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

BARBADOS

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

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

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

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

JAZZ WITH LOTS OF SUGAR

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

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

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

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

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

Her bubbliest best

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

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

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

HAND IT TO THE BANDS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On the trail of Cuban pianist, Elio Villafranca

Cuba

Born in Pinar del Rio, western Cuba, ElioVillafranca studied percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. Since his arrival in the United States in late 1995, Villafranca has been based on the east coast where he embraced the possibilities that explorations in Classic and Latin Jazz have had to offer.

Inspired by Jazz and other musical genres emerging from the African diaspora, Villafranca creates an original musical and cultural fusion that is important for its innovation and spirituality.  He has also composed and arranged soundtracks for PBS documentaries and a variety of independent films.  Head-quartered in New York City, Villafranca is a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Over the years he has collaborated with such excellent musicians such as guitarist Pat Martino, Canadian saxophonist Jane Bunnett and trumpeter Terell Stafford.

Elio Villafranca was at the Jazzflirt Festival VI Edition, August 03 in Corte interna Palazzo Comunale, Formia, Italy where he teamed up with drummer John Davis and double bass player Steffano Senni.

(Google translated and adapted from Villafranca’s Facebook post entitled “Elio Villafranca in Concert”)

The Trio continued the Italian tour with an August 05 performance at the Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival – XVII in Rome. (Source: Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival – XVII)

Villafranca’s Trio tour took to the road, as it were, immediately after the pianist’s double date as accompanist to trumpeter David Weiss whose swing through Italy landed at Arena del Mare in Napoli on Friday, July 30 and Anfiteatro Tica, Nuoro, July 31.

…on tour with David Weiss: Weiss (trumpet/leader); Billy Hart (drums); Billy Harper (sax); Cecil McBee (bass); Elio Villafranca (piano)

Elio Villafranca’s First Person Account via Facebook:

 

Dear friends, this is an update of the first part of the tour.

Our first show was in a city called Minori.  To get to Minori, we had to drive through a very curvy road up a mountain and down, getting us to the Amalfi coast of Italy.  As you can imagine, to get to the town of Minori we had to go through the town of Maiori. …Bara bim, Bara bom….

The stage was right by the coast, so close that I could taste it in my mouth, the salt carried by the strong wind that insisted in taking away my music.  My first experience playing with Billy Harper and Billy Hart was ended by a very heavy shower storm, 30 minutes after we started playing.  On that show, we only got to play 3 songs; we finished the third one under water.

Our second show was at an Amphitheater called Ticca, in Cala Gonone, in Sardegna. This show was complete in many senses, musical, duration, and energy.  The band was on fire, Cecil McBee, David Weiss, Billy Hart and Billy Harper, and me on piano – especially Billy Hart in his last solo on “The Core” by Freddie Hubbard.  Just me…smerizing!!  Now I know why this band is called “The Cookers.”

I just like to publicly say THANKS to the people who made possible my tour in Italy: Gerardo Albanese, Cristina and her sister Viviana, Francesco Pinni, Nadia Bonardi, and Giulio Vannini. While we were there, they treated me and my trio as part of their family, and I truly hope to return the favor.  Thank you so much for inviting me to your home and festivals.

Then, it was on to Caramoor International Jazz Festival, August 08:

At 2:15pm, I (led) my quintet at the Caramoor Jazz Festival, featuring Lewis Nash on drums, one of my heroes in jazz, as well as some other incredible musicians such as Terell Stafford on trumpet, Greg Tardy on sax, and Gregg August on bass.  It is a very cool band!Playing at Caramoor Jazz Festival…was incredible.

From Caramoor, Elio’s quintet moved on to the Philadelphia Museum of Arts for a late afternoon show, Friday, August 13, 2010.

Haitian singer Pauline Jean’s musical escapades (updated with Photos by Eva Yaa Asantewaa, June 12)

Haiti

Every so often, an artist jumps out at you and there is no logical reason why.  It just is.  Pauline Jean, a New York Jazz singer, born of Haitian parents is one such artist.

Jean is a Berklee alum who, like practically every other artist born of the West Indies, has been willed into invoking the ancestral rhythms and patois as an emotional cushion.  In Jean’s case, it is traditional Haitian music, sung either in English or the Haitian patois called kweyòl, that informs the Jazz standards and the Blues that make up her repertoire of original compositions and covers.

Jean can do whatever she pleases with the voice that was cultivated by Berklee’s Vocal programme.  However, she chose to channel the spirit of Nina Simone on her six-day UK tour, which ended on Sunday, March 07, 2010.

The “Remembering Nina” tour was supported by the Alex Webb Trio of Webb on piano with either of three configurations, Gary Crosby on bass and Rod Youngs on drums; Steve Thompson and Alex Eberhard; or Fulvio Buccafusco and Andy Chapman.

The artist’s debut CD, a thirteen track anthem entitled “A Musical Offering” (Sekonsa Jazz Records), dropped during the tour.

