COUNTDOWN TO JAZZ
ARTURO TAPPIN is definitely the smoothest, sexiest horn man the Caribbean has to offer. His dynamic and spirited live performances have won him fans the world over.
Arturo made headway with his debut recording “Strictly Roots Jazz” and then immediately followed up with a stellar performance on his second album entitled, “Java”, both licensed by Pioneer Records in Japan. For his cultural contributions to Jamaica and the Caribbean, Arturo recently received a nationally acclaimed Award of Excellence in the Arts from former Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson.
No stranger to jazz areas, Arturo has dazzled audiences at the Soho Jazz Festival, the Bob Marley Birthday Bash and Reggae Sunsplash, as well as headlining Jazz Festivals throughout the Caribbean. He has performed with the legendary Roberta Flack, Hard Bop Trumpeter Red Rodney, Grammy Award winning drummer Roy Haynes, Reggae Super Star Maxi Priest, R & B chart topper Anita Baker, Jamaican Jazz pianist and Guitarist Monty Alexander and Ernest Ranglin, South African Jazz Legend Hugh Masekela, Smooth Jazz crooner Will Downing and R & B singer Freddie Jackson.
Besides touring Arturo has served as the Musical Director for Eddy Grant and 2014 Grammy Award Winner Laylah Hathaway as well as recorded with Grammy recipients Ralph MacDonald, and the late great Luther Vandross.
Arturo has had the privilege of playing for two American Presidents, President Bill Clinton at the Governor General’s residence in Barbados and recently at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago for President Barack Obama. He has also performed for Cuba’s President Fidel Castro.
When asked what his future plans are in music he simply responded “Listen, practise, play, record.”
Watch out for Arturo Tappin at the St Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival.
Another artiste coming for Jazz is Pianist Alain Jean-Marie who was born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadaloupe.He is a self-taught musician who moved to Paris, France in 1973 where he got his first job at La Cigale, with Robert Mavounzy and Al Lