A heck of a week of Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago (updated May 10)

Trinidad

St. Thomas Trio f/ Arturo Tappin

This past week was one heck of a week for Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago.  That was the place to be in the Caribbean, from The Corner Bar, the Lion’s Cultural Centre and Jazz Plaza on the big island, to the Redemption Sun Setters Pan Yard/Theatre, Mt. Irvine and Pigeon Point Heritage Park on Tobago.

And the action is not over yet though.  The instruments were carried back to The Corner Bar for another go around on Tuesday, April 28 when Sean Thomas was once again on the ball, but this time with guest pannist Rudy Smith.

Anyhow, the week of April 20 got under way at The Corner Bar where The Sean Thomas Trio featured Barbadian saxophonist Arturo Tappin, fusing many different styles of music with Jazz.

The Trio was the leader himself on drums, Theron Shaw (guitar) and Douglas Reddon (bass)…with Tappin sitting in.

Fast forward.  Take a ferry, fly a charter (whatever) to Tobago on Thursday, April 23 for what reviewer Joan Rampersad dubbed a “powerful performance” by Trinidad’s Mavis John.  John appeared at Pan Jazz in d Yard at the Redemption Sound Setters Pan Yard with Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe, Rudy ‘Two Left’ Smith, John Arnold, Liam Teague among others.

Mavis John packed her set with an original of hers, Jazz in de Callaloo, written for Eintou Springer’s concept of the same name, and a few others by Trinidadian writers: Ras Shorty I’s Who God Bless, one of the songs that signalled the Soca movement twenty years ago; Andre Tanker‘s Morena Osha, which John has recorded; and Boogsie Sharpe‘s That’s the Debt I Owe. John closed her set with another couple of tunes, one of which was the ever-popular Guantanamera.

Ah, Boogsie Sharpe.  Rampersad felt that Boogsie was more aggressive than usual in his pan attack on a varied programme strung with odes to Indian cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar (Lord Relator) and to Frank Sinatra, arguably the individual most synonymous with My Way, and a dip into the hymnal wellspring for How Great Thou Art. That was not all from Len Boogsie Sharpe, but the picture of the mood he was in is clear, at once retrospective and contemplative.

Jacques Schwarz-Bart

One trip back to the main island put one in place to access the Lion’s Cultural Centre for the Jacques Schwarz-Bart‘s Gwo ka and Jazz concert, held under the auspices of the Alliance Française and the Patron’s of Queen’s Hall of Trinidad.  Schwarz-Bart was backed up by his band, Abyss that had within its ranks Trinidadian trumpeter, Etienne Charles.

This French West Indian, affectionately called Brother Jack, is the first to experiment with the Gwo Ka rhythms (played with Gwo Ka drums, the larger boula and the marker or maké) and the possibilities for Jazz interpretations of it.

Gwo ka drum

Gwo Ka, a major part of Guadeloupean culture, manifested contemporaneously in communal Lewozes, Carnival and other celebrations, is a combination of seven rhythms played with flourish and embellishment by master drummers who interplay with dancers and a lead singer to tell a folk tale.

The lead singer is commonly a female whose complex delivery is characteristically guttural, nasal and rough.

The members of Abyss were Charles, Milan Milanovic (piano), Ari Hoenig (drums), Itaiguara Brandao (bass) and Puerto Rican percussionist Reinaldo De Jesus.  An Escuela Libre de Musica (PR) and Berklee trained classical percussionist, Reinaldo has, in the eight years since graduating from Berklee, toured with the William Cepeda Afro-Rican Jazz group, Miguel Zenon and the Rhythm Collective, Papo Vasquez and Roy Hargrove.

Then on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26, it was all Tobago for an all-out Jazz Experience.

Mount Irvine Bay Hotel and music producer Carl ‘Beaver’ Henderson complemented the main fare at the Pigeon Point National Park (Latin Jazz on Saturday and Beach Jazz Fiesta on Sunday) with their own Jazz on de Beach, at Mt. Irvine.  On Saturday afternoon, Chantal Esdelle and Moyenne and the Clive Zanda Experience were front and center.

However, the main stage at Pigeon Point National Park was all abuzz on the Saturday with the sitar playing of Mungal Patasar and Pantar, Élan Parlé, Canefire and Bellita y JazzTumbá.

Élan Parlé, for their part, was on point as usual with their unique stylings in the vein of Classical Jazz and original compositions.  But it was Mungal Patasar and Pantar that had the modest crowd up in arms, calling for encores in the throes of a mix of local Trinidadian and World Music.

The Clifford Charles Quartet, Douglas Redon’s Tabanka Blues and the Jazz Singer, Vaughnette Bigford waited one more day for their turn on de beach. St. Lucia’s Ronald ‘Boo’ Hinkson was thrown in with them, keeping them honest.

Pan Trinbago’s Pan Jazz in De Yard also had some sound and memorable performances too, on opening night.  Such were those of the United States’ Virgin Islands’ tenor pannist Victor Provost, that of the house band Caribbean inXS, United States-based Trinidadian panman Liam Teague and honorary Trini, Andy Narrell.

Finally, The Sean Thomas Trio was at The Corner Bar with Copenhagen-based Trinidadian pannist, Rudy ‘Two Left’ Smith; and the Jazz Singer, Vaughnette Bigford, rose up in song at Raytees in Point Fortin, on Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

The Sean Thomas Trio – Wayne Guerra (keyboard), Douglas Reddon (bass) and Sean Thomas (drums) featured Trinidad’s finest Rudy “Two Left” Smith on Double Tenors.   The Trio and Smith tapped into JAZZ standards such as “Green Dolphin Street”, “Summertime”, “Autumn Leaves” plus more, up close and personal.

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