Pauline Jean could have been found on any one of the following dates:

March 15, 2010

at il Casale Cucina Italiana and Bar, 50 Leonard Street, Belmont, MA 02109 for Heritage & Heart for Haiti Benefit concert featuring Pauline Jean and Her Sisters in Jazz.

March 19, 2010

for the 1st Annual Harlem Arts International Arts Festival presented by the Harlem Arts Alliance under the banner, “Harlem: Our Shared Global Culture”, at the Hip Hop Culture Center in Harlem 2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd, 2nd Floor of the Magic Johnson Theater, New York NY 10027 and featuring the Pauline Jean Trio presenting “Haitian Jazz” with Pauline Jean (vocals), Elio Villafranca (keys) and Mimi Jones (bass) and Bodoma Garifuna of Honduras among others.

April 18, 2010

WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2010 at Barnes & Noble 1972 Broadway & W. 66th  St. NYC, featuring Kate Cosco, Pauline Jean, Cynthia Holiday, Mimi Jones.

April 23, 2010

Performing at the HABNET Conference at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, New York.

May 1, 2010

Live performance by Pauline Jean Quintet at the National Association of University Women Flushing-North Shore Branch Scholarship Luncheon, The New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel, 102-05 Ditmars Boulevard, East Elmhurst, NY 11369.

May 12, 2010

for an evening of JAZZ! SWING! BLUES! HAITIAN FOLK SONGS! AFRICAN RHYTHMS and more at Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Park Avenue (East 38th Street), New York, New York 10016 with a live performance by the Pauline Jean Quartet featuring Pauline Jean (vocals), Miki Hayama (piano), Corcoran Holt (bass) and Shirazette Tinnin (drums and cajon).

Pauline Jean‘s latest musical escapade was as a guest at a free performance given by Emeline Michel at Rubenstein Atrium with Buyu Ambroise on Thursday, May 20, 8:30 p.m.

Emeline Michel is the reigning queen of Haitian song, beloved for combining traditional rhythms with social, political, and inspirational content.  A captivating performer, she is a member of a new generation of Haitian musicians who emphasize complex themes, conscious lyrics, and a broad palette of musical styles, including the native Haitian compas, twoubadou and rara along with jazz, rock, bossa nova and samba.  The New York Times called her a “dancing ambassador with a voice serene and warm like a breeze.” (Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Infinitebody.blogspot.com)

Ambroise, Michel and Jean at Lincoln Center (photo credit: Teq Minsky)

Related story: Jazz Vocalist Pauline Jean

Barbados Jazz Festival 2010 – updated with ejazznews reviews of Etienne Charles, Elio Villafranca, Bwakoré and Arturo Tappin

Barbados

Originally published on January 11, 2010

How much fun was it at the Barbados Jazz Festival 2010?  That is for us to ask and for you to answer. What is for sure is that you had six days in all, from January 11-17, to answer that question for yourselves.

Anyway, in keeping with the new Jazz Festival formula we have come to accept in the Caribbean, we expected a helping of anything but “true” Jazz mixed in with the good stuff. But unlike the most recent past, the Jazz in the festival’s schedule was not overpowered by soul, R&B or pop.

With that, you did not mind checking out the soul of Smokey Robinson on January 13 because you were sucked up the “Folklore” of Trinidadian upstart Etienne Charles and saxophonist Joe Lovano on one night, January 11 – no fluff. This double-bill occurred at Sunbury Plantation House, St. Philip.

Etienne Charles: “had a blast…playing the Barbados jazz fest…thanks to all who made it a great night.”

NATIONnews.com: “MUSIC LOVERS were introduced to jazz, Caribbean style, when Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles opened the 17th annual Barbados Jazz Festival at Sunbury last Monday night.

The Juilliard-trained trumpeter, supported by pianist Kris Bowers, drummer Joe Saylor and bassist Ben Williams, took the audience through a musical narrative of Trinidadian folklore.

Charles‘ treatment of the horn was forceful at times, yet sensitive.”

Bill King, ejazznews.com:

Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles opened the 17th annual Barbados Jazz Festival…

Charles and his explosive unit featuring pianist Kris Bowers, drummer Joe Saylor and bassist Ben Williams immersed the audience in folkloric remembrance – the music – family ties – atmosphere connected to his youth in Trinidad.  Julliard trained Charles has taken a chapter from the Wynton Marsalis script placing narration at the forefront of musical exposition. Charles is stylistically entrenched in the langauge of youth – that is – a swirling mix of world rhythms – staggered bass lines and (free-flowing) improvisation…

Much of the evening was given to music drawn from Charles latest – Folklore, recorded in Brooklyn, New York.

Similarly, you would have had no trouble revisiting the heyday of R&B as personified by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds on January 17 since you were already catapulted into the thick of the Jazz at the Crane Resort & Residences in St. Philip where, on Thursday, January 14, Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca presented a Dinner Set of Cuban Classics.

jazzreview.com review by Cheryl Hughey: “Watching Elio Villafranca last night, January 14, 2010, at the Barbados Jazz Festival was a sumptuous buffet of Cuban and jazz flavors. The interplay between Villafranca and band members like Jane Bunnett (flute and sax) painted a colorful contrast to the festival. The rhythmic variations of the songs created an interesting flow that allowed the band to stretch their artistic legs a bit. Having two percussionists added layers of sonic vibrations to the arrangements.

