINE BAY HOTEL…THA (www.jaotg.org or visit the new Festival site)
Sunday, 26th April	Beach Jazz Fiesta – featuring Kariwak Players Caribbean INXS Mike Boothman Theron Shaw Clive Zanda David Rudder   International Grammy Award Artiste – George Benson…– Pigeon Point Heritage Park – 1pm – Jazz on de Beach, Mt.Irvine, 10.00am	MT.IRVINE…THA

 

Barbados Jazz Festival 2009 – Jazz and more

Barbados

As journalists and music critics, we’ve all been here before.

Another Caribbean Jazz festival line-up.

Another festival in all of its varied ups and downs.

Another commentary…by John Stevenson

The recently-concluded Barbados Jazz Festival, featuring non-jazz headliners – notably British pop icon James Blunt, and Neo-Soul diva Angie Stone, represents a curious and interesting departure from previous editions of the festival.  By way of a ‘trojan-horse’ styled marketing initiative that front-ended non-Caribbean acts, the festival actually boasted a high quotient of Bajan and Caribbean talent.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the history of Jazz festivals is littered with successful box-office non-jazz acts.  If the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival (organised by the astute Swiss man Claude Nobs) can headline pop and rock acts such as Chaka Khan and Carlos Santana, who is to argue with GMR International (organisers of the Barbados Jazz Festival) for giving James Blunt top billing?

Of course, I agree with other commentators that the Caribbean and Barbadian talent should have been given more publicity, at the very least in terms of biographical data supplied on the Jazz Festival website.  I would like to think, also, that this talent was included because there is a need for us to showcase home-grown musical genius to a wider audience, as opposed to them being a cheaper and hastily shoe-horned-in option in light of less affordable north American acts.

But I digress.

What patrons were treated to over the course of January 12^th – 18th in Barbados (surrounded by lush green landscapes, beautiful turquoise waters and fantastic facilities) was a world-class festival featuring varied genres from some of the best musicians anywhere on the planet.

I’ll limit my remarks to the jazzier aspects of the festival, and highlight a few stand out non-jazz ones.

Having flown in from London courtesy the Barbados Tourism Authority via Virgin Atlantic, on Tuesday, January 13^th, I missed the sets featuring Aussie vocalist/pianist Diana Jarrett and drummer Harvey Mason, which took place on Night One, January 12, 2009.   From all accounts, these two went down well with patrons, Mason leading a powerhouse trio, and Jarrett strutting her stuff on the ivories with elegant standards.

Night Two, January 13 starring Barbadian drummer Dave Burnett

On Night Two, still slightly jet-lagged but curious to discover the seductive musical charms awaiting me at the well laid out Heritage Park in the south-eastern parish of St Philip, I was treated to an hour-long session from opening act, Bajan drummer extraordinaire, Dave Burnett.

The thing I’ve always liked about Mr. Burnett is that he is a man of few words who talks mainly through his kit. He converses eloquently, so to speak, with a cannonade of wicked snare rolls, or a combustive combination of practised sleight-of-hand moves across the toms and the cymbals.

He’s graced all manner of musical situations: calypso, reggae, pop music, you name it, taking it all in his percussive stride.  He chose this Jazz festival outing, of course, to display his massive Jazz chops before a full house of appreciative Bajan fans.

The first tune, was the rock-influenced “Evolution” penned by Jeff Golub.   There were lots of heavy snare drums on this one, with great interaction from members of the quartet: guitarist Mike Cheeseman; bassist Elvis Edwards; and keyboardist Stefan “Little Monk” Walcott.  You could tell that they were accustomed to playing with each other by the fun they were having on stage, and in their considerable collective improvisational acumen.

After this tune, the quartet interpreted Toots Thielemans’ “Bluesette”, and the Billie Holiday-popularised “Body and Soul”, the latter given an especially reverent reading from Mike Cheeseman’s carefully chosen chords.

Though the Heritage Park is undoubtedly a visually inspired venue choice with lovely lawns and tall trees, it is unfortunately not the most acoustically appropriate one. But the band soldiered on nonetheless, showcasing Stefan’s energetic solo spot in tribute to his late compatriot, pianist Adrian Clarke, on the tune “Castellano”.

Burnett and company’s rendition of Andre Woodvine’s “Machine Code” was particularly interesting.   It is a tricky composition with a slippery pulse; well-suited to interpretation from a master drummer and percussionist.

Burnett also doubled on flute much to the amusement of some members of the audience.   He chose a buoyant calypso number which delighted all.

