This was a bit of a wild card and I suspect that your reviewer wasn’t the only one in the audience who wasn’t sure what to expect on the Opera Holland Park (OHP) stage for the first session of a four-day carnival-themed collaboration between Kensington & Chelsea Festival and Carnival Village Trust.
Born in Glencoe, north-west Trinidad, but now based in the USA, Charles is an acclaimed trumpeter, composer and arranger. His music is rooted in jazz – he’s an assistant professor of Jazz Studies – but he channels the energy of Jouvert, and his passion for the traditions and music of Trinidad shines through in his music. During the course of his show, we had all-too-brief glimpses of his encyclopaedic knowledge of ole mas, tamboo bamboo, steelpan and calypso. In an interview with panonthenet, Charles said: “I basically grew up in Phase II’s pan yard as my dad and uncle were in their second pan (double second) section… Pan is probably the most important part of my musical foundation.” That background was reflected in the presence of Mangrove’s long-time arranger, André White, on steelpan.
Charles has been taking his show around the globe for some years and often includes performances by ole mas characters such as Dame Lorraine, the title of the jazz-infused opening number. Sadly, they weren’t present, despite the obvious suitability of the OHP stage for shows that combine mas and music. Equally sadly – but unsurprisingly – the tamboo bamboo intro to Black Echo was pre-recorded; a live performance would surely have blown the audience away! This was an atmospheric piece, making good use of White’s talents on pan.
Charles’s commentary on “the madness of the last eight years”, titled Theatre of the Absurd (ain’t it just?!), featured some spectacular drumming and piano. And to commemorate “the incredible contribution of the Windrush Generation”, Charles naturally chose something by Lord Kitchener. Happily, he didn’t opt for the obvious London is the Place for Me but gave us the entertainingly ghoulish Love in the Cemetery. With White providing the fireworks on pan and Charles the vocals, this was a real Notting Hill crowd-pleaser and went down a storm. Another standout was Santimanitay, which features a fine trumpet solo, for which OHP’s acoustics were well-suited. The track can be found on Etienne Charles’s album Folklore, and outside the OHP ‘tent’ there was the remarkable sight of genuine vinyl albums for sale, including Carnival: the sound of a people.
Next time he visits these shores, let’s hope Charles can bring his ole mas and tamboo bamboo too! In the meantime, you could always sign up to join his mas band, Rhythm, Brass and Mas, for Carnival Monday in Trinidad.