Villafranca left the piano to sing during one song in his native language. However, it was his nimble ability to fly across the keys that was perhaps the most mesmerizing display of the evening. The energy and joy that came from the piano spoke volumes for the artist. During the concert, Villafranca encouraged the audience to get up and dance. His music was indeed meant to be experienced in all realms of the senses. While the conservative crowd was a bit shy, the verbal responses and applause from some members of the press box spoke volumes.”

Bill King, ejazznews.com:

A night at The Crane is another setting that gives the jazz festival an edge over most other events. The lavish setting has an appeal of its own.  It’s a dressy affair complete with (five-star) dining and luxury trappings.  This night was programmed as a jazz take on classic Cuban music.  The band fronted by rising star – pianist Elio Villafrana with Canadian wind specialist Jane Bunnett on hand played to the delicate side of the popular music…

While it was Lalah Hathaway’s job on January 15 to carry you to the Ilaro Court for a foray along the fringes of the Jazz, it was on Saturday, January 16 at Farley Hill National Park, St. Peter that you were pulled back in again via Bwakoré from the French West Indies and Tizer, the Contemporary Jazz outfit, which although named for pianist Lao Tizer, had Chieli Minucci and Karen Briggs sharing equal billing.

Bwakoré comprises of five well-known and recognised musicians from Martinique, Claude Césaire, Alwin Lowenski, José Marie-Rose, Max Télèphe and José Zébina. This band, although anchored in traditional Martinique rhythms celebrated through the works of some of Martinique’s legendary composers, Eugene Mona and Pierre Louiss, is nevertheless open to diverse musical influences, not the least of which is modern music in general and Jazz particularly.

NATIONNEWS.com: “…the audience took a little time to warm up to Martiniquan band Bwakoré…”

Lowenski, José Zébina, Max Telephus, Claude Césaire, José Marie-Rose

mongoosechronicles.com review by Mar: “BwaKoré, the first band to take the stage, impressed me considerably, and I could barely understand a word they were singing…

BwaKore’s music is beautifully multi-layered and delightfully hard to describe…The vocals of lead singer Max Télèphe are truly something to experience.  I have now purposed to listen to all their music, and to see BwaKoré live at least once more in my lifetime.

If, as the Nation’s (Nation News, Barbados) review suggests, the audience was a bit apathetic to this band, it could…have had something to do with the language, although quite honestly, their sound is so fresh and complete, understanding the lyrics is not essential to its enjoyment.  It could also have had something to do with the fact that there was no prep for the featured acts.  In the early days of the jazz festival, the producers took great pains to showcase young, local talent as openers for the headliners.  It gave young talent a chance to perform before a large crowd and us a chance to get acquainted with our musicians, but it also gave the foreign acts a bit of a buffer – a set of ambassadors, if you like – who would introduce them and give them credibility with an audience who might be less than receptive.  Now, acts are made to start cold, with just a standard, uninspired emcee’s intro to launch them.  Throw in the language barrier, and it’s a daunting task.  But be all that as it may, there was nothing that BwaKoré could have done better.”

The full Mar review here..

Bill King, ejazznews.com:

Bwakoré emerged as one of the highlights of the festival leading the day Saturday at Farley Hill National Park.  The band from the island Martinique played music that kept their cultural identity intact as they blended the improvisational spirit of jazz and textural trimmings of world music with indigenous (mazurka), Creole waltz and salsa beats.

The ensemble consists of Claude Césaire, Alwin Lowenski, José Marie-Rose, Max Telephus (and) Zébina José. The spoken language is rooted in the Creole vernacular.  Throughout the ninety minute set Bwakoré never felt the compulsion to indulge the crowd with sing a longs or silly banter – just straightforward exceptional music rooted in French/World music culture.

What a treat seeing this many known accomplished players in one band.  Who said fusion was a dinosaur decimated from the bruising strokes of the now extinct smooth jazz invasion?

Finally, on the finalé, Sunday, January 17, home boy Arturo Tappin, the guy who in 2009 may well have racked up the most frequent flyer miles among all the Caribbean Jazz artists who did the rounds of concerts in the Caribbean, licked the reeds to kick up the action at Farley Hill from 02:30 pm. Tappin’s home girl, Marisa Lindsay, polished her pipes as the voice of the sax lion, before they made way for Warren Hill and then Babyface who two days earlier presided over an indoor British Virgin Islands concert called “A Night of Love.”

Cheryl Hughey: “During the final performance of the Barbados Jazz Festival on January 17 at Farley Hill National Park, music fans were once again treated to world class Barbadian and international talent.  Appearances included Warren Hill, Babyface, Arturo Tappin (with a special appearance by Toni Norville), Marisa Lindsay and Alex M.

Tappin, a Barbadian contemporary jazz saxophonist, expertly delivered the goods to his home crowd.  Toward the end of the concert, he stepped into the massive audience and played his way back up to the stage.

Lindsay added a womanly sense of star power to the evening in an exquisite dress andpresentation that reminded me of the confidence and fashion sense of Tina Turner.  The Barbadian vocalist commanded your attention before she even sang a note, which was a component that Lalah Hathaway chose not utilize earlier in the week.

This level of professionalism is also reflected in the respect the Barbadian artists have for one another. During the press interview, Norville spoke a bit about the closeness of the Barbadian music community.  “I love Arturo,” she said.  She considers him both a fantastic musician and friend.  In turn, a glowing Gilbert Rowe (Festival Producer), couldn’t say enough good things about Norville and felt the time for Barbadian music had arrived.”

The full Hughey review here…

Bill King, ejazznews.com:

Saxophonist Arturo Tappin knows this audience. The native Bajan has played the festival many times the past seventeen years. Tappin also knows what to play and what not to play keeping the audience satisfied.  He understands the jazz that pushes him to excel chasing the Coltrane, Brecker, or Parker legacy is not the one that will carry this crowd – especially after church services on Sunday.  It’s dance and hit a groove time and please – no music for the head…

On this day Tappin laid his elongated set out as a review featuring singers Toni Norville and Marisa Lindsay.

Lindsay – dressed in stylistic white dress surpassed her past efforts singing music more reflective of her background.  It was the classic soul material that saw her reach for notes just beyond most singers range and hit them with authority.

Norville – still feeling the afterglow from her Tuesday night powerhouse exhibition sang with much the same energy but not with the same focus on pitch.  There were passages in need of fine tuning.

The pairing of the two singers worked especially well as Tappin rolled the proceedings up with a heartfelt tribute –‘You Don’t Know Me Now’ to soul singer supreme Teddy Pendergrass who passed only days before.

How much fun was it?  You tell us.

Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince 2010 fades to black

Haiti

This is the plan: Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca lands in Haiti this weekend for Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince 2010.  Villafranca has been hired by Canadian saxophonist/flautist Jane Bunnett for her January 23 – 25 FIJPaP concerts.  Bunnett then leaves Haiti, but Villafranca stays on at the behest of Haitian singer Pauline Jean.

Jane Bunnett

In such a strong genre as Cuban piano, (and I’ve been lucky to perform and record with some of the greats … Frank Emilio, Hilario Durán, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Chucho Valdés) Elio is the next great voice to check out!  His compositions and his playing are extensions of each other (a little like Monk).  He’s a thinking man’s Cuban jazz pianist and continually inspires and surprises me.  His surprises often come where the lines of composition and performance are blurred into one, that is, when spontaneous improvisations sound like full pre-meditated compositions. (eliovillafranca.net)

Pauline Jean is booked for five consecutive nights including one at the Institut Francais d’Haiti at Port- au- Prince (January 27) and a second at Parc Historique de la Cannes à Sucre in Tabare (January 30).  The venues for the other dates on January 26, 28 and 29 are not given at last check.  Jean’s other band members for Festival International de Jazz are named.  They are Mimi Jones (bass), drummer Shirazette Tinnin – whom I had the pleasure of meeting in May at Jazz on the Hill – and Markus Schwartz (percussion).

The Berklee trained Jean is a New Yorker, born of Haitian parents.  It is that background that has fed her arrangements of Jazz and Blues with the traditional Afro-Haitian vibe that becomes her.  The character she brings to the genre has in turn taken her to attractive opposites in the 2nd Annual Women in Jazz Festival and the Haitian Jazz Festival as well as Reggae Vibes in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Her début CD, A Musical Offering (Sekonsa Record), is out since June.  She describes this recording, backed up as she is by bassist Corcoran Holt, whom we last sampled on Luther Franςois‘ Castries Underground and Jean Caze, a fixture on the Haitian Jazz scene, among others  as “swingin’,  bluesy and soulful.” (Pauline Jean on MySpace)

Can you tell?

Jazz Vocalist Pauline Jean performing “Beautiful Friendship” at her CD Release Concert on June 21, 2009 at Metropolitan Room (NYC)

Riyel, Vanessa & Alex Jacquemin with George Mel as a special invited guest were the other invited Haitian artistes from the United States.  Joining them would have been Dizwikara de Pierre Rigaud Chery and Natif Jazz Quartet de Claude Carré.

That was the plan.

This weekend was supposed to be a time to play songs of joy and laughter…something like this…

Instead it is a time of wailing, sorrow and tears…something like this…

Hmmm…

The world now revolves around Haiti as peoples from the four corners of the globe mobilize in response to the tremendous human suffering wreaked upon it by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake of January 12, 2010.

Central to this outpouring of support is music.  Artists from across all genres have already begun to lend their talents and star power to draw in support, in cash and in kind, for our brothers and sisters who occupy one-third of the island of Hispaniola that they share with the Dominican Republic.

Not to be left out of the loop, Jazz artists are no more swinging their axes, blowing their horns, wielding their sticks, beating their drum heads and excercising their pipes just because, but rather for the cause.

For instance, Canadian flautist Jane Bunnett, who was due to perform at the International Festival de Jazz de Port-au-Prince this month, has a cause of her own to fulfill on January 28, 2010.   She has organized a fundraiser for that day at Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas St. W, Toronto.  More than that, Bunnett has pledged to do a whole series of such fundraisers for the people of Haiti.

Now we go across the waters from Port-au-Prince to Jamaica for an example of Haitians helping Haitians.  Singer, songwriter and producer JeanPaul Solomonoff, born to a Haitian mother and a Russian Polish Jewish father, will perform with Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander at the 2010 Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival, Jan. 24th-29th.  All proceeds are destined for the Clinton/Bush Haiti Fund. (As an added note, Claude Wilson of JamaicaMusic OFFBEAT has revealed that “…Etienne Charles joins Monty Alexander on main stage Thursday, January 28 at the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival at the Greenfield Stadium just outside Montego Bay.”

More here…

Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival 2009, Straight No Chaser is curtains (update 3)

Anguilla

makeover 3 on November 16  2009

Anguilla’s Tranquility Jazz Festival celebrates birthday number seven with four days of top-notch Jazz and other improvisations at the usual venues, CuisinArt Resort and Spa for the main course and Johnno’s in Sandy Ground for dessert.

For those persons searching for a real, unadulterated Jazz Festival in the Caribbean region, the Anguilla Tourist Board and BET Event Productions extend an invite to revel on the British Dependent Territory – as this Woodshed Warrior has done in the past – from November 12-15, 2009.

Going by that overwhelmingly wonderful experience of mine and from all other reports, this year’s patrons will be wowed by a world-class roster of the highest pedigree, supported by a remarkable line up of under-cards.

At the top of the international food chain are Rachelle Ferrell, another Jazz singer who has also found some success in the pop arena.  Ferrell performed on opening night, Thursday, November 12; the grayed pianist Ahmad Jamal whose rolling fingers on the grand could not be more colourful.  Jamal did Tranquility Jazz on Friday, November 13.

Diane Reeves made her appearance Saturday night above Cuban born pianist Elio Villafranca.

Grammy award-winning Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves set the record straight with consecutive Grammy awards in the Best Jazz Vocal Performance category for three recordings (The Moment – Live in Concert  (2000), The Calling (2001), A Little Moonlight (2003).  She then made that four Grammys in a row in 2006, but this time it was for the soundtrack album to the film Good Night, Good Luck (Concord), which was voted the best Jazz vocal album.  A regular touring partner is the Reuben Rogers, born in the USVI of Anguillian parentage.

Pianist Villafranca is yet another of a long, long line of Cuban musicians whose explorations into their uniquely rich cultural and spiritual traditions – with those firm umbilical ties to ancestral roots lodged on the African continent – have caught the imagination of the serious listener bar none.  He alone is worth the flight or sail to the island.

Enough could not be said of one opening act, a local Anguillian Jazz artiste who would have routed the consciousness of even the most cynical and passive of Jazz naysayers who might have headed to the Cuisinart on the second night of the Festival (Friday, November 13) for anything but the Jazz.

Jaine Rogers’ mid-range vocals, crisp and crackly like walking on twigs,  evoke emotions of travails and yearning in the attentive that belie her age and her recent appearance on the landscape as a bona fide recording artist.

She must surely have gotten “Under Your Skin” at Cuisinart.  Jaine Rogers was accompanied by Christian Amour (pno), Jocelyn Ménard (sax), Alex Bernard (cb) and Dominique Bougrainville (dms).  Rogers opened for Ahmad Jamal.

The jury is out on the other Caribbean Jazz acts, British Dependency of Ruel Richardson, Darius James and Jonathan Warrington and New York based In The Light with Rona Allen, born of the British Virgin Islands.

This Scribe has not crossed paths with British Dependency and will not judge In The Light by their showing at Jazz on the Hill, Virgin Gorda (May 2009) where an under-par sound engineer crashed their party.

British Dependency warmed up the J-Fans on Saturday for Villafranca and Reeves and then joined forces with In The Light for the wind-down beach party at Johnno’s Sunday.

But as for Tranquility Jazz Festival, Straight No Chaser, the jury verdict is unanimous, “Guilty” for a darn great party.

Sources: anguillajazz.org, sflcn.com

BVI Jazz Showcase: Gone to Cuba by ear with Elio Villafranca Trio

by Derry Etkins

There is a special kind of excitement that I feel whenever I hear of a concert by a Cuban artiste.  Why?  Because Cuba has earned herself the reputation of having smelted an entire Culture of her own.  Both her music and dance are unique to her, and I know that Cuban artistes are always generous when sharing that uniqueness with their audiences.  Elio Villafranca did not disappoint in this respect.

The Elio Villafranca Trio served up lavish helpings of Musica Cubana on Friday, March 6, 2009, “day eight” in the Fourteenth Performing Arts Series at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.

This trio features Elio Esteban Villafranca-West on piano, Angel Charles Flores on (electrified acoustic) Bass and, John Grady Davis on drums.

Elio made his intentions very clear with the appetiser of the evening.  He surprised me when, instead of greeting us as he approached the mic(rophone), “mystery percussion instrument” in hand, he broke into a Santeria chant, accompanying himself on this “instrument”.  This was going to be a truly cultural evening.

This first piece, Oddua Suite, placed me smack in the middle of the Santeria experience; the chanting, the seven-four time signature, the improvised bass line, the “malleted” drum fills, “snare off” to create the illusion of hand drums, together they painted the picture of a smoke filled Santeria “service”, so to speak.

Next we were treated to another original, Three Plus One, from his new album, The Source In Between.

The third piece showcased another facet to his compositional expertise.  It was a “mini” Ballet, which he had written as a sound track to a documentary, some years ago.

Elio followed that up with “Dear Monk“, a tribute to ground breaking Jazz pianist/composer Tholonious Monk, whom he says was his main influence as a Jazz pianist.  However, even though this was a “swing” piece, there was still the definite syncopatory Afro-Cuban flavour underpinning the melody.

The first set was rounded out with another tribute, this time, to Dominican (Republican) Michel Camilo.  Alamela as it was called, did not have quite as much of the virtuoso fireworks one would associate with Michel Camilo, however, it was quite enjoyable.

A modern variation of the traditional Cuban guataca or hoe blade

I succumbed to curiosity during the intermission and headed for the stage to investigate the “mystery instrument” of the “Oddua Suite” fame.  It was a “hoe blade”!  The Lukumi people of Nigeria, some of the early practitioners of Santeria, are described as “ …. a sedentary hoe farming group ….“.  This discovery cemented my belief that Santero (high priest) or not, Elio is aware of, and sensitive to, his heritage.

As if to reassure me, our artiste for the evening launched his second set with yet another or his originals, “Tonada en Re Menor“.  Inspired by the little known, almost ignored folk music of the countryside, this Ternary Form piece served up yet another facet of the Cuban sound-scape.  The name “unwittingly” took us into a classroom.  The “Re Menor” in the name is testimony to the “fixed Doh” system of teaching ear training in Cuba.

I was “blown away” after the concert when Elio told me that piece number seven was his interpretation of the Lennon/McCartney hit, “Fool On The Hill“!  PARDON ME! The “re-harms” and time signature had lost me on that one.

For dessert, we were treated to the title track from the CD “The Source In Between“.  Here again, Elio drew unashamedly from his Afro-Cuban heritage and on his obviously considerable “Cubano-Classical” training (yes, they do have their own “Classical” tradition in addition to the Euro-Classical stuff).

Throughout the evening, drummer John Davis distinguished himself as being more than a “time keeper”, his playing ranging from sensitive support for the solos from both piano and bass, to the choice of mallet over stick in some pieces, to his fiery yet tastefully dazzling solos.  There was the feeling expressed that he “stole the show” that evening.

Where was Angel Charles Flores in all this?  By no stretch of the imagination is he a slouch either.  His tasteful choice of “passing notes” under the piano solos delicately implied “extensions” to the chords played; and when it was time for him to “blow“, his fluidity on his instrument coupled with his knowledge of harmony reminded us that the Bass is also a melody instrument.  He did seem to be partial to descending fourths, as this device could be heard as seasoning to some of his solos.

With Elio Villafranca‘s coming from such a richly diverse cultural background, it is no wonder that the experience left me thoroughly “edutained” at the end of the evening.  I felt like I had gone to Cuba “by ear”.

Derry Etkins is a Musician/Educator and Woodshed Scribe whose career spans three decades. He has been a Radio Presenter and Music Commentator in Guyana and Barbados. Currently, he teaches music at a High School in the British Virgin Islands.

Other Review: Elio Villafranca Trio, a pleasure to behold

Previous Derrkins Post

ELIO VILLAFRANCA TRIO, a pleasure to behold

Virgin Islands (Br.)

performed on Friday, March 06, 2009,

H. Lavity Stout Community College

Paraquita Bay, Tortola

I was not sure whether the Elio Villafranca Trio was doing some kind of sound check when Villafranca himself stood up in front of his grand piano with what looked like a metal plate and a thin, steel rod in hand.

It turned out that Villafranca was about to use his unique instrument to bang out a percussive rhythm (imagine the sound that metal on metal makes) as an intro to a vocal chorus, delivered in a language that was anything but English.  (I plead guilty for being ignorant about things like that and not having the presence of mind or the obstinacy to ask the question of the leader while he was sharing cocktails with his band mates after the show.)

Then I realised that Villafranca‘s cohorts, Angel Charles Flores (bass) and John Grady Davis (drums) knew what the musical device was for they joined in the chant with their instruments without hesitation. But the result could still be characterized as tentative, or so it seemed to me. Of course, it was not as I would soon figure out; the chant was actually the first part of an entirely contrived three-part collage, which was marked by a shift to a medium tempo trot and then a full speed ahead drive to complete the circle on a vocal denouement.