After “refuelling” with some good Bajan fishcakes and a stroll across the expansive grounds of the Heritage Park, it was great to see the second set, spotlighting the silky smooth vocals of prize-winning local star-in-the-making, Dwane Husbands.  Still in his early 20’s, the dynamic young man crooned his way into the affections of his adoring audience, singing a selection of Nu-Soul and R&B covers such as Stevie Wonder’s “ (As) Always”.

Night Four, January 15 starring Trinidadian trumpeter Errol Ince

Perhaps one of the most fulfilling nights for Jazz aficionados at the Barbados Jazz Festival 2009 was Night Four, with the arc lights resting gloriously on the Trinidadian trumpet veteran Errol Ince. The setting was gorgeous: a stage on the beach with the gently crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean in the background; the elegant, well-tended sprawl of the ritzy Crane Beach Resort all around and a half moon casting its soft light on the waters.

After a lavish introduction from Barbados’s Chief Justice, Sir David Simmons – an avid Jazz fan and amateur trumpeter – Ince got off to a somewhat shaky start with Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe”.  His youthful riddim’ section featured Leston Paul on keyboards, flash guitarist Theron Shaw, and drummer Sean Thomas.  However, any doubts about Ince’s legendary prowess on the horn were cast aside with his masterly take on Miles Davis’s “Freddie Freeloader”.  After all, Ince was voted Europe’s best trumpet player for five consecutive years: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972.  He also played alongside Maynard Ferguson and Shirley Bassey, and arranged calypsos for the royalty of this genre: Black Stalin, Baron, Mighty Duke, Melody, Swallow and Calypso Rose.

Indeed, alongside stirring renditions of standard tunes such as “Stardust”, “What’s New”, and “Girl From Ipanema”, Ince also treated patrons to Jazz treatments of kaiso chestnuts like Mighty Sparrow’s “Rose” and Lord Kitchener’s “Old lady Walk a Mile (and a Half)”.  Leston Paul’s Jazz affinities were on display in full force as he utilised his synthesisers to the max, backed by the gentle but persuasive accompaniment of guitarist Theron Shaw.

“Indeed, my previous misgivings about the non-jazz aspects of that festival – at least in this year’s incarnation of it – have evaporated completely.  The world needs to see the level and diversity of talent available among young Bajans – and I say this without the slightest hint of bias (smile).   If the Jazz festival does it, I say go for it.   When Carlos Santana and Chaka Khan appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, no one complained, so we need to use every vehicle possible to push our own.  In this respect, the Barbados Jazz Festival 2009 was a roaring success!  Take a bow Gilbert Rowe!” – John Stevenson

Night Five, Friday 16 starring Raf Robertson and Birdsong Academy

Night Five was also a Jazz lover’s heaven.

The setting was also beautiful, within the expansive and immaculately manicured grounds of the Barbados Prime Minister’s residence, Ilaro Court.  Trinidadian keyboardist Raf Roberston was the opening act, showcasing his instrumental wizardry. Raf, who is averse to playing acoustic piano, is still able to tease out subtle nuances and dynamics from the electric keyboards he uses.

With the exception of Kenny Barron’s “Voyager” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Raincheck” he gave first-class Jazz treatments to tunes that are familiar to us in the Eastern Caribbean: Bob Marley’s “Running Away”, Andre Tanker’s “Forward Home”, Clive Zanda’s “Fancy Sailor”, and the late Adrian Clarke’s “Roxy Roundabout”.

But more than an instrumentalist, Raf is also a committed teacher.   Joining him on stage were some of his prized young students, the “Birdsong Academy”, comprising of two pannists and a brass section featuring the captivating soprano saxophonist and vocalist Niyol Maswell.  Young Niyol sang a heartfelt and moving rendition of Ras Shorty I’s “Good Night My Children”.  Though he is unsighted, he demonstrated 20/20 musical vision and insight in a way that floored everyone.

“Raf Robertson and the Birdsong Academy stole the show.“ – John Stevenson

Dee Dee Bridgewater was the next act.  As if taking the baton from Raf’s group, and pushing the geographical theme slightly further across the waters, Dee Dee proceeded to sing Afro-Latin standards such as “Besame Mucho”, “Obsession” (popularised by Celia Cruz), Milton Nascimento’s “Vera Cruz”, and “Afro Blue”, among others.  Her crack group included Puerto Rican Edsel Gomez (piano), bassist Ira Coleman and Vince Cherico (drums).   I dare say Ms Bridgewater’s sassy and sensual stage presence was a bit too overwhelming for the prim-and-proper audience who appeared happy to just sit in their chairs and provide polite applause.  Needless to say, Ms Bridgewater cheerfully admonished them to loosen up!

