Etienne Charles (photo by Laura Ferreira)
Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles recently released his latest album Creole Soul. I became familiar with Etienne’s music after seeing Callaloo: A Jazz Folklore, Etienne’s album Folklore serves as the musical composition for the play. In addition to enjoying the music in the play, his insightful commentary about preserving Caribbean culture from generation to generation after the play intrigued my interest in hearing more from him. After a brief introduction, he sent me the information of his latest album Creole Soul and told me I could listen on the New York Times Press Play site. I’ve been listening to the album every day since and have completely fallen in love with the album.
Creole Soul has already be praised in the Jazz arena and has gotten rave reviews by the New York Times, Down Beat and Jazz Times. As a music lover I can appreciate all genres, but I would never claim to be a Jazz aficionado (I am no one’s Jazz critic), but the album was just a great listen from beginning to end. Listening to this album was totally a change from my normal R&B and Reggae vibes, which is why I think I loved it so much. There is a touch of Reggae in there as Etienne even does a cover of Dawn Penn’s “No, No, No” and Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down”, but there is also a strong influence of Kongo, Calypso and Blues. Creole Soul is a melodic story with Etienne’s trumpet serving as a narrative, my personal favorite being “Roots”. As a young musician Etienne could quite possibly be the Mile Davis, Louis Armstrong, Monty Alexander or Dean Fraser of our generation, so be sure to take a listen to Creole Soul and check our more of his music from previous albums Kaiso, Folklore and Culture Shock.
Mikelah
Mikelah is a Caribbean Culture expert, curating the bridge between the Caribbean and its diaspora. A CUNY Baruch College graduate with a BBA in Marketing. With previous experience with Caribbean lifestyle brands such as VP Records, Tempo TV and JAMROCK Magazine. Currently serving as a digital marketing maven by day, while continuing to collaborate with Caribbean brands.
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