Echoes of the Caribbean - Jazz Adventure in Barbados 2014

Buyu Ambroise was born in Haiti. After a brief stay in the Republic of Congo as a child, Buyu has been residing in the United States for over 35 years. Buyu was drawn to the saxophone at a young age, experimenting with the instrument as a high school student in Brooklyn, New York during the 1970s, a fertile period for both Haitian music and American Jazz. His passion for Jazz music led him to study with Jazz legends such as Frank Foster, Jimmy Owens, and John Lewis. Buyu then performed in New York City with various small groups for more than 20 years, playing usually Haitian Konpa music or Jazz. Buyu has worked with many notable Haitian groups in the New York metropolitan area. He recorded with Ayizan, a landmark avant-garde Rara ensemble. He also led the band Freefall which included world renowned Latin percussionist Bobby Sanabria (currently leader of the group Asuncion and the former drummer in Mario Bauza’s big band). Freefall also featured the talents of eclectic jazz percussionist Mino Cinelu (formerly with Miles Davis, Sting, and Weather Report). Buyu has also worked in the Project Liberty Jazz Ensemble with drummer Ben Dixon. Despite a long absence from his homeland, Buyu’s roots in Haitian culture remain strong. In his debut & sophomore albums Blues in Red (released in June 2004) & Marasa (released in December 2006), Buyu draws from the folkloric repertoire of Haitian music. Buyu could not resist the calling of infusing the similar African roots of both Haitian music and American Jazz into these story-telling melodies. Buyu has created a fruitful combination of traditional Afro-Haitian beats with the smooth improvisational grooves of enticing bass lines, melodic brass solos & piano explorations in styles that take after those of American Jazz greats such as John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. Coming from a Jazz perspective, Buyu has revealed a natural relationship between the complex polyrhythmic structures in both the North American form and the Afro-Caribbean sound of traditional Haitian music. This fusion is the birth of a new musical style that encompasses the two and sustains the mix effortlessly. Although this subgenre of World Jazz is considered cutting edge, Buyu’s recordings and live performances are executed with a spirit and level of mastery that invoke a gentle blend of harmonies that have matured on Haitian and American stages for generations. Specifically Marasa, filled with unexpected twists in compositions such as “Plezi Mize” (Pleasure in Misery) and “Wangol” attracts listeners and relentlessly captivates their attention. Buyu’s melodies are inspired from the rich repertoire of Afro-Haitian music sustained with modern jazz harmonies. Performance: Echoes of the Caribbean, Saturday 18th January, Harrison’s Cave, 4pm

CAMERON PIERRE (DOMINICA) was born in London, Cameron was raised on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Like most of his peers, Cameron’s early musical influences were Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, and a host of artists from that era of popular Jamaican music, oh, and Stevie Wonder. At sixteen he taught himself to play the guitar, and it was within the reggae genre that he first established himself, working with Jamaican artists including Clint Eastwood & General Saint, Barrington, Levy, Al Campbell, Wayne Marshall, Dennis Brown, Tipa Ire, Micheal Prophet et al. Then came the slow discovery of George Benson and Charlie Christian, and through them, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Since then Cameron has gone on to work with Courtney Pine, Pee Wee Ellis, Orphy Robinson, Alex Wilson, Jazz Jamaica, Dennis Rollins, Ormar Puente, Junior Walker, Joe Cocker, and numerous others. As his own musical direction veered towards jazz, he remained in demand on the Calypso, and reggae circuit. A stalwart of the British jazz scene since the 80s, he was invited by renowned British saxophonist Courtney Pine to join his band and has since become an integral part of the group both as a recording and live artist. Alongside Courtney’s band, in 1994 Cameron formed ‘Creole’, a multi-cultural melange of musicians from Africa, Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean, enjoying wide critical acclaim for their performances at the Glastonbury and Womad Festivals. In 1997, Cameron released the first of his five solo albums, Friday Night, to wide critical acclaim. In 2003 he also released The Other Side of Notting Hill, a body of work which was to help cement his reputation as a guitarist/composer par excellence. As a follow up to the acclaimed 2007 release “Pad up” his most recent release, “Radio Jumbo” his 6th studio cut, sees Cameron teaming up with French virtuoso pianist Mario Canonge for his second release on the Destin-e Label. “Though his approach is undeniably indebted to that of his two great heroes, Wes Montgomery and George Benson, but infused with a bounce and vitality that belongs only to him. Touring with Courtney Pine’s award-winning band Cameron’s guitar style has dazzled many a jazz fan, and he has received glowing reviews from all over the world for his warm, dexterous sound and his self-deprecating and engaging stage presence” Performance: Echoes of the Caribbean, Saturday 18th January, Harrison’s Cave, 4pm

REGGIE BOYCE was born in Colón in 1939 and is a well-known musician in the area. Reggie credits his mother for most of his upbringing, but says that his father, a trumpet player, was a force in his life and his first source of inspiration. As a young child Reggie became a part of the Salvation Army church band, and went on to play as a teenager in some of the most prestigious cabarets in the area. As an adult, he played the trumpet with his band in cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Reggie has also shared his talent in another way by teaching music for a number of years. His current band “Jazz Effects” has performed in the most popular venues in Panama and Colon: El Centro de Convenciones ATLAPA, El Teatro Balboa, Hotel Caesar Park (now the Sheraton), Restaurante Las Bovedas, Hotel Intercontinental Miramar, Hotel Bristol, Hotel Intercontinental Playa Bonita, Club Union, Teatro Nacional, and other major locations in Panama and Colon. The band frequently plays for private functions; weddings, parties, birthdays and other festive events. The band recorded an album on CD in 1998 with vocalist Barbara Wilson and again, another CD in 2005 with vocalist Idania Dowman. This second CD was entirely composed by Pianist Alberto Philips. The group was invited by the Danilo Perez Foundation to play in three of the four Panama Jazz Festivals. March 1, 2007 marked the band’s ten year anniversary and the group celebrated with a gala at the Crown Casino on Via Espana in Panama City. Helping Reggie with the celebration was Carlos Garnett and his quintet. Currently the band plays on Thursdays and Friday nights at the Crown Casino at the Sheraton Hotel, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight. Their repertoire includes Jazz standards, blues, Dixieland, funk, Latin jazz, boleros and salsa.Performance: Echoes of the Caribbean, Saturday 18th January, Harrison’s Cave, 4pm