The Final, January 18 starring the Barbados Community College (BCC) Jazz Project featuring Kellie Cadogan and Hilario Duran

The final day of the Jazz festival – day two of Jazz on the Hill at the scenic Farley Hill National Park – yielded its fair share of melodic surprises.

After heavy rains on Saturday January 17^th, it was feared that more rain might hamper proceedings on the last day of the Jazz festival.  Thankfully with bright sunshine and the musical rays provided by the Barbados Community College (BCC) Jazz Project as opening act, things got off to a fine start.

I found this band to be totally engaging.  The lead singer was songbird-on-the-rise Kellie Cadogan.  I think she will prove in future years to be talent that will be seriously reckoned with; she is already possessed with a formidable grasp of Jazz fundamentals, great poise and a highly infectious stage manner.  And she’s not yet 30!

Her original, “Believe” was particularly poignant, as well as her warm rendition of “God Bless the Child” featuring John Matthews’s guitar.

I also thought that young pianist Nikita Vaughn, and saxophonist Nicholas Timothy were impressive, especially on Ronnie Laws’s “Always Around”.

Cuban-born, Canada-based pianist Hilario Duran was also one of the most popular acts on the last day.  Though he can play up a storm along the lines of a Chucho Valdés or Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Señor Duran chose to present a band that played danceable salsa pieces like Los Van Van or the Buena Vista Social Club.  It went down like the Titanic among the people who thronged the stage to demonstrate their fancy Latin dance steps.

Out front, singers Jailen Duran (Hilario’s daughter) and Luis Mario Ochoa swayed and sashayed to the infectious grooves set up by Hilario and his magnificent band members.  The montuno piece “Cuando mi Toca a mi” was pretty, as well as “Yemanja”, “Amigo”, “Cinjura de Alambre, “Bilongo” and the humorous “La Cabra y el Monte”.

The Postscript…

Mention must be made of the daring Barbadian alternative rock group, Kite, which opened for James Blunt on Night Three.  Kite, which experiments with the two-tone sound epitomised by groups like Madness, the Specials and the Police, brings an interesting vocabulary to the grammar of contemporary Caribbean music.  Fronted by guitarist Brian Marshall and vocalist/guitarist J.J. Poulter, they combine a raw rock energy with a unique sensitivity to Bajan and Caribbean culture.  This became clear when they pleased crowds at the Sir Garfield Sobers auditorium with tunes like “Macaroni Pie”, “Shine”, “Your House” and “Light from a Dead Star”.

Nexcyx, essentially a Bajan club-scene cover tunes band, which played on Saturday January 17^th at Farley Hill, was also impressive, fronted by singers Mahalia Philips and Rochelle Griffith. They have the distinction of performing twice back to back at the Jazz festival after wowing audiences while opening up for Erykah Badu last year.  Their single “Like Fairy Dust” has already achieved popularity in Canada, and in the wake of internationally-acclaimed Rihanna, the Bajan Def Jam recording diva, their further international exposure appears to be certain.

It is evident that Barbados and the Caribbean received prominent attention at this year’s Barbados Jazz Festival.

Whether or not a template has been established for 2010 remains to be seen.

John Stevenson is a London-based Bajan free-lance writer and broadcaster.

John’s Previous Post: CD review of Luther François’ “Castries Underground”

CD review of Luther François’ “Castries Underground”

Castries Underground: Caribbean jazz at its best

By John Stevenson

NB.: The bolded words are exclusively those of the Collective’s editor

Luther François' "Castries Underground" CD poster

Caribbean jazz fans have been patient. Very patient.

Despite notable work with the West Indies Jazz Band, and his collaborations with Guadeloupean and Martiniquan musicians – including his involvement with Fal Frett – the region’s very own ‘saxophone colossus’ has taken nearly 20 years (since the ground breaking “Morne Dudon”) to deliver the goods with a solo effort.

With “Castries Underground”, however, Luther François has offered up a highly compelling and satisfying platter.

Recorded in the Helen of the West Indies (St. Lucia) on the imprint of his brand new company, LRF Soundworks, the premier St. Lucian instrumentalist shares tenor saxophone duties with American music academic Dr. William E. Smith, and is aided and abetted by Vincentian keyboardist Frankie McIntosh, Trinidadian drummer Sean Thomas, Guadeloupean percussionist Charly Chomereau–Lamotte, and American acoustic bassist Corcoran Holt.

