Playlist (July/August 2020) | Music reviews

Mi Mundo Solo Piano Jany McPherson

(Jazzit Records)

The solo piano album is an artistic statement of both skill and patience. Melody, harmony, and rhythm, the basic elements of music, are all brought to life by ten fingers, two hands. France-based Cuban pianist Janysett McPherson has produced a sublime piece of work that unfolds with a sense of understanding her space as a transplant from the Caribbean to the European metropole. Sonic references to a kind of pastoral vision blend with percussive jaunts that locate the heat of island tempos within a world wider than this archipelago. A cover of Ennio Morricone’s Cinema Paradiso theme song has McPherson exploring dissonance, but her right hand’s melodic lines gird the beautiful melody with a pathos that is reflected in the nostalgic theme of the movie. Caribbean musicians — Michel Camilo and Monty Alexander, for example — have long used the solo piano as a platform for musical identity. Mi Mundo, “My World,” showcases an awe-inspiring globetrotting musician.he album represents continued mastery of technique and dynamics on the piano, and a full understanding of the Creole perspective. There is a sense of experimentation on this record, pointing to the idea that this music can be catharsis and spiritual haven: jazz illuminated and elevated.

---

1. This review appears in the July/August 2020 issue of Caribbean Beat magazine.

© 2020, Nigel A. Campbell. All Rights Reserved.

Playlist (May/June 2018) | Music Reviewsª

This Is Me Jeanine S. Ruiz

(Self released)

Young Trinidadian keyboardist Jeanine Ruiz releases her first EP as a musical autobiography of a life recently begun, and a testament to her emotional journey thus far. Going through the song titles — “Ambitious”, “Overthinker“, “Impulsive”, “Temperamental”, and “Dreamer” — one can gauge how far she has come and how far she can go. Listening to the music, one can hear the subtle influences of style that have touched her compositions. World fusion has a new advocate. Admittedly influenced by Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara mainly, Ruiz has a sure handedness in her playing and a keen sense of timing and cinematic breadth in her arrangements that catch a number of genres without being confusing. This is more than jazz-influenced trio playing, this debut signals a potential to take on the rigours of inspiring a waning instrumental music listening audience, here and there, to stick around and continue to track Ruiz's ongoing musical journey.

---

1. More Caribbean Playlist reviews appear in the May/June 2018 issue of Caribbean Beat magazine.

© 2018, Nigel A. Campbell. All Rights Reserved.

Chantal Esdelle and Moyenne: Imbizo Moyenne - a CD review¹

Listen Here:



Or Read here:

"Chantal Esdelle, a Berklee College of Music graduate, holds an important place among jazz musicians here, as she is one of, if not the only female band leader who is a renowned pianist in this island. She is part of a lineage that would probably include Winifred Atwell and tangentially Hazel Scott. Unlike those two artistes, Esdelle has been able to mine the musical influences of Trinidad and in a deeper sense, Africa and the African diaspora in the New World for her compositions. Further, unlike Atwell and Scott, Esdelle has a body of original compositions on her two CD releases that now place her ahead of a number of jazz luminaries in the islands who still balk at releasing original music, thus diluting the well of local copyrights to be exploited by the world..."

The above quoted epigraph was from an aborted review of the CD launch event for Imbizo Moyenne. the new CD from Chantal Esdelle and Moyenne, back in May 2013. The sentiment, however, is an absolute truth. There is no denying that Esdelle, and by extension Moyenne deserve to be heard, more so in our context as a burgeoning music industry. Time has allowed the disappointment of that release event to be replaced with the joy in heralding this new music. Out now in CD format to supplement the digital version already available in limited release, this simply packaged CD fills a yawning gap in the canon of locally-released jazz music.