Jazzing up Independence night

THIS year’s Independence night will be a jazzy celebration with John Arnold and the Kariwak Players taking centre stage at the newly-launched Kaiso Blues Café 2.0, at 1D Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.

Arnold, a consummate musician/jazz exponent, will launch his newest CD, CoolBago, beginning at 9 pm in what is billed as “an evening of traditional jazz mixed with smooth and kaiso jazz.”

He will be joined by saxophonist Tony Paul as a special guest along with the Kariwak Players for what Arnold promises would be a wonderful evening of eclectic sounds.

Paul, known as Anthony Woodruffe, is described as “a ‘first call’ musician on the local jazz scene” and is a member of the teaching staff at the UTT’s Academy for the Performing Arts (APA). He is a senior instructor in woodwinds, and is also the leader of the Jazz & Contemporary Music Studio for the jazz curriculum at the APA.

The Kariwak Players, of which Arnold, an accomplished pianist, has been leader for over two decades, has been the resident band at Tobago’s Kariwak Village Hotel since 1982, shortly after the resort’s inception. The band continues to provide entertainment every Friday and Saturday night showcasing calypso, soca, Latin, jazz, ballads and folk “reflecting TT’s dynamic musical heritage.” The launch will also feature the band’s lead vocalist Lynette Louis.

Arnold received the Hummingbird Medal Gold (2010) for culture and, among other roles in culture and music, is currently chairman of COTT, chairman of MusicTT and a sector specialist for Carifesta 2019 to be hosted by TT.

Coolbago is his fourth CD compilation having already given us Deep Inside (2005), Smooth Jazzy Feelings (2006) and Kaiso in De Jazz Stew (2011).

As creative director of TT’s foremost show choir, Signal Hill Alumni Choir (SHAC), Arnold has also enjoyed a successful career of choral music internationally. SHAC too, for its work as cultural ambassadors received the Hummingbird Medal Gold (1997).

Tickets are available and bookings can be made at Kaiso Blues Café 2.0, which was formally launched on August 15, at its new and more spacious venue.