Together, they carry us on a tour d’horizon of rich jazz improvisation, refracted through the prism of uniquely West Indian rhythms. Commentary on some of the compositions on this CD can be found below.

From the gently loping biguine gait of the short opening piece, (simply entitled “Opening”) to the Afro-Latin strains of “Charly’s Groove”, and on to the dramatic tension-and-release/call-and-response aspects of the CD’s title track, there is little doubt that François has produced something of a masterpiece.

“When I Think of You”, is dedicated to the memory of the late Barbadian jazz pianist Adrian Clarke. It is a slow-to-medium Latin waltz on which François‘s tenor phrases tumble out rhapsodically, like a Derek Walcott poem, punctuated by Frankie’s block chords and Charly’s dependable congas. W.E.S. Smith’s instrumental presence on accompanying tenor saxophone is assuring as it is heartfelt.

This reviewer is normally wary of the cacophonous muddiness to be found in some small-group line-ups featuring two saxophones. On this occasion, however, the Smith-François pairing can only be described as inspired. Indeed, they tower over the proceedings like the twin Pitons, bringing a wealth of harmonic and technical acumen to a rather unique live session.

Luther sheds some light on the recording in the liner notes:

“This live recording is the first in a line of audiovisual products to be released by the  company, and it captures the undaunted spirit of adventure and creativity which lies at the heart of this project. I want above all to acknowledge the understanding and cooperation of the musicians as well as their wonderful skills. Some notes on Frankie’s keyboard were not working and the bass provided for Corcoran was not that easy to get around. In addition, the music was being discovered and explored during the session. The conditions of recording were difficult to say the least and yet in spite of all this the spirit of collaboration was excellent. We completed the recording in two days with an appreciative and enthusiastic live public invited on the second night on a couple of selections. Marc Escavis, the sound engineer, did a great job from start to finish. The result is what I would describe as an outpouring of soulful interplay between consenting musicians.”

Luther François at launch of his new CD 'Castries Underground'

Indeed, Frankie’s piano work on this CD is always imaginative. What’s more, it’s never ostentatious. His natural affinities for the calypso, biguine and Afro-Latin rhythms have been honed through several decades as the Caribbean region’s premier Soca/Kaiso arranger. It is evident for all to hear.

The very captivating up-tempo, calypso-inflected waltz, “Little Trane” features Luther’s spirited flute playing. The tune was written for Luther’s son and features a touching Dave Brubeck-like solo from McIntosh, and an even more probing pizzicato bass spot from Corcoran Holt.

“Yes We Can” is a raging swing number that makes you want to shake your shoes off and head for the dance floor. The two tenors go head to head egged on by Sean Thomas’s mellifluous cymbal rides and Charly’s piquant percussion. We are also left in no doubt as to the person Luther François wishes to reside in Washington DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Helen” is a classic calypso-jazz vehicle of the kind popularised by jazz pianist-composer Clive Zanda. The piece carries a terrific swagger that conjures up memories of ‘chipping’ in Port of Spain on J’ouvert Morning during the Trinidad carnival.

“My Heart’s Desire” is perhaps the most post-bop influenced piece on the CD. Luther echoes John Coltrane’s “Cousin Mary.” There’s also a skillful drum solo spot from Sean Thomas.

The title track, the CD’s piece de resistance, weighs in at nearly fifteen minutes long and contains some of the most beguiling and creative musicianship to be found on any Caribbean jazz recording. Conjuring up memories of Miles Davis, the tune draws loosely on the chord structure of Eddie Harris’s Freedom Jazz Dance. The call-and-response/tension-and-release aspects of the way the composition unfolds gives it a highly dramatic quality. Luther’s muscular soloing on this boundary-pushing tune (neither “in” nor “out”) confirms him as arguably one of the world’s important tenor saxophone titans. The solos offered up by both Frankie McIntosh and Corcoran Holt on this tune are similarly outstanding.

Castries Underground is a greatly-appreciated addition to the ongoing exploration of Caribbean musical culture as expressed through the jazz aesthetic. Through this work, Luther François has successfully instilled pride in all of us.

Luther! Luther! Luther!

(Track listing for Castries Underground: Opening; When I Think of You; Charly’s Groove; Little Trane; Yes We Can; Interlude; Eric’s Theme; Helen; My Heart’s Desire; Castries Underground; Ending)

John Stevenson is a London-based Bajan free-lance writer and broadcaster.

