Jazz ‘n’ Creole, Dominica style

DOMINICA

The Jazz scene in Dominica is picking up again after being in the doldrums for years. Over the past twenty years, measured attempts were made to return the genre to the live stage with the occasional tour and a most valiant move at a Jazz club, which held on for a bit. Through it all, a small core of do-or-die musicians with a penchant for the art form, kept the faith against the odds and with little recompense.

Inspired by the World Creole Music Festival, a pre-festival event has received generous sponsorship from a major business house in Dominica to the benefit of the music industry in general and of course the fledgling Jazz fraternity on the island.

Then in the past couple of years, a number of indoor and open-air events took place in the Dominica capital, Roseau and at the Cabrits National Park situated to the northern-western end of the town of Portsmouth. Speaking of the Cabrits, the site of an old English garrison called Fort Shirley overlooking the magnificent Portsmouth harbour, it was host to Creole ‘n’ All That Jazz, featuring Trio Laviso out of the French isles, in May 2010.

Creole ‘n’ All That Jazz, a name borrowed by the producers, Discover Dominica Authority, was renamed Jazz ‘n’ Creole for the second edition on June 12, 2011. 

Barbara Cadet at Jazz 'n' Creole 2011, Dominica (Credit: Celia Sorhaindo)

This time around, Dominica welcomed the legendary Martinique pianist Ronald Tulle along with double bassist Alex Bernard who backed up Dominica’s own Michele Henderson, St. Lucian saxophonist Barbara Cadet and Alfredo de la Fe from the United States. Opening for them were a pair of Dominican Jazz outfits, Pan and Sam and Shades of Green.

Michele Henderson at Jazz 'n' Creole 2011, Dominica (Credit: Celia Sorhaindo

Source: Caribbean Festivals

All That’s Jazz is happening in Anguilla

ANGUILLA

“All That’s Jazz” has finally reached the center of the Caribbean Jazz universe after orbiting around for the past year.  During that time, the producers of the Tranquility Jazz Festival flamed out and were replaced by a new organization called U-Jamaa Productions Ltd.  Managing Director John Benjamin says that ‘U-Jamaa’  is Swahili for “extended family.”

U-jamaa has the support of the Anguilla government and the private sector in the re-branding exercise that has yielded a new concept, the fusion of Jazz and golf, hence the Tranquility Jazz & Golf Festival.

Benjamin’s partner, John Tomlinson, explained that the golf component was married to the Jazz as an added attraction, golf being one of the main allied tourism product offerings on the Anguilla Sports Tourism landscape.

So while comedian Cedric the Entertainer and other celebrity golfers were knocking the little, white pock-marked ball around on the world-class Temenos Golf Club and Cap Juluca during the day, American Grammy nominee, singer Carla Cook, Martinique pianist Ronald Tulle and the Anguilla-based British Dependency were doing their sound checks for Dinner Jazz and Caribbean Jazz Night.

Cook turned it on at Dinner & Jazz on opening night, November 11. British Dependency and Tulle took over on the Main Stage on the lawn at the Cuisinart Resort and Spa, November 12 for Caribbean Jazz Night.

St. Maarten’s Fred York Quartet and Swiss keyboardist Alex Bugnon were themselves tuning up for Main Stage Jazz on Saturday, November 13 when they closed out the main stage events for Tranquility Jazz & Golf 2010.

Anguilla’s young Jazz Band provided entertainment at the Celebrity Cocktail Reception and Prize Giving Ceremony that ended the golf segment of Tranquility Jazz & Golf.   Band director was Lennox Vanterpool.

As usual, all musicians were welcome to join in a jam session at the Beach Party at Johnno’s on Sunday, November 14.

York is a first-rate Jazz drummer who is great fun to hear and watch.  Wim Hart, cultural and arts critic of St. Maarten’s Daily Herald says of York, “Fred on drums is a real happening; a miracle to the ears and a  joy to the eyes.”

 

Fred York

Tulle is unquestionably one of the great Martinique pianists alive today.  A multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, musical director, arranger and producer,  this 46 year-old schooled musician won the 2006 SACEM prize for piano album of the year.  He has recorded with some of the very best Caribbean Jazz artists.  Singers Ralph Thamar (Martinique) and Michelle Henderson (Dominica) and bassist Alex Bernard are the immediate stand-outs on the long list.

 

Ronald Tulle

 

British Dependency

British Dependency is truly Caribbean in that it has brought together in one outfit, Anguillian guitarist Ruel Richardson, Kittitian drummer Darius James and Dominican bassist Johnathan ‘Shakes’ Warrington whose calling is to express in lyric and sound, the textures, aspirations and life in the region. (Sources: The Anguillian, Tranquility Jazz & Golf Festival home)

Dominican Marie Claire Giraud for Jamaica Jazz and Blues – and beyond (updated with news on JA Jazz artistes)

Commonwealth of Dominica

updated on February 10, 2009

Dominica has, in the past thirty years, made an indelible mark on Caribbean music, starting with the creation of Cadence-Lypso by Gordon Henderson’s Exile One and Jeff Joseph’s Grammacks International. Ten years after the heyday of Cadence in the 1970’s, keyboard whiz, Cornel ‘Fingers’ Phillip and his WCK Band updated the Cadence genre by fusing the indigenous folk rhythm of the ‘Nature Isle’, Jing Ping, with Cadence to come up with the ever-popular Bouyon.

