Etienne Charles via Matrix

The Birth of the Matrix →

No princípio...

Imagine uma rede em que, por alguma mágica fantástica, todos dentro tenderiam a poucos passos detectáveis de todos os outros... na rede e no planeta...

Imagine uma rede que seria mais sobre pessoas que você não conhece do que sobre pessoas que você conhece. E ainda mais importante: sobre pessoas que não o conhecem, mas cujas vidas seriam enriquecidas se o conhecessem...

Imagine uma rede que incluiria todos na economia criativa global da humanidade...

Você está imaginando O Matrix (Rede Online)!

Esse Matrix baiano foi fundado (com afeto!) numa questão fundamental: Como é possível fazer com que os músicos mais importantes historicamente do Brasil sejam descobertos por pessoas que vivem em qualquer lugar da Terra?

A resposta foi incluí-los num matrix no sentido original da palavra: “fonte”, de “mater”, latim para “mãe”...

...um matrix que também incluiria membros da economia criativa de todo o mundo: escritores e jornalistas, pintores, cineastas, coreógrafos, programadores de computador, designers de som e cenografia, designers de moda, matemáticos…

Por este meio, podemos pessoalmente alcançar profundamente a realidade da economia criativa global que está realmente lá fora: Roberto Mendes de Santo Amaro pode recomendar João do Boi de São Braz. Munir Hossn de Salvador, mas agora morando em Paris, pode recomendar Roberto Mendes. Alfredo Rodriguez de Havana, mas agora morando em Nova York, pode recomendar Munir Hossn. E Quincy Jones de Los Angeles pode recomendar Alfredo Rodriguez. Quem conhece Quincy Jones agora pode descobrir João do Boi (entre os músicos absolutamente mais fundamentais do Brasil) em apenas quatro passos.

Este não é um exemplo isolado. Caminhos curtos de apenas alguns passos entre pessoas criativas amplamente díspares são universais em todo o Matrix. Tal é o fantástico poder matemático do fenômeno do pequeno mundo, o fenômeno responsável pelos "seis graus de separação", unindo a maioria dos seres humanos à maioria dos outros em cerca de seis passos. Essa é a superpotência do Matrix baiano.

O Matrix baiano está aberta a todos da economia criativa global. Foi construído numa loja de discos no Centro Histórico de Salvador por um americano que trabalhou anteriormente em Nova York recuperando royalties não pagos para artistas como Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Led Zeppelin, Cat Stevens (Yusef Islam), Astrud Gilberto, Airto Moreira, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, o primeiro produtor de Bob Marley, Clement Dodd, o mestre de jazz Jim Hall e outros.

Agora o projeto é mostrar ao mundo o que é que a Bahia tem. Ao permitir que todos na economia criativa global também podem estender a mão ao redor do mundo e mostram ao mundo o que é que eles têm.

O Matrix é capaz de atingir profundamente... esta é a vila de São Braz, no Recôncavo baiano, criada por escravizados que escaparam para uma liberdade marginal...

In the beginning...

Imagine a network wherein by some fantastic magic everybody within would tend to within scant, discoverable steps of everybody else... in the network, and across the planet...

Imagine a network that would be more about people you don't know than people you do know. And even more importantly: about people who don't know you but whose lives would be enriched if they did...

Imagine a network which would include all in humanity's global creative economy...

You are imagining The Matrix (Online Network)!

This Bahian Matrix was founded (with love!) on a fundamental question: How is it possible to make Brazil’s most historically important musicians discoverable by people living anywhere around the Earth?

The answer was to include them in a matrix in the original sense of the word: “source”, from “mater”, Latin for “mother”...