Previous Post: New Luther François CD set for release

Real Jazz to Plymouth Jazz Festival: “Knock, knock, I’m here” (updated with link to TnT Blog review of JAOTG)

           Tn’T

updated: May 18, 2008

Caribbean Airlines’ David Saunders told the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday following ‘Jazz on the Beach 2008’ that the company co-sponsored with Mt. Irvine Hotel that his company facilitated 26,750 passengers in getting to Tobago over the Plymouth Jazz weekend.  Saunders, in thanking his staff for the extra effort they put in to achive a 100 percent on-time record, boasted that “every single standby passenger, no one was left behind.”

My question is this: how many of these thousands actually saw any Jazz at all.  Did they head out to see Whitney Houston crash and burn or did they make it a point of duty to go to the real ‘Jazz on the Beach,’ the ‘Tobago Jazz Caravan,’ ‘Pan Jazz in de Yard‘ and ‘Jazz Artists on the Greens.’        

I guess not.  Newsday reporter Vashty Maharaj wrote in an April 27, 2008 article that the crowd for Jazz on the ‘Beach’ was “small but appreciative.”  Tony Bell went to ‘Jazz Artists on the Greens‘ and had this to say on this blog, “Best ever for this bunch (Production One/Jazz Artists on the Greens) in terms of quality of music.  Small audience though.”  Another blog reader, Trinidad Jazz Singer Vaughnette Bigford concurred.  She wrote, “This show was great.  Simply great, great cast, great music.  It was just the perfect night, except of course for the attendance.” 

The producers of the outfests should not be daunted though for when it comes to Jazz, it is always an uphill climb to build and sustain an audience.  But the task is made so much easier when the quality of the programming is first class.

Take for instance Pan Trinbago’s Pan Jazz in de Yard Reloaded held on April 23 and 24, 2008.  Nothing less than quality would have been expected from the backing band for the event led by Clive Zanda.

 

Clive Zanda (photo courtesy of guardian.co.tt) 

The Clive Zanda Quartet was the evening’s highlight (Trinidad Guardian‘s Desiree McEachrane) with a  set of driving Calypso-Jazz renditions including a Quincy Jones arrangement of ‘My Favourite Things,’ ‘Yard Fowl,’ ‘Every Time Ah Pass and ‘Ole Lady Walk a Mile and a Half (And Te le le).’  

In announcing to the crowd that he has a “responsibility to search for new talent in the pan tradition,” Zanda introduced Akinola Sennon on double second pans.  The duo duelled with intensity, testing the improvisational skills of the young pannist on the uptempo ‘Yard Fowl’ and the classically tinged ‘Old Lady Walk a Mile and a Half.’

Prior to that, Tony ‘Pan Jumbie’ Williams – backed by theClive Zanda Quartet – and Tobago’s own John Arnold and the Kariwak Players had set the pace for Zanda’s command performance.

Following, Kalabash from Toronto, Canada and Trinidad’s Anthony Pierre accompanied by Cuban Joaqun Nunez-Hidalgo changed the flavour of the festival by throwing in some Samba and Latin sensibilities respectively into the Calypso for a different take on Pan-Jazz.  

Annise Hadeed with David Rudder’s ‘Sweet T&T’ and Rudy ‘Two Left’ Smith with ‘Summertime,’ ‘Body and Soul,’ and ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ mellowed the mood for a while to allow the crowd to catch its collective breath for ‘The Paganini of the Pan’ Liam Teague.  Teague revived the spirit with Grover Washington Jr’s ‘Mr. Magic’ and Rudder’s ‘Hammer.’

Day One was closed by NFM Pantasy featuring pannist Duvonne Stewart.

Night Two could be said to be one for the singers.  Garvin Walters, lead singer of Caribbean Inxs mixed it up with Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry.’  Petunia Thomas-Williams and Derrick Patience fronted the RBTT Redemption Soundsetters steel orchestra, the house band for the pan theatre where Pan Jazz in de Yard was staged, on a James Ingram crooner. 

Next up was the powerful vocals of Marilyn Williams and the irrepressible Mavis John who provided the nostalgic element for Pan Jazz in de Yard Reloaded by virtue of “How Can I Love Again,” “You Are What Love Is,” “Education” by the Mighty Sparrow (recorded indelibly on Mavis Sings CD 8888), “Jazz In De Calalloo,” and “The Carnival is Over” by Lord Kitchener.  However, the vocals were not absent on Night One.  Judy Balfour had done Sade’s ‘Smooth Operator’ and with Lynnette Louis, Ella Andall’s ‘Bring Down the Power.’

