Andy Narell and Relator - University of Calypso [2009]With Andy Narell--who's been playing calypso music from Trinidad since he was barely tall enough to reach the pan--it's always been about expanding the role of the steelpan in jazz. Now, with the release of University of Calypso, Narell joins forces with calypso legend Relator to explore the role of jazz in vintage calypso. Together, they perform 15 classic compositions by Lord Kitchener, Lord Melody, Mighty Terror, Roaring Lion, Spider, and Relator, supported by a group of world-class Latin-jazz cats who can swing the calypso and blow le jazz hot. It's been over 50 years since a major calypsonian went into the studio with a bunch of jazz players. This CD is cause for serious celebration!
Hopefully, University of Calypso will help Narell and Relator bring this marvelous music to a new audience, all year round. "I believe this project has great potential to reach people," says Narell. "The music is so accessible, people can latch on to so many different things--the beautiful melodies, the groove for dancing, the stories told in the lyrics, the humor, the jazz elements, how the band plays together and interacts, the soloing--and on top of it all, we've got an incredibly dynamic guy out front singing these songs, a real storyteller in the great calypso tradition. I wanted to record some of this music right away in order to breathe life into the project and get it off the ground, but the real goal in my mind is to get in front of people and play it live.
Sakésho - We Want You To Say [2005]Andy Narell seems to have fully settled into his new group, which strikes me, amazingly, as even better than his great mid-eighties band. The difference? The truly international flavor each artist brings to the table. Mario Canonge (piano, Fender Rhodes, from Martinique), Michel Alibo (electric bass guitar, from Guadeloupe), and Jean Philippe Fanfant (drums, from France) imbue this music with an infectiousness and crazy island rhythmic sensibility that situates it in a special category in world jazz. Fanfant, especially, puts a unique stamp on the proceedings, emerging as a monster in the drums chair.
Andy Narell - The Passage [2004]With over a dozen albums to his credit, Andy Narell has almost single handedly popularized the steel pan in contemporary jazz. While long associated with the Caribbean and Trinidad (where the instrument was invented in the early 1940s), Narell has made the subtly nuanced tones of the instrument a compelling presence in jazz (in much the same way that Toots Thielmans popularized the role of the harmonica). For his latest set, with its music for a steel orchestra, Narell traveled to Paris where he called upon the large steel band ensemble, Calypsociation. His writing celebrates the sweeping textures of the assembled players, and creates dazzling platforms for the featured soloists (Michael Brecker , Paquito D'Rivera, and Hugh Masekela). In particular, Brecker--no stranger to a wide variety of settings, genres, and idioms--shines on his numbers, especially the relaxed balladry of "Song For Mia." The highly percussive nature of the music is given full flower by the presence of a solid core of drummers.
This isn't music that you will come across every day. It's a breath of fresh air! And the way these guys play it, well, is fantastic. They are incredibly talented, creative, and a real treat to listen to.
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