Elio Villafranca Trio

This song, Oddua Suite, was an original, written for a Santeria Saint called Oddua, one of a number of spirits to whom homage is paid at the start of all things.

In Yoruba theology, Oddua is an Orisha, a mass of spiritual power that has no form or shape that governs the mysteries and secrets of death.  As such Oddua is the creator and administrator of justice and presides over solitude.  It is said that Oddua was side by side with God during the Creation.  For Villafranca, the Oddua Suite was a libation to see off his first ever visit to the H. Lavity Stoutt Auditorium at Paraquita Bay, British Virgin Islands.

Now remember, the trio of bass, drums and piano had locked horns, exemplified by the guttural sounds emanating from the perpetually open-mouthed Angel Flores on his slim-bodied upright and an intense expression of self-absorption by drummer John Davis.

Angel Flores

Both Flores and Davis would upstage their leader on the next rendition, drawing all of the energy from Three Plus One (track number 4 on Villafranca‘s recording “The Source in Between” was recorded in 2006 and dropped in 2007) with spirited and diverse trading between them and Villafranca.

Following was a Classical offering of a late-eighteenth century Cuban work, done in the style of the ‘contradanza.’ The contradanza is a derivative of the French ‘contredance,’ which was brought to Cuba by French colonists fleeing the Haitian Revolution towards the end of the eighteenth century.  The contradanza dominated the Cuban musical landscape in the first half of the nineteenth century at which time all Cuban composers indulged in composing in that vein for the concert and dance halls alike.

Hence in the space of half an hour and four compositions, one had heard a hint of Calypso (you had to be really clued in to pick that up), a march, and the ever-present historical influence of the Classics on American Jazz and thereafter various hyphenations of the root genre.

Given the character of this musical journey, it was probably fitting for Elio to call Dear Monk, if only because Monk’s music sounds so composed as Classical tends to be, but yet hardly ever is. You understand, a Jazz composition can either tell a multi-themed story or could simply be head-solo(s)-coda. Not Monk! And certainly not Elio Villafranca.

That though is one of the quirks of Jazz that is not easily understood, that compositions are not about people hitting things on stage in arbitrary fashion. To the contrary, it is of necessity partly prescribed by the composer then mapped out and invented on delivery.

To close the first set, Villafranca paid tribute to another of his heroes, Michel Camilo, with a song that he described as being on the “Cuban side,” of the landscape, I suppose distinguishing between Latin-Jazz originating from Cuba from that of the Dominica Republic.

John Grady Davis

The Elio Villafranca Trio was billed as Latin-Jazz.  Well, until Alamela, the Latin in the Jazz was buried in the subtleties.  Alamela laid bare the rawness of it all with Davis at once subverting then emphasizing the sonorities of the idiom to marvellous effect.

Villafranca told Downbeat magazine in September 2008 how he achieves this device:

“The minute you say “Latin Jazz” to someone they think of conga or timbales, because Latin percussion is usually what defines Latin Jazz in this country. But coming from Cuba, I never really needed that kind of association to write music that comes from a Latin background.  I write in a way that could feel Latin or could feel straightahead.”

Villafranca got the second set of the evening off with an original that he explained is from the “other side” of Cuban music.  The Tonada campesinas is performed mainly in the Cuban countryside and is not often referenced by musicians wanting to cover Cuban music.  In Tonada en re menor is Villafranca‘s self-proclaimed dedication to lifting the campesinas out of international obscurity.

I am always glued to the Jazz drummer, this instrument being my favourite.  In the case of Davis, one had no choice but to latch unto him because of his penchant for mining the plethora of sounds and patterns afforded him by a drum kit.  But my new after-party friend, Mr. Smith, would agree with me that Davis was not obstinate in his attack and did not get in the way of the melody of Paul McCartney’s Fool on the Hill.

That vibe was carried into the final piece of the evening.  The shifting time signatures were arranged across the three instruments, from a piano soliloquy at the head to a gait in the middle and a playful matching of wits by the pianist and the drummer towards the end – the bassist caught literally in the blistering crossfire of that call and response and laying out through the fire.

One thing I observed is that the bassist and drummer were tied to their sheet music for much of the concert.  However, I got the impression that they used the last song to let themselves loose from the script.  Sitting as close to the stage as I did,  I saw the left hand signals of the leader, shielded as they were from most of the auditorium, suggesting to his backers when to swing and when to break to the bridge.

One could also tell when the groove was too good to go.  The leader would raise his volume by pumping the keys to cue in the others to stretch the rolling figures and maintain the flow.

And the audience soaked it all up.  The applause was rapturous.  They demanded an encore and got one.

You can have YOUR encore at the BassLine in New York on April 05 with the Elio  Villafranca Quintet. Drop by there or at any number of other dates already booked find out for yourself why I gush about Elio Villafranca so.  If not take a sample of his music.