These Trinidadian voices were separated by Earl Brooks at the top of the evening, Ken ‘Professor’ Philmore in the middle and Clyde ‘Lightening’ George and the Steelin’ Jazz Quartet at the end.

The weekend preceding Plymouth Jazz,  the Tobago Jazz Caravan rolled into Pigeon Point, Heritage Park, Charlotteville in north-east Tobago with pure Jazz grooves thanks to bmobile.  The featured acts were Mungal Patasar and Pantar, Michael Boothman, the Sean Thomas Quartet, Patti Rogers, Caribbean Inxs, Kay Alleyne, Jackie Johnson, Xcel, John Arnold and the Kariwak Players, Princess Adanna and Xtreme.

Karl E. Cupid of Newsday’s Tobago Bureau dubbed Mangal Patasar and Pantar “the spotlight” of that weekend.  To Cupid, Pantar’s was a mesmerizing 40-minute performance in which the audience was captivated by Patasar’s fusion of sitar and steelpan along with tabla, guitar and saxophone.   

Guitarist Boothman was also in top flight, choosing to reinterpret some R&B hits rather than go the standard route.  That job would be left to the Sean Thomas Quartet whose lead vocalist Alice Daniel channelled the spirit of yore with the standards, ‘Georgia On My Mind’ and ‘Stardust.’

In turn, guitarist John Arnold and the Kariwak Players fast-forwarded to the present on a Reggae-Jazz theme.  Vocalists Lynette Louis and Judy Balfour entertained. 

So did Kay Alleyne, Digicel Rising Star 2007, Garvin Walters of Lindon Rowley’s Caribbean Inxs and Princess Adana.

I suppose I would be correct in concluding that Tony ‘Pan Jumbie’ Williams made his pans sing too.

All of this Jazz action in Trinidad and Tobago is making my heart sing – where my vocal chords would surely fail me.   

 

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Previous Posts: Pan Jazz in de Yard Reloaded, Tobago

                                     Jazz Artists on the Greens, Tobago

Source:                  Tobago Jazz Caravan

 

Review from outside the Shed: Still High from Jazz

 

Pan Jazz in de Yard Reloaded, Tobago, TnT, April 23 & 24 (updated with Robbie Greenidge bio)

 

update 3 on April 20, 2008 

  

Pan Jazz in de Yard reloads again for a second year in the fourth week of this month.  The event, which comes off on Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24 is a welcome antidote to the anti-Jazz venom of the Plymouth Jazz Festival. 

Pan Jazz in de Yard, organized by Pan Trinbago, a Trinidad and Tobago non-profit “dedicated to the promotion and development of the steelpan and pannists worldwide,” will showcase the country’s top exponents of pan Jazz along with a roster of international stars.

RBtt Redemption Sound Setters will be the hosts for the two-day activity at their name sake Pan Theatre in Montgomery, Tobago to place a spotlight squarely on Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument in a Jazz setting, according to Angela A. Fox in Pan Trinbago’s “Pan News.”

We here at the Collective will shine the Jazz light on the 14 acts who are set to take the stage on April 23 and 24.

The pan line-up will be headed by the “Paganini of the steelpan” Liam Teague, the brightest steelpan soloist in Jazz Rudy ‘Two Left’ Smith, the leading figure in Pan Jazz Annise Hadeed, Ken ‘Professor Philmore, Clyde ‘Lightning’ George & the Steel n’ Jazz Quartet and NFM Pantasy.

The Jazz playbill are Jazz exponents Mavis John, Clive Zanda, Marilyn Williams, Carlton Zanda, John Arnold & Kariwak Players, Caribbean inXS, Kalabash, Earl Brooks, Darren Sheppard and Tony ‘Pan Jumbie’ Williams.

The act by act line up for Pan Jazz in de Yard 2008 is as follows:

Wednesday 23 April

   
1. Len “Boogsie” Sharpe
2. RBTT Redemption Sound Setters

   
3. Robbie Greenidge
4. Tony “Pan Jumbie” Williams
5. Darren Sheppard
6. Annise Hadeed
7. Caribbean inXS
8. John Arnold & Kariwak Players

Thursday 24 April
1. RBTT Redemption Sound Setters
2. Ken “Professor” Philmore
3. Robbie “Two left” Smith
4. Marilyn Williams
5. Liam Teague
6. Clive Zander
7. Duvonne Stewart

 

   

Martinique Jazz Festival gets back on track – updated again with news on Matnik Brass Band and Bwakoré

updated on January 22, 2008

St. Lucian sax man Luther François, one of the headliners

After a short hiatus, the Martinique Jazz Festival got back on track in November/December 2007 with free in-house L’Atrium concerts and open-air events in other places and towns around the island.  The Jazz Festival, organised by CMAC (Centre Martiniquaise d’Action Culturelle) and L’Atrium, was a last quarter spectacle for Martinique J-Fans.

After a few hiccups, the Festival, which ran from November 22 through December 02, 2007 blazed a fresh trail with wonderful concerts, symposia and master-classes given by talented Caribbean Jazz Musicians and legendary International Jazz stars.  Among the international artistes who participated in this were Brazilian Tania Maria and the USA’s Archie Shepp Quartet and David Murray and the Gwo-Ka Masters that brings together French West Indian musicians who practice a drumming style called ‘Gwo-Ka’ that is immensely popular in FWI.

Some of the other international headliners were trumpeter Randy Brecker and violinist Regina Carter.

However, the Festival had a full roster of Caribbean Jazz acts that included Puerto Rican percussionist Jerry Gonzalez, St. Lucian saxophonist Luther Francois and Martinique’s own Ronald Tulle Trio, the Matnik Brass Band and Bwakoré.

Also performing at the Martinique Jazz Festival were Martinique’s Eric Ildeponse Quartet featuring Lucien Joly also from Martinique; the Harold Lopex-Nussa Trio, a Cuban outfit led by the pianist; the Christian Laviso Trio fronted by the Guadeloupean guitarist; and flautist Magic Malik who has a mixed heritage that can be traced partly to Guadeloupe, Martinique’s sister French Department.

The Luther François Quintet was a summit of the St. Lucian on tenor saxophone and flute, his younger brother Ricardo on drums, Barbadian pianist Rhea Drakes and Guadeloupeans Albert Eugene on bass and Charly Chomereau-Lamotte, percussions.

Ronald Tulle is recognised as a brilliant endowed with an agile touch in multiple genres.  His talent as an arranger has made him a musician sought after and appreciated. For his Sunday, December 02, 2007 concert, he debuted his new album with a fresh direction in Caribbean Trio Jazz that is accessible the world over. With him were David Chantalou on bass and Jose Zébina on drums.

The Matnik Brass Band is housed in the tradition of New Orleans brass bands.  Led by Jerry Spartacus, this band manages to coalesce the rhythms of the ti-bwa and brass instruments with refreshing arrangements of compositions that are at once satisfying to the francophone musical palate as they are a delight to lovers of the brass band genre who revel in smooth and spicy orchestrations.  MBB features, among others, the trumpet of Charles Duranty who, close to twenty years ago, was hosted in the Commonwealth of Dominica by the Positive Jazz society that this scribe co-directed with another J-Fan called Roosey Mills.  Duranty gave a number of concerts back then as the leader of Blue Sextet, reincarnated in 1990 as Bannzil.  The Matnik Brass Band appeared at the Martinique Jazz Festival as the opening act for the Luther Franςois Quintet on Sunday, November 25, 2007 in Sainte-Anne.

The saxophonist for Blue Sextet/Bannzil at the time was the diminutive Alwin Lowenski (seen here to the extreme right).  Nowadays, Lowenski is performing duties with Bwakoré.  Bwakoré is certainly one of the most successful experiments in the exposition of Martiniquan rhythms within the context of Modern Jazz.  The Quintet {Claude Césaire (p & vcl), Alwin Lowenski (sax & vcl), José Marie-Rose (bass & vcl), Max Télèphe (sax, fl & vcl) and José Zébina (dms & vcl)}, strives towards a single ideal and a cohesive sound on the one hand while allowing each player individual improvisational liberties.  Bwakoré performed at the Martinique Jazz Festival on Saturday, December 01, 2007.

Martinique pianist Ronald Tulle demonstrated an uncanny talent for music from a very young age.  His passion for music led him to pursue a degree in Musicology (Department of Musicology, Mont St Aignan) and also to win the first prize at the Regional Academy. With this academic background, he went on to perfect his art at the Marome School of Music.