...a matrix which would also include members of the creative economy from everywhere else: writers and journalists, painters, filmmakers, choreographers, computer programmers, sound and set designers, fashion designers, mathematicians…

By this means we can personally reach deeply into the reality of the global creative economy that is really out there: Roberto Mendes of Santo Amaro can recommend João do Boi of São Braz. Munir Hossn of Salvador but now living in Paris can recommend Roberto Mendes. Alfredo Rodriguez of Havana but now living in New York City can recommend Munir Hossn. And Quincy Jones of Los Angeles can recommend Alfredo Rodriguez. Anybody who knows Quincy Jones can now discover João do Boi (top photo; "John of the Ox" in English, the vastly important Son House of Brazil) in just four steps.

This is not an isolated example. Short pathways of just a few steps between widely disparate creative people are universal throughout the Matrix. Such is the fantastic mathematical power of the small world phenomenon, the phenomenon responsible for “six degrees of separation”, joining most human beings to most others within some six or so steps. This is the Bahian Matrix’s superpower.

The Bahian Matrix is open to all in the global creative economy. It was built in a record shop in Salvador’s Centro Histórico by an American who formerly worked in New York city retrieving unpaid royalties for artists including Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Led Zeppelin, Cat Stevens (Yusef Islam), Astrud Gilberto, Airto Moreira, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Bob Marley’s first producer Clement Dodd, jazz great Jim Hall and others.

Now the project is to show the world o que é que a Bahia tem (what it is that Bahia has). By letting everybody in the global creative economy likewise reach out across the planet to connect as they wish and show the world what it is that they have too.

The Matrix is capable of reaching deeply...this is João's village of São Braz, in the Bahian Recôncavo, created by enslaved who'd escaped to a marginal freedom...

ALL IS CLOSER THAN WE IMAGINE
(Imagine Etienne Charles) I RECOMMEND
You can recommend Etienne Charles from below when logged in ←

CURATION

from this node by: Matrix

This is the Universe of

Name: Etienne Charles
City/Place: East Lansing, Michigan
Country: United States

Life & Work

Bio: Over its century-plus history, jazz has forged its shape-shifting identity by encompassing a rainbow of musical dialects in an improvisation-infused setting. While jazz's potency launched into popular appeal based on the integration of the European classical music sensibility and the grassroots of African-American cultural heritage, it has not remained a static idiom. Indeed, jazz has become organically enlarged, expanded and revitalized by cultivating new influences into the tradition, from the Afro-Cuban movement of the '40s to today's artists embracing their ethnic heritage.

One of the most compelling and exciting young jazz artists ushering the genre into groundbreaking new territory is trumpeter/bandleader Etienne Charles, who, still in his 20s, has already recorded three impressive and well-received albums for his own Culture Shock Music imprint. His new album, Creole Soul, is a captivating journey of new jazz expression. It buoyantly taps into a myriad of styles rooted in his Afro-Caribbean background and plumbs the musical depths of the islands, from calypso to Haitian voodoo music. Also in the jazz amalgam mix are rock steady, reggae, belair, kongo and rock as well as the influence of Motown and R&B music Charles listened to on his parents' record player when he was growing up.

"Jazz is Creole music," says Charles who was born in Trinidad, relocated first to Florida and then New York to further his jazz studies (graduating, respectively, from Florida State's and Juilliard's jazz programs) and today teaches jazz trumpet at Michigan State University. "As a person in the new world, I've been influenced by so much music. And my family has a mixed background, with French Caribbean, Spanish and African roots as well as Venezuelan influences. I come from a fusion of rhythms, a fusion of cultures. That's what this album is all about: focusing on soul music that is Creole at heart."

As befitting an artist who excels with such a diversity of musical styles, Charles has performed with a range of musicians, from Roberta Flack, Rene Marie and David Rudder to Wynton Marsalis, Johnny Mandel, the Count Basie Orchestra and Maria Schneider. He also worked with steel pan all-star Len "Boogsie" Sharpe as well as jazz masters Frank Foster and Benny Golson.

