UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Sounding the Transnational: Caribbean Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6sw049k3 Author Rouet, Jiselle Publication Date 2019 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Sounding the Transnational: Caribbean Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago by Jiselle Rouet A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Jocelyne Guilbault, Chair Professor Daniel Fisher Professor Myra Melford Summer 2019 Sounding the Transnational: Caribbean Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago Ó 2019 by Jiselle Rouet Abstract Sounding the Transnational: Caribbean Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago by Jiselle Rouet Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology University of California, Berkeley Professor Jocelyne Guilbault, Chair This dissertation engages the concept of transnationalism, a process usually defined by the permanent migration of people across the borders of nation-states, to highlight the complexities of the sound of Caribbean jazz in Trinidad and Tobago. This musical practice draws on an array of sounds that are distinctly local, yet certainly influenced by knowledge of and connections to the world at large. The sounds of Jamaica (reggae), Brazil (bossa nova), the United States (R&B, funk, disco) and India (sitar) amongst others can be heard and felt in the music. While the genre of jazz has largely been understood in reference to its origins in the United States, its dissemination across the world has become the focus of recent scholarly work. Jazz arrived in Trinidad and Tobago as early as the 1930s through film scores and radio broadcasts. However, the jazz emerging from Trinidad and Tobago today is quite distinct, sonically, from jazz in the United States. Critically, in this dissertation, I ask in what ways might the study of sound help to re- conceptualize the process of transnationalism. By studying how sound is conceptualized, created, and disseminated, I examine issues of race, class, gender, labor, and the inequalities of power that are integral to understanding the concept of transnationalism in the Caribbean context. Drawing on archival work, I situate jazz within the context of Trinbagonian (Trinidadian and Tobagonian) history to show how the music first circulated. I engage the concept of sound beyond musical details to focus on processes of listening, observing, musical analysis and lived experience to demonstrate how issues of race, class, and power are at the core of how musicians negotiate the creation of their distinctive sounds. Through a collection of interviews, live performances and interactions with musicians, I situate biographically the experiences of seven Trinbagonian jazz musicians to show how their quests to learn and perform Caribbean jazz reflect larger transnational processes. Approaching Caribbean jazz as a sonic record for mapping transnational circulation illustrates how musicians in the global south collaborate and exchange influence outside of dominant frameworks that center the United States and Europe. 1 DEDICATION To Geneviève, for rekindling the fire in my heart and giving me the strength to see this project to the end. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 1 Dedication i Table of Contents ii List of Figures iv Acknowledgements vi Part I: Lived Experiences of Transnationalism 1 Chapter One: Introduction: Caribbean Jazz? Same seed…Different soil 1 Situating The Caribbean 4 Trinidad, or Trinidad and Tobago? 5 Theoretical Framework 6 Methodology 10 Foreword: How to Write “I”? 14 Ethnography At Home 16 Chapter Outlines 18 Chapter Two: Clive (Zanda) Alexander’s “Fancy Sailor”: History, Materiality, and the Colonial Subject 22 The Early Years Sojourn: London 27 The Return: Trinidad and Other Travels 29 Concluding Remarks 35 Part II: The Transnational at Home, Letters to… 38 Chapter Three: How to Woman: Vaughnette Bigford’s Journey to Jazz 39 Letter to Miriam 41 No Money, No Love: A Letter to Trinidadian girls 44 Letter to My Readers 47 Letter to Lady V 56 Chapter Four: Music as Labor: Anthony Woodroffe Jr., the Sax Man 58 Letter to Paul 59 Letter to Nigel 63 Reflections on Anthony: A Letter to My Readers 66 ii Part III: Things in Motion, Storytelling Trini Style 70 Chapter Five: Race, Cosmopolitanism, and Transnational Motions: The Story of Michael Low Chew Tung (Ming) 73 A Trini is Never just a Trini 73 Gears Man 77 Quite-oh, Quite-oh From the Land of Calypso 81 Conclusion 89 Chapter Six: Race, Economics, and the Negotiation of Space in the Transnational Making of Caribbean Jazz: Chantal Esdelle’s story 90 Education 90 On Blackness 94 Creating a Space for Caribbean Jazz 97 Making an Album 101 Conclusion 105 Part IV: The Places