Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles has just released his highly-awaited CD, Folklore, “a unique suite of Caribbean/Afro-Caribbean music based on West African-Caribbean mythology.”
“The music of Folklore employs and combines jazz improvisation and harmony with folk rhythms and chants inspired by the African experience of Trinidad and Tobago,” stated Charles, a graduate of Julliard who won the 2006 National Trumpet Competition, among other performance awards. “At the album’s core is a suite of compositions based on mythical characters of Afro-Caribbean folkloric tradition – creatures that have been a part of that heritage for centuries, as they were brought over by West African slaves and passed down from generation to generation through stories, chants and dances,” he added. London music critic John Stevenson stated: “Folklore gives a very poignant sense of validation to the folk aspect of Caribbean society, an aspect through which our collective identity is renewed and celebrated.”
Joining Charles in the recording are some of the finest Caribbean and jazz musicians in the world, among them Guadeloupean saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Milan Milanovic on piano, Luques Curtis on bass, drummer Obed Calvaire, percussionists D’Achee and Ray Charles, as well as guest artists Ralph MacDonald, Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe, and vocalists Keith ‘Designer’ Prescott, Wendell Manwarren and Roger Roberts.
A banner CD release event is scheduled with performances July 21-25, 2009 at 11PM nightly at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center in New York. For ticket/reservations, call 212-258-9595 or visit http://www.jalc.org.
For more on Charles go to www.etiennecharles.com