Charles was taught by one of his mentors, primo jazz pianist and Florida State professor Marcus Roberts, that "going backwards is the only way to go forward." So, while the 10-song Creole Soul is steeped in the jazz tradition, the spirit of the Caribbean also drives it. The young trumpeter, in addition to composing six originals, delivers his unique spin on Creole-oriented tunes from past masters, ranging from Bob Marley to Thelonious Monk. The album—at turns, rootsy, spicy and grooving—features at its core Charles' crisp trumpet intonation and his lucid melodic lines. Joining the leader for the Creole music adventure is Charles' band, comprised of tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart, alto saxophonist Brian Hogans, Kris Bowers on piano and Fender Rhodes, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Obed Calvaire. Guests include vocalist Erol Josué, guitarist Alex Wintz and percussionist/vocalists Daniel Sadownick and D'Achee.

Creole Soul opens with voodoo priest Erol Josué's distinctive voice delivering a chant in the Haitian Creole language, Kweyol. "To me there is nothing more Creole than Haiti," says Charles. "What Erol sings here is something like ‘take a break, I'm bringing news,' but he's also speaking in code like in the slave days, so it's not really translatable."

Erol's welcome segues into the leadoff track, "Creole," a fast-paced romp fueled by the kongo groove from northern Haiti, with a bridge that moves from a minor key to a major. "This tune was inspired by a trip to Haiti," Charles says. "It's about a struggle that turns into empowerment. When we return to the groove after the middle part of the tune, it's the release from the struggle." He adds that a key influence to the tune is the song "Je Vous Aime Kongo."

Quieter and just as soulful, "The Folks" is another Charles groove-charged tune with Bowers' Fender Rhodes colors and a fine trading solo run by the trumpeter and tenor saxist Schwarz-Bart. It's a song that celebrates Charles' parents who, he says, exemplify Creole soul. His mother was the Trinidadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, where he visited and began to discover firsthand with his family where the African diaspora first took place along the Slave Coast of Nigeria and in Ghana.

Introduced with a belair groove, the uptempo "Roots" pays homage to Charles' Martinique roots and his family's long association with the French-speaking island. "This is about me discovering things about my ancestors after so many years," Charles says. The beat clips and the improvisations are like conversations, especially the trumpet-guitar talk. Williams' bass lines are funky, Calvaire's drums are slamming, and the band participates in a compelling vocal chant.

The four covers are scattered throughout the disc. The catchy, bluesy "You Don't Love Me (no no no)" was a rock steady hit in the '60s by reggae singer Dawn Penn. Originally a Mississippi blues tune by Bo Diddley and a number that Willie Cobbs reinterpreted, the song is given a swing by Charles as well as full-horn harmony gusto.

The tender ballad "Memories," a rearranged old calypso by Winsford Devine, pays tribute to people Charles has known who have passed away. Made famous by the great Trinidadian calypso singer, the Mighty Sparrow, "Memories" is dedicated to another of the trumpeter's teachers, the steel pan/percussionist Ralph MacDonald (whose father was from Trinidad). He had played on Charles' previous albums but died of cancer at the age of 67 in 2011. "Ralph was one of my biggest mentors," Charles says. "He was like an uncle to me. We recorded and did gigs together. I remember visiting him when he was flat in bed, feeding him ice cream. It was a very emotional session for me because he wasn't a part of it."

Charles originally arranged the lyrical and bright interpretation of Monk's "Green Chimney" when he recorded with pianist Eric Reed on his 2012 The Baddest Monk album. While Monk was not from the Caribbean, Charles assumes the influence was there given that when the pianist moved from North Carolina to New York, he lived in the Caribbean neighborhood, San Juan Hill. Veteran jazz pianist Monty Alexander, who has also been a major influence on Charles' career, seconded this. "The melody is a calypso," says Charles.

The next track features Charles romancing on the Marley classic, "Turn Your Lights Down Low," that's played with a slight reggae beat. "It's one of my favorite Marley tunes," Charles says. "We play it a lot at gigs. We slow it down and even sing it. It's another great example of Creole soul because reggae has its roots in calypso, blues, doo-wop and New Orleans funk."

The last three songs on Creole Soul are Charles' compositions, beginning with "Midnight," which features classic trumpet/tenor sax harmonies and exhilarating solo runs by the leader, Bowers and Schwarz-Bart. "It's about the stillness of the night when nothing and everything is going on," he says. "It's when I get my most creative ideas. The song has calypso with Haitian Mascaron dance grooves. The melody itself actually came from playing a wrong chord when I was teaching one day."

The quiet, radiant ballad "Close Your Eyes" is delivered as a duet with Bowers on piano. "I wrote the tune, but never played it," Charles says. "We ran it through and just played together—solo and background—just playing off each other." The album ends playfully with the spirited "Doin' the Thing," which Charles says is a "rhythm tune that's still jazz." At the heart of the song: calypso. "My rule is that I end with a jam that'll be straight up calypso," he says. "I don't want to get away from that. I'm proud and connected. It actually reminds me of what I heard the house rent parties in New York were all about. They always played calypso at those."

The New York Times calls Charles an auteur who is "one of [jazz's] more ambitious soloists and composers," JazzTimes applauds him as a "daring improviser" and DownBeat celebrates his tone as "melodically captivating" and "rhythmically agile" that makes his music "immediately pleasing." After three albums, released on Culture Shock, Charles has garnered a welcomed response to his Caribbean roots-informed jazz. Creole Soul, his most accomplished recording so far in his young career, holds great promise to a future of more ebullient and intimate artistry.

Contact Information

Email: [email protected]

Media | Markets

▶ Buy My Music: (downloads/CDs/DVDs) http://myiesstore.com/etiennecharles/
▶ Twitter: etiennejazz
▶ Instagram: etiennejazz
▶ Website: http://www.etiennecharles.com
▶ YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/etchala
▶ YouTube Music: http://music.youtube.com/channel/UCWeR4-fk2WbogyDdecMMGoQ
▶ Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/0lY3BpNPDXytGZVrmlLuGh
▶ Spotify 2: http://open.spotify.com/album/1z3x8gJOd1nyIvHrdX91yo
▶ Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/arts/music/etienne-charles-carnival.html

Quotes, Notes & Etc. “..Etienne Charles exhibits both an authentic preservation of the music of his native culture of Trinidad as a composer and bandleader, while broadening our scope of understanding through the collaborative sound of American jazz as it meets new colors, new textures, and new motifs across the world. It will certainly bring more of our public into the jazz audience” - Marcus Roberts

“An amazing Trumpet player, and Steel Drum player, and Cuatro player...young Trinidadian who has held onto his heritage” - Monty Alexander

“A daring improviser, Charles also delivers with heart-wrenching lyricism” - Jazz Times

“…had strength and a clear, almost classical sense of thematic organization.” - New York Times

“The music was not simply reworked….Charles seemed to dissect the music studying every note and then proceeded to weave elements of Dixieland, Francesca, modal, bebop and modern styles into his arrangements, all while maintaining the integrity of the original compositions. “ – Trinidad Express

Clips (more may be added)

Etienne Charles Discusses Carnival In Its Purest Form
By Etienne Charles

479 views
Etienne Charles on What is Jazz
By Etienne Charles

434 views

Do you recommend Etienne Charles?

Imagine the world's creative economy at your fingertips. Imagine 10 doors side-by-side. Beyond each, 10 more, each opening to a "creative" somewhere around the planet. After passing through 8 such doorways you will have followed 1 pathway out of 100 million possible (2 sets of doorways yield 10 x 10 = 100 pathways). This is a simplified version of the metamathematics that makes it possible to reach anybody in the global creative economy in just a few steps. It doesn't mean that everybody will be reached by everybody. It does mean that everybody can be reached by everybody.