Caribbean Beat — September/October 2017 (#147)

playlist
Pan Roots Culture Kareem Thompson
(self-released)
Brooklyn-born pannist
Kareem Thompson revels in
his Trinidadian heritage on
his debut album as a leader
away from his band K.I.T.
Caribbean Connection, fully
exploring more complex jazz
harmonies. The continued
fusion of Caribbean rhythms
and melodic phrases makes
the listener recognise Thompson’s roots, and he has not
strayed too far from those early cultural influences. The
title track with its percussive voicing gives credence to the
idea that steelpan jazz is wide open to further evolution,
as those sonic cues that define the sub-genre are subtly
pushed aside for an exploration of the broader range
of harmonies and rhythms. “The Sun Will Shine Today”
is a standout track that has the players on this album
skilfully soloing. With five out of seven tracks composed
by Thompson, this album is a showcase for a rising talent
in pan jazz, hopeful to maintain the Caribbean variation
of jazz music in the Americas.
Electro Sax Elan Trotman (Island Muzik
Productions)
Bajan saxman Elan Trotman
keeps churning out new
albums at a rapid pace, as if
to suggest the uptake of his
new music is effective and
guaranteed to be popular.
With this, his seventh fulllength
album since 2001,
he keeps evolving his style
around his smooth jazz base
to eke out new niches. Utilising the electronic dance
music drum elements so popular in recent times, Electro
Sax redefines what is possible with Caribbean music.
Aware that this album will “definitely ruffle feathers”
for its modern production aesthetic — he assembled a
creative team of up-and-coming producers, all Berklee
College of Music alumni: Spardakis, P-Nut, Dr O, and Da
Troof — Trotman is persevering in his push to promote
the tropicality elements along with just great music for
dancing. Debut single “Island Gyal” percolates with a sexy
reggae vibe, keeping hope alive that this experiment in
EDM fusion remains grounded in his Bajan roots.
Cé Biguine! Charlie Halloran (Twerk-o-Phonic)
This album represents, in the
twenty-first century, a kind
of harking back to the music
and technology of a bygone
era. New Orleans trombonist
Charlie Halloran and his band
have recorded an album of
orchestrated biguine — the
music of the French Antilles
created in the early twentieth
century as a creole stew of Afro-Caribbean and
European musical tropes — straight to 78 rpm acetate
disc master, to create a modern artefact of music history.
Pops and clicks like an old vinyl record give this recording
a nostalgic ambience, while the music has a quality that
makes you want to grab a partner and dance the night
away under tropical stars. It eschews the kitsch of 1950s
American tourist views of the Antilles as a playground,
for a re-awakening of the musical distinctiveness and
inventiveness of the creole musician. Novelty aside, this
album is a keepsake for listeners wanting to understand
the Caribbean’s role in the evolution of jazz. Jazz, then
and now, is rewarded.
Single Spotlight
Say Yeah/Baila Mami Preedy/Nailah Blackman
(Anson Productions)
Riddim is king in both dancehall
and soca music in the
Caribbean. Multiple songs
sharing the identical musical
accompaniment would be
a nightmare for a modern
copyright lawyer seeking
originality, but here in the
Caribbean it is the fortunate
fate of the music producer,
who can milk as much life out of a song as can earn
multiples in royalties and airplay. We like it so! “Parallel
Riddim” producer Anson Soverall shares his music with
fellow Trinidadians soca artist Preedy (“Say Yeah”) and
rising star Nailah Blackman (“Baila Mami”), for a pair of
songs with a smooth modern dancehall vibe, exploring
parallel emotions that never intersect or mix. Simply, this
is a groove mover with lyrics that address love, regret, and
second chances (“Say Yeah”), and lust, excitement, and
naïve hedonism (“Baila Mami”) — both destined to make
you dance close to a partner.
Reviews by Nigel A. Campbell
34 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM