Island Jazz Chat: Episode 8 - Clifford Charles

Trinidadian guitarist Clifford Charles describes his music as "smooth soca jazz." Grounded in the sounds and language of Trinidad, his liking for transforming the music of Carnival, the popular sound of Trinidad, into a contemporary jazz idiom sets him apart from other Caribbean jazz guitarists. With 5 albums under his belt, and counting, since 2004, this fan favourite prepares for a new path in life as he will have the time to make the familiar new again, with a vibe that says Caribbean smooth. Clifford Charles talks about his life, his music, his recording career, the future.

• Programme Date: 20 July, 2022
• Programme Length: 00:45:29

Caribbean Beat Reviews – September/October 2014ª

Homeward Bound Clifford Charles

Guitarist Clifford Charles fifth CD, Homeward Bound, continues a trend of re-definition of the music of these isles. Charles has endeavoured to convert soca’s high beats-per-minute freneticism into smooth jazz for easier consumption by an audience less inclined to be defined as “bacchanalist.” This may not be high achievement for the jazz connoisseur, but in the hands of this player, the ongoing efforts of many Caribbean artists to “crossover” make sense with this music on this album. The music never veers towards the kitschy excess of the genre. Recent soca hits such as Destra’s “Call My Name” and Bunji Garlin’s ”Differentology” evoke the essence of universal popular appeal. Recorded live in studio with his quartet, Charles maintains the chops that are recognizable for the effortless rhythm playing and solid soloing. Three originals balance the five soca smooth jazz covers and provide the basis for a soundtrack for a resort-inspired frolic.

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1. More Caribbean Playlist reviews appear in the September/October 2014 issue of Caribbean Beat magazine.

Theron Shaw: Gumbo Caribe - a CD review¹

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Theron Shaw is well known in local music circles as the go-to man for guitar support ranging from jazz to calypso. His two previous releases signalled a willingness to engage with native cultural mores and tackle Caribbean Jazz not only as a way to “tropicalise” harmonically complex original music, but as a way to validate and valorise calypsos, ethnic music and folk songs in a surprisingly new context. With his third release on CD, Gumbo Caribe, Shaw almost exclusively utilises the talents of a cadre of Boston-based Berklee College of Music faculty and alumni to expand the thematic influences beyond the border.

Those musicians include Trinidad-born professor of music, Ron Reid, who acts as producer and earns an album artist credit, along with dynamic drummer Harvey Wirht, originally from Suriname. Reid has honed his skill of pulling superlative performances out of musicians — last year, that was on display at his One Night Only concert at All Saints Church Hall with local jazz talent — and on this album, the challenging variety of moods is adequately handled. Wirht leads by example to masterfully interpret the varied rhythms that are explored on this album. The challenge, if there is one at all, of playing live with musicians “outside the box” is recognised by the listener as the new aesthetics of jazz: just play...well!

Shaw says:

Gumbo Caribe represents a mix of styles and influences that I’ve been nurturing developing for a number of years. You will hear influences from the French Caribbean via the mennde and mazurka [mazouk], a Brazilian textured partido alto, and of course my own twists of calypso and folk rhythms.