Tulle has demonstrated his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, writer, composer, musical director, arranger and producer on the albums of the best French West Indies artists such as Malavoi singer Ralph Thamar and the brothers Alex (percussion) and Nicole Bernard (bass) who formed the core of the band, Luther Franςois and the late Martiniquan flautist Eugene Mona among many others. A perfectionist, Ronald Tulle shared the stage many times with these artistes.

Recognized by the industry for his professionalism, creativity and versatility, Ronald Tulle is a first call musician.

Apart from performing with his own trio, Ronald Tulle has also sat in the pianist chair of several groups including the West Indies Band Jazz led by saxophonist Luther Franςois and in the duo format with Mario Canonge.

The talent of Ronald Tulle was recognised in 2005 by Sacem Martinique which honoured him with the award of Album of Year.

(profile translated and adapted from ronaldtulle.com)

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Luther François: This St. Lucian Jazz musician has established himself with international credentials.  Dedicated to the growth and development of Caribbean Jazz especially the incorporation of Calypso and indigenous French Caribbean rhythms into the mainstream fundamentals of Jazz, François chose to remain in the Caribbean , Martinique for the most part, where he has advanced what we can proudly call ‘Caribbean Jazz’ of the highest quality.

He has led small ensembles as well as the West Indies Jazz Band,  a Jazz orchestra, which consisted of 17 musicians from 7 islands in the Caribbean.  He has written wide-ranging compositions for trio to big band.

He has played with Randy Weston, Melba Liston, Andy Narell, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and French West Indies Caribbean Jazz bands Fal Frett and Malavoi.

He studied with one of the original purveyors of Calypso Jazz, pianist Clive ALexander who is affectionately known as Clive Zanda.

François has performed extensively in the Caribbean region from Trinidad in the south to the Commonwealth of Dominica, the French West Indian islands including his home base Martinique, Barbados and of course his home country, St. Lucia, where he has appeared multiple times at St. Lucia Jazz.

(photo courtesy of and profile translated and adapted from bellemartinique)

Luther François also appears on
Peter Tosh	Bush Doctor (Bonus Tracks)	Sax (Soprano)
Kali	Francofaune	Sax (Soprano)
Eric Virgal	Pawol Ek Mizik	Saxophone
David Rudder	Beloved	Arranger
Acoustic Zouk	Espas Madinina	Arranger, Saxophone
Stand By	Decibels a Fleur de Peau	Saxophone
Claude Sommier	Pigment	Saxophone
Acoustic Zouk	Soiree	Saxophone
Pan Assembly	Midnight	Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Flute
Peter Tosh	Bush Doctor	Saxophone, Sax (Soprano)

Where’s the Jazz in Plymouth Jazz Festival? On the “Fringe” (New Comment, 19.01.08)

Related readings:  questions the value of Caribbean Jazz Festivals in a B.C. Pires article entitled “Island Jazz” dated March/April 2006

Trinidadian Fitzroy Coleman on 100 greatest jazz guitarists list

TOP GUN: Fitzroy Coleman on guitar among the top jazz guitarists of the day across Britain, Europe and the United States.

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Now, how about a Jazz Festival wherein the “Jazz is but a small part of a heady blend that includes all sorts of roots music—reggae, calypso, soca, funk and blues—a melodious stew that attracts music fans from all around the West Indies and (if the number of private jets parked on the tarmac at Crown Point Airport is any indication) an increasing number of high-fliers from overseas.”  This according to Forbes Traveler in reference to Tobago’s three-year old festival. 

I think it is great for Tobago that Forbes has picked the Plymouth Jazz Festival as one of the “World’s Coolest Music (my emphasis) Festivals.”  It is obviously a good gig for tourism on Plymouth Rock.  I mean, the Jazz Festival generated 74.6 million dollars during the three-day event in April for heaven’s sake.  How much better could that be?

But what value did the Tobago Festival add to the art of Jazz improvisation in Trinidad and Tobago, let alone the Caribbean? 

Nowadays, programmers are tacking on the word Jazz to festivals that have little in common with the noble genre.  But at least, they have the sense to throw in some top notch Jazz acts somewhere in the mix.  But not Plymouth Jazz.

So question: “where was the Jazz in Plymouth Jazz?”  Kes the Band?  Huh?  Projek 5?  How about Trinidad’s own Clive Zanda?  Or Mavis John?  Or Etienne Charles? – to at least bring back the spirit of Fitzroy Coleman who showed up on a 100 Greatest Jazz Guitarists of all time list.  Or any of a number of credible and notable Caribbean Jazz musicians – if only to raise their profiles in de backyard. 

Answer me that!