Michele Henderson at Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012…

…good to the last drop

Michele Henderson with Ming and Friends, Act 4 – The Grand Finale

Michele: vocals, flute

Michael Low Chew Tung (Ming): keys

Richard Joseph: drums

Modupe Folasade Onilu: percussion

Kevon La Fleur: bass

Dean Williams: guitar

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

DOMINICA

The saying goes, “You never know what you’re gonna get till you get it.” Actually, that’s no saying; I am just saying … whatever I want. But it’s true, isn’t it?

Look at it this way: You love Jazz. There is something going on at Farm Road, St. Joseph, Trinidad called Jazz Artists on the Greens. It is your understanding that some female artist from the Commonwealth of Dominica called Michele Henderson is headlining. That name sounds familiar, you think, but that doesn’t matter. At least, you have somewhere to go on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

You get to The Greens on time. The booths form an arc and inside of it, white chairs are lined up in rows and columns. The J-Fans, die-hard and casual alike, are streaming in. The atmosphere seems good.

You are a bit distracted; there are old friends to get reacquainted to and new alliances to forge. There is a stir on stage. Thanks to the artistry of opening acts, Carlton “Zanda” Alexander & The Coalpot Band, Llettesha Sylvester and Clifford Charles Quintet, the show is chugging along quite nicely, building up to the headliner.

Michele Henderson at JAOTG (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

Then Michele Henderson walks on and Ming and Friends strike up with “Agua de Beber” (Antonio Carlos Jobim). Richard Joseph fleshes out the bossa nova beat and the atmosphere changes for you. Didn’t it? The Greens become electrically charged … up. And all those of you who might have been absent-minded for some reason over the previous three hours, sit up (at first) and take notice for the Lady in Red is dancing … with you. Fatal attraction! Smitten!! Mind-blowing!!!

Not letting up on the tempo, Michele re-acquaints us with the well-worn but evergreen Errol Garner classic “Misty” in intoxicating fashion, her pipes flowing notes with fluidity, power and passion.

That’s the word, “Passion!” For it is passion that connects the artist to the essence of a song … and her audience … our soul. Michele has this attribute, Passion, in abundance here.

This characteristic feature becomes more evident on her next delivery, the sappy Rogers and Hammerstein pop song turned Jazz standard that becomes so because of the improvisational and harmonic possibilities it lends itself to. Michele calls on lead guitarist Dean Williams to act as a foil to her immeasurable vocalizations.

One could be excused for hazarding a guess that Ming and Friends is Michele’s longtime backup outfit. They are not of course. However, in witnessing how confident and seamless the players are matching wits with her, one wouldn’t know it. By the end of the command performance, the band will have kept pace with their leader, locking horns with her no matter what she threw at them – Classic Jazz, Latin, Bossa, Zouk, Pop and Reggae.

This brings me to the dawning realization that Bob Marley is after all a staple on the Jazz circuit, eliciting all sorts of interpretations. For the most part, a Marley is played straight, a solo or two passing for Jazz interpretation, which in some instances is hardly credible and boring.

On the night of March 24, Ming and Friends added themselves to the short list that is balking that trend, the easy way out. On “Waiting in Vain,” Richie’s drums and Kevon La Fleur’s bass handle the one drop rhythmic formula, leaving it to Ming on keys and Dean to inject stylistic Jazz sensibilities that set Michele’s cover apart from the rest.

Michele with Ming and Friends at JAOTG (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

I  argued in this series of JAOTG reviews that a critical hallmark of a musician is a repertoire that does not exceed her limitations. Michele does not have to worry about that. She can pull a rabbit out of a hat and turn it into vocal gold.

For the purpose of this critique, I have to say that it is one thing for a Caribbean singer rooted in a French Antillean culture to deliver a Martinican call to arms in “Fo Daw Leve,” and a Groovy-Zouk original called “Pani Pawol.” It is an entirely different kettle of fish to pull off Chic Corea’s, “500 Miles,” “Armando’s Rhumba” and especially “Spain” (Concerto de Aranguez).

“Spain,” a staccato adaptation by Corea of the Joaquin Rodrigo adagio for an Al Jarreau collaboration must not, under any circumstances, be attempted at home without professional or parental supervision. Yet, Michele nails it to the door frame and pins it down like a WWF wrestler – the epitome of true and unfettered talent.

Michele does not, however, hug all the glory for herself. She lets Richie and percussionist Modupe Onilu in on the action via “500 miles,” letting them trade for a bit and then giving Modupe room to squeak the inside of his bongo drum while straddling his signature congas to reach the mic.

Modupe squeaks (courtesy Production One)

With all this drama taking place on The Greens, riveting and transfixing “all and sun-dry,” as one notable politician once put it, the best was still one song away. I speak of Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do.” Michele had the folks on The Greens abandon their chairs and charge to the front of the stage to occupy an area that remained largely unoccupied throughout the previous four hours of the show.

Pumped up by this reaction, the band took its game up another notch, unbelievably so. Zen Master Ming got off his haunches, a wide grin on his face. Priceless! Dean, surged forward, leaned back and threatened to shred his six-string axe as Michele hovered over him, demanding more.

Then it was all over, though not quite. Michele had earned a standing ovation – although it could be said that everyone was already on their feet. “The Diva,” quoting a member of my party, graciously offered a reprise to end the pandemonium on Farm Road.

Surprisingly, no one saw it fit to call the Fire Brigade. Maybe Production One Ltd. would be wise to have a tender on standby if ever Michele’s craft lands on The Greens again. 

Most Memorable Moment in technicolour (courtesy Production One Ltd.)

Legendary Caribbean-Jazz pianist Raf Robertson wraps it up best. “This is the first time that I have experienced Michele and what an experience! And she plays the flute. This girl serious.” Do I Do, Raf…Do I Do.

Related articles

• Pannist Annise Hadeed closes Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012 on a question mark (woodshedec.wordpress.com)
• Clifford Charles heats up Jazz Artists on the Greens 2012 (woodshedec.wordpress.com)

Shades of Vaughnette…The Experience

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

The Jazz Singer, Vaughnette Bigford, presented her burgeoning red, black and white fan base assembled at the Naparima Bowl in San Fernando, Trinidad on Saturday, November 12  2011 with a suite of standards taken from the American songbook, complemented with international hits and Caribbean classics. Sitting in rapt attention was the notable scribe and Jazz producer Nigel Campbell and musical icon in his own right, pianist Raf Robertson. Neither of them could contain their admiration for the La Brea girl after the Bowl fell silent that night.

In no time at all, their voices streamed into the Woodshed with resounding tenor.

Campbell, with no pointed reservations of his own, was stirred by the lack of familiarity a certain segment of the audience displayed in response to Bigford’s song choices from outside the popular music domain.

Nigel Campbell:

“Her song list touched Nat ‘King’ Cole and Bob Marley, and ranged from torch songs and jazz standards made popular by Nancy Wilson (An Older Man Is Like An Elegant Wine), Abbey Lincoln (Long as You’re Living) to international hits originally sung by Miriam Makeba (Soweto Blues) and Tania Maria (Yatra Ta), and included enough local compositions by Andre Tanker, ‘Nappy’ Meyers and Ras Shorty I to make this reviewer happy. But I err on the side of caution when I sit in an audience of fans, happily, whose body language suggests that we need to listen to a lot more music from any and all genres.

Audiences are hard to please, and the suspension of belief that an entertainer takes when confronting an audience that generally gravitates towards a handful of songs…makes song choice difficult. Very accessible music like Randy Crawford’s “One Day I’ll Fly Away” is a crowd-pleaser, but the more esoteric song choices like “Yatra Ta” by Tania Maria are applauded with respect at musicianship and obligation suggesting at not knowing how to react.“

Herein lies the dilemma Bigford faces.  According to Campbell, she has already mastered the Latin American Songbook in addition to the American Songbook.  She has exposed herself to higher learning at the Berklee College of Music and practised her hard-earned skills on the east coast circuit of the United States in a calculated effort to learn the industry there.  The question she is confronted with, Campbell would assert, is whether to pander to an audience that does not bother to listen to styles of music beyond, say pop radio fare, or feed her own soul and self-interested gift as a vocalist who must chart an identifiably unique course.

Campbell suggests eschewing the American Songbook for what he terms a palette of Caribbean song.  That approach, he says, would set her apart from the rest of a field of states side Jazz singers who survive from gig to gig but hardly make any meaningful and lasting impact on the scene.

Nigel Campbell:

“Her ventures into the world of Billie, Ella and Nancy, and even into the Latin American songbooks had less impact with her Naparima Bowl audience than her interpretations of the songs of Ray Holman and Ras Shorty I (Garfield Blackman), masterfully arranged by Ming and Theron Shaw with Vaughnette respectively. While some connoisseurs would wince at the removal of almost every ounce of calypso from the latter two songs, the exposure of the local canon to the rigours of jazz improvisation showcases a new breed of song and songwriter to the world. While I would not want to thrust the “ambassador for local music” title on Vaughnette’s shoulders, this path could offer enough differentiation from the plethora of jazz chanteuses graduating annually from music colleges and conservatories in the United States… Context is the decider. Here or there? Artist or entertainer? Who do you please, yourself or the paying audience? Vaughnette is at a point of material decision.“

But when all was said and done in that moment, dated November 12  2011, The Jazz Singer Vaughnette Bigford was a star on the rise to Campbell and Robertson alike.

Rafael Robertson:

“Saturday night, 12th November, was a great night for me.  The Vaughnette Bigford and friends concert at Naparima Bowl was the oasis in the desert of stupidity that is Trinidad life… Theron shaw did and excellent job transcribing and arranging the music.  But truth be told, I know his work ethic and wouldn’t expect nothing less from him. Ah like dat.

Ron Reid is an excellent choice for what Vaug is doin because he is a talented professional who real easy to work with… I don’t think I need to say much about Frankie McIntosh… Anthony Woodroffe has a beautiful tone and personality to match so yer know that big things are in store for this young man.  David Richards and Modupe Onilu held down the back line really great. I didn’t expect anything less from them either.  There was also a cameo duet with Ming [Michael Low Chew Tung, piano].”

Nigel Campbell:

“The band, with musical director Theron Shaw (guitar) and featuring Caribbean music icons Frankie McIntosh of St. Vincent (keys), and Boston-based Ron Reid (bass) along with Anthony Woodroffe, Jr. (reeds), Modupe Onilu (percussion) and David Richards (drums) reinforces a point Vaughnette made to me back at our SONGBIRDS…live show, that she would not be complete without her perfect band which must include the aforementioned foreign-based musicians.”

Any final thoughts?

Raf?

“The choice of songs were a mixture of jazz standards such as “The Very Thought of You” delivered by Vaughnette with such easy and depth and the beautiful “Double Rainbow” by the great Antonio Carlos Jobim.  The song that did it for me was “Who God Bless” by Garfield Blackman.  I suppose the all-acoustic accompaniment by Ron and Frankie and Theron just took it to another place.  I am very glad that a lot of beautiful folks came out to this event and had a great time…  So kudos to Vaughnette, Shurlan, Theron, Ron, Frankie and all the folks who helped to put this together.  You have made us all feel better thanks.”

Nigel?

“That night, Vaughnette was completed. Sublime duets with Frankie and also Theron, a frenetic scat workout on Tania Maria’s gem, a calypso duet with the great Lord Superior. The spirits of Ella, Billie, Betty Carter and most significantly for me, Nina Simone were sated. Their work is done. The template was set, and here in Trinidad and Tobago, a new star has arisen to continue the journey.”

Sources:  Nigel Campbell Facebook Notes, Raf Robertson Facebook Comments

Vaughnette Bigford in Concert (photo credit: Maria Nunes Photography)

NIGEL CAMPBELL: JESSE RYAN is going to put Trinidad on the map

Trinidad and Tobago

La Casa de Ibiza was full as Jesse Ryan (sax), David Richards (drums), Kevon La Fleur (double bass) and Marvin Dolly (guitar) – all musicians under 30 – took their places at Ibiza Tragarete Road, Woodbrook, Trinidad, August 10  2010.

As packed as it was at Ibiza, Nigel Campbell, “Blackberry Bro” found himself enough floor space and elbow room to begin his commentaries of the proceedings about to happen.

From the outset, it was Bebop madness as John Coltrane came alive, channelled through Jesse.  Then Miles Davis’ “Solar” brought to the stage David Bertrand on flute.  After a chorus or two, Kevon and David Richards tagged their special guest with a rhythmic improv on bass and drums that warmed the admittedly un-knowledgeable jazz audience to an appreciation of this set of standards in the Jazz canon.

No doubt sensing the love, Jesse called another Coltrane, “Like Sonny,” and brought up another invitee, Modupe Onilu on percussion.  It works.  Jesse wowed; and a fan in the audience delivered a verdict of his playing that was as honest as it was true:‎ “…very articulate saxophone.”  Egged on, Jesse digs into ‎“Central Park West,” yet another Coltrane, a ballad.

WEC Note: Nigel thumbs: “Am I detecting a pattern here?  Let’s not get to obvious!”

Whether Nigel had enough of Coltrane for the time being, we shall never know.

Jesse’s telepathic astuteness picked up on the signal.  He switched to Kenny Garrett for an ode to Wayne Shorter.  The rhythmic exchange between sax and what looked like a fife workin‘ for me.

Enough of the covers, the leader turned inwards and local.  Firstly, he demonstrated his chops as a composer, an impressive young composer at that, on “Por Faith” (spelt phonetically) and “Prince of Port-au-Prince.”  David Bertrand returned on bass clarinet and flute for this one, a complex rhythm for a tune inspired by a Shelly Dass report on Haiti a year before the earthquake.

Next, Jesse featured “Promise of the Deep” a work by fellow local and pal, McKinnney and a vocal rendition of “Believe” by the late Lynette Commissiong, sung by Anisa Paul.

Coming full circle, Jesse pointed fingers back to Sonny Rollins.  Mighty sound!  This music has a spirit of creativity that seems grounded in a diasporic space.

He closed his set with an original, “Algundia.”

Jesse’s Jazz fusion has touches of Latin American influence and the American incursions there.  Herbie Mann and Stan Getz come to mind on this tune.  I am also sent back spiritually to 70s fusion on CTI records.

But wait, the audience won’t let Jesse go without an encore.  All musicians hold their best solos for this.  Now audience sing along.

Look, this Trinidadian is going to put us on the map as a music nation, I tell you.