Other Review: BVI Jazz Showcase: Gone to Cuba by ear with Elio Villafranca

Cuban Pianist/Composer in BVI Jazz Showcase, Friday, March 06, 2009

Virgin Islands (Br.)

by Daniel Singh

Cuban-born Pianist and composer, Elio Villafranca, will be featured in a trio performance at the next Jazz Showcase at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on Friday 6 March.  Villafranca’s musical excellence was first widely recognized in 2003 by the Jazz Times Magazine, which selected his debut album, “Incantations,” as one of the top 50 best jazz albums of the year.   His latest album, “The Source In Between,” was selected by the Latin Jazz Corner as “Album of the Week.”

BVI Jazz Showcase, Elio Villafranca, March 06, 2009

As a quartet, Villafranca‘s group features an array of accomplished musicians, including Pat Martino, Jane Bunnett, Terell Stafford and Eric Alexander, with whom he recorded his latest album.  The quartet has performed at a number of Jazz clubs and has toured in the United States and internationally.

Villafranca has been featured at the Lincoln Centre in New York City and has also gained the recognition of Latin and Jazz music elite as a sideman.

Born in the Pinar del Río province of Western Cuba, he was classically trained in percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana.  Since his arrival in the U.S., he has been involved in East and West Coast Jazz and Latin Jazz scenes.

Inspired by Jazz and other musical genres from the African Diaspora, Villafranca creates unique cultural and musical fusions with spirited, ground breaking innovations.  He has composed and arranged original soundtracks for PBS documentaries and a variety of independent films, and is currently resident professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Villafranca currently resides in New York City and is represented by Ceiba Tree Music.  At the HLSCC concert, he will be accompanied by Angel Charles Flores, on bass, and John Grady Davis, on drums.

Subsequent Reviews: Elio Villafranca Trio, a pleasure to behold, BVI Jazz Showcase: Gone to Cuba by ear with Elio Villafranca

Omar Sosa, John Santos, Elio Villafranca and Yosvany Terry at La Pena, California

 

PR         Cuba

updated on June 18, 2008

 

La Pena Cultural Center on Shattuck Avenue, Berkley, California was the site of a live demo/lecture by long time collaborators Omar Sosa and John Santos on June 06, 2008. Sosa (piano) and Santos (percussion) reunited for this event as part of Santos’ residency with the San Francisco International Arts Festival.

 

They last toured as a duo earlier this decade in the US, Europe and the Caribbean.  One of their performance highlights, by Santos’ admission, was a Jazz Showcase on Tortola, British Virgin Islands in 1999.       

 

Omar Sosa was born and raised in Camagey, Cuba.  John Santos, though born in San Fran, California, was raised in the Puerto Rican – and Cape Verdean -musical traditions of his family.

 Santos, Sosa

 

Sosa’s residency at the SFIAF ended on Sunday, June 8 with a performance at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.

 

John Santos moves on to do an evening of Afro-Caribbean Jazz at the same venue with his own quartet.  That takes place on June 29 with another Cuban, pianist Elio Villafranca.

 Villafranca

I take Paquito D’Rivera’s word that “Elio Villafranca is amongst the best representatives of the new generation of Cuban pianists and composers.”  

Villafranca was not initially attracted to the piano though.  In fact, he was classically trained in folkloric percussion and Afro-Cuban drumming.  Within a few years, he had switched to the keys and is now being compared to Chucho Valdez and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, two of the foremost flag wavers for Cuban piano.  Yet, Villafranca has found his own voice, a boon for any young artist hoping to break through.

He has thus attracted the attention of the Latin and Jazz elite for whom he has performed in the role of sideman.  Talk about Horatio ‘El Negro’ Fernandez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Miguel Zenon, Andy Gonzalez, Ray Vega, Johnny Pacheco and the honorary Cuban (my moniker) Jane Bunnett.

As the leader of his own Elio Villafranca Quartet, he has been accompanied by Bunnet and compatriot Dafnis Prieto.

Currently, he is a resident professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA.

The Elio Villafranca/John Santos Quartet will present original compositions and standards on Sunday, June 29, 2008 at La Pena.

Then in mid-July, Santos will lend his services to another Cuban, this time Yosvany Terry, who will showcase his concept of Afro-Cuban Jazz with his Afro-Caribbean Legacy band at La Pena on July 18 and the Yerba Buena Festival Gardens on July 19.  Three days later, on July 22, Terry will give a Lecture-Demonstration of Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythms and how they fuse the melody, harmony and rhythms of the Arará tradition for instance to Jazz music.

Terry’s events are part of Yedégbé – The Afro-Caribbean Legacy project, which is being held in association with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Yosvany Terry and the Afro-Caribbean Legacy is: 

Terry: saxes and chekere

Pedro Martinez (lead vocal and percussion)

Osmany Paredes (piano)

Ramon “Sandy” Perez (percussion)

Felix “Pupi” Insua (dance)

Roman Diaz (percussion)

Yunior Terry (bass)

and guests: Jesus Diaz, John Santos and Michael Spiro

 

Sources: Rare Musical Duo!

                  eliovillafranca.net

                  LaPena