to Which we Belong On Locating Oneself in Diasporic Spaces 106 Chapter Seven: Inward Hunger: Race, Class, and Masculinity in the Negotiation of Self: David Bertrand’s Story 107 Trinidad 108 Palmyra and Other Places: New York 111 Introducing Palmyra to the World 112 Reflections on the Concert 113 Releasing Palmyra: Production Strategies 115 The Album 116 Conclusion 118 Chapter Eight: Trinidad is My Land: Navigating “Home” and “Foreign” in the Development of Musical Self: Etienne Charles’ story 120 International Acclaim 120 Culture Shock 121 Dapper Style 123 Folklore 125 Kaiso 128 Transnational Connections: Creole Soul, San Jose Suite, and Carnival: The Sound of a People 130 Conclusion 133 Conclusion 134 Works Cited 136 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Clive “Zanda” Alexander performing at Tobago Beach Jazz, April 2017 Figure 2.2 The Dutchy Brothers Album Cover, “A Study in Rhythm” Figure 2.3 Sel Duncan and Orchestra, “Concert at the Hall” Figure 2.4 Transcription of “Mr. Walker,” The Mighty Sparrow Figure 2.5 Transcription of Clive Zanda’s arrangement of “Mr. Walker” Figure 2.6 Clive performing at the Ethnic Jazz Club, November 2016 Figure 2.7 The Clive Zanda Method Figure 3.1 Vaughnette performing at the Point Fortin Borough Day Celebration, 2017 Figure 3.2 Vaughnette wearing Zadd and Eastman at Jazz Artists on the Green 2017 Figure 3.3 Transcription of KMC’s “Soul on Fire” Figure 3.4 Transcription of verse from “Soul on Fire” arra by the Vaughnette Bigford Band Figure 3.5 Transcription of Chorus of “Soul on Fire” Figure 3.6 Transcription of Erykah Badu’s “On and On” Figure 4.1 Anthony performing in the Vaughnette Bigford Band at Jazz Artists on the Greens, 2017 Figure 4.2 Anthony doubling on flute for Élan Parlē at Jazz Artists on the Greens, 2017 Figure 4.3 Anthony Woodroffe, Jr. and band performing at the Tobago Jazz Experience, 2017 Figure 4.4 Anthony and his band performing with Ben Lowman at the Tobago Jazz Experience, 2017 Figure 5.1 Michael Low Chew Tung Figure 5.2 Melodic line of introduction to “Port of Spain” Figure 5.3 Bridge from Chick Corea’s “Spain” Figure 5.4 Orisha Rhythm used in “Berimbe” Figure 5.5 Ming in Rehearsal with the Vaughnette Bigford Band Figure 5.6 Ming and some of his gear at Jazz Artists on the Greens 2017 Figure 5.7 Ming with Charlie’s Roots while on tour Figure 5.8 Transcription of Bass and Drum rhythms in “Calypso Music” Figure 5.9 Transcription of David Rudder’s “Calypso Music” Figure 5.10 Transcription of “Calypso Music” as arranged by Michael Low Chew Tung Figure 6.1 Excerpt from “Final Farewell” Figure 6.2 Montuno used throughout “La Major De Mi” Figure 6.3 Chantal performing at the Ethnic Jazz Club Figure 6.4 Chantal Esdelle and Moyenne performing at the Normandy Hotel Figure 6.5 Clive Zanda and band at the Ethnic Jazz Club Figure 6.6 Audience at the Ethnic Jazz Club Figure 6.7 Rhyner’s Storage Unit Figure 7.1 Photo of David Bertrand Figure 7.2 David Bertrand Quartet performing at Cornelia Street Café Figure 7.3 Transcription of Terror Fabulous’ “Action” Figure 7.4 Transcription of David Bertrand’s “Fire Island” Figure 7.5 Bass line in “Wood Slave” Figure 7.6 The David Bertrand Quartet at Club Bonafide. iv Figure 8.1 Orisha Rhythm used as ostinato in “Culture Shock” Figure 8.2 Album cover of Folklore Figure 8.3 Etienne in one of his signature suits on the set of “Cup of Joe” with Joel Villafana Figure 8.4 Transcription of the introduction to “Douens” Figure 8.5 Mode used in “Dance with the La Diablesse” Figure 8.6 Transcription of the Introduction to the Mighty Sparrow’s “Ten to One is Murder” Figure 8.7 Introductory Hit (Ten to One is Murder arr. Etienne Charles) Figure 8.8 Refrain (Ten to One is Murder arr. Etienne Charles) Figure 8.9 Typical chord progression often used for calypso Figure 8.10 Album cover of San Jose Suite v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to begin by thanking the musicians featured in this project for opening their hearts and lives to me, and for trusting me to share their stories with the world. Without your support, participation and kindness, this project would never have become so vibrant. Mr. Zanda, Vaughnette, Anthony, Ming, Chantal, David, Etienne. Thank you for everything. I also want to specially thank Nigel Campbell for his friendship, advice, and for willingly sharing his incredible knowledge of the music scene in Trinidad. Much of this work is indebted to your wisdom and guidance. A big thank you also goes to the photographers who have allowed permissions for the reproduction of some of their works. In particular, I want to thank Maria Nunes for her photographs of Chantal Esdelle, and I want to acknowledge the work of Laura Ferreira that has been made available for publicity on Etienne Charles’ website.