However, improvisational music has not gained half as much ground on the consciousness of Dominicans and probably never will, Jazz being what it is, a niche genre.  Still for all, there is a cadre of Dominican Jazz musicians who continue to plug away, hoping to build a Jazz scene on the island.

At the forefront of this movement are some of the best musicians Dominica has ever produced: locally based electric bassist Freddie Nicholas, pianist Armstrong James, pannist Athie Martin and the unconquerable vocalist Michelle Henderson (equally at home delivering the modern incarnations of Cadence as she is Jazz) among them.   It need not be said though that all of these artists are well-rounded instrumentalists, as they must be, to survive in the Dominican music business.  Thus, for them, Jazz is a pastime (used loosely), albeit to varying degrees.

However, there are a few outstanding Dominican musicians who ply their trade strictly as Jazz musicians.  Guitarist Cameron Pierre, one of the most notable of them all, operates out of Britain.  Pierre is a Caribbean Jazz icon now, but that is after a lifetime of ‘woodshedding‘.

Then there is budding Jazz singer Marie Claire Giraud.   Giraud is really a classically trained singer whose secondary interests rest in pop music, hip-hop and Jazz.  Jazz would probably take top billing in the second line of interests, if Giraud‘s self-described major influences – Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington – are taken into account. Notwithstanding this, Marie Claire‘s accomplishments seem to rest more heavily on her commitment to blending opera and hip-hop, reggae – and Jazz.

Nonetheless, Jazz has a prominent place in Marie Claire‘s musical lexicon as exemplified by her immersion into the genre.  This brought her to the now defunct Dominican Jazz club called Jazz Walk, a tiny performance space, owned and managed at the time by Armstrong James in Roseau, Dominica. There, she performed the Classic Jazz standards of George Gershwin and Cole Porter.

Additionally, Marie Claire has hosted live TV shows in Dominica, one of which, Jazzlive, featured the best Dominican Jazz musicians on the island.  The objective of that show was to provide the artists with a platform to express their art.

Dominican Jazz singer Marie Claire Giraud (DNO/Edona Jno. Baptiste)

Marie Claire Giraud placed herself front and center on the Caribbean Jazz scene with an appearance Saturday, January 24, 2009 on the small stage at the just concluded Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, accompanied by Jamaican pianist, Dr. Kathy Brown.

Speaking to Dominica News Online beforehand, Marie Claire said her goal was to captivate the Jazz and Blues audience with her melodious voice and leave with them her unique Jazz-Opera slant.  She seemed to have done just that according to Images Newsletter.  Newsletter reported that “Marie Claire delivered stunning vocals..to an appreciative audience of music lovers.”

Marie Claire Giraud for Red Bones Café, Kingston, JA, January 31, 2009

Marie Claire revisited the Jamaican Jazz audience on January 30, 2009 at The Red Bones Blues Café, 21 Braemar Avenue, Kingston 5, Jamaica.  She was once again be accompanied by Dr. Brown on piano.  Show time was at 09:00 pm JA time/10:00 pm Eastern on the night.

Brown followed Giraud with a show of her own on January 25 & 26 at the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay.

In February (19th) and March (21st), she entertains at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

Then it is off to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands for a March 25th date.

Brown has one CD on the market, a 2007 recording entitled “Mission: A Musical Journey.”

Of course, and thankfully so, Dr. Brown was not the only Jamaican Jazz musician on the Jazz and Blues roster. Absent for the most part, non-Jamaican Caribbean Jazz artistes.

Anyhow, it was good that the organisers put Jamaican talent on the secondary stage to entertain during the band changes up on the main stage.  The list reads like this: E-Park Band, Karen Smith and Michael Sean Harris.

E-Park Band

The E-Park big band is a three-year old all-star outfit comprising of a rhythm section, brass and woodwinds and vocals.  The band roster tends to fluctuate, but Musical Director Peter Ashbourne fields a minimum of five rhythm section players and a six-piece brass and reeds lineup.

This band attracts some of the biggest names in Jamaica going back thirty years.

Currently, the group is Peter Ashbourne (piano and conducting), left; Hopeton Williams and Vivian Scott (trumpets); Romeo Gray and Calvin Cameron alternating on trombone; Ian Hird (alto saxophone and flute); Nicholas Laraque and Everton Gayle alternating on tenor saxophone and flute; Dean Fraser (baritone and alt saxophones); Desmond ‘Desi’ Jones (drums); Glen Brownie and Michael Fletcher alternating on bass; Dwight Pinkney (guitar); Othneil Lewis (keyboards); and vocalists Karen Smith and Michael Sean Harris;

Ashbourne, a Berklee College of Music graduate is presently a lecturer at the School of Music – Edna Manley College, Kingston, Jamaica, has been variously the leader, arranger and pianist with ‘Ashes’ a Jamaican pop-Jazz band that acts principally as a studio band.  As such he has commanded the keys in the studio for Paul Simon, Manu Dibango, Eric Gayle and David Rudder.

Deserving a special mention are Karen Smith and Michael Sean Harris both of whom fronted the E-Park Band at Jamaica Jazz and Blues.

Karen Smith: earned herself the title "Songbird of Jamaica," and the Order of Distinction (OD), officer class for memorable performances as an entertainer over her twelve year career.

Michael Sean Harris: graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston USA, Harris acquired a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Synthesis/Contemporary Writing, with voice as his main instrument