Thursday 1 March 2018

Playlist (March/April 2018) | Music Reviewsª

Palmyra and Other Places David Bertrand

(Blujazz Productions)

The flute, in jazz music, has a less prominent place than the saxophone or trumpet, but in this new album New York-based Trinidadian flautist David Bertrand makes a sincere attempt to expand the repertoire of the instrument. Seven of the eight tracks of sublime quartet playing are new compositions by Bertrand: the listener is given an opportunity also to revel in the studied application of jazz language to the inherent native vernacular of Trinidadian rhythm and tone. The titles of the tunes also suggest the idea that this is a subliminal musical autobiography: “Palmyra”, “Claude’s Nariva” and “Wood Slave” recalling Bertrand’s home island’s habitat and fauna; “Lexington and 63rd” and “245 South 1st” offering a survey of his New York present. The result is testament to the continued strides made by musical émigrés from the Caribbean to an American diaspora, inspiring art that takes no prisoners.

amazon-available
itunes-available






  1. More Caribbean Playlist reviews appear in the March/April 2018 issue of Caribbean Beat magazine.
© 2018, Nigel A. Campbell. All Rights Reserved.