Kaiso Street Collective honour calypso artist The Mighty Bomber with a Feb. 17 concert at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto.
Led by The Mighty Bomber’s grandson Jesse Ryan, the collective will debut new arrangements at the show to celebrate the connections between jazz and Afro-Caribbean traditions. Along with the late Ryan’s songs, the set will include works by The Mighty Spoiler, one of Bomber’s mentors and biggest influences.
The concert will feature guitarist Andrew Marzotto, pianist Ewen Farncombe, vibraphonist Michael Davidson, Juno-winning bassist Roberto Ochipinti and Cuban-Canadian drummer Anthony Daniel. Fronting the ensemble are Cuban-Canadian trumpeter Alexander Brown, trombonist Kelsey Grant and tenor saxophonist Jeff La Rochelle, with Ryan acting as musical director while playing alto and soprano saxes.
“The month of February commemorates two significant cultural events for the African diaspora: Black History Month and Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival festival,” notes Ryan. “Though the cultural contributions of Caribbean icons to Black history have been seen and celebrated in part, their stories are often left out of the global narrative. With this project I want to echo an idea that I believe can be found within the collective consciousness of all people, but that is often unspoken: Calypso history is Black history.”
Trinidadian-born Ryan is a saxophonist and composer with a keen interest in the connections between jazz and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions. His compositions are ambitious, and his enchanting sound tells that he is set to take Caribbean jazz out of its niche of ethnic fusion and into the mainstream. His Juno-nominated debut album Bridges received critical acclaim. He is the 2020 recipient of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award — an award that puts a spotlight on emerging jazz musicians with a keen sense of the grand tradition behind jazz music, while putting their own stamp on the genre and the Toronto music scene with their unique style and approach.
Hear more from Jesse Ryan below, keep up with him on his website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and get tickets to Kaiso Street Collective’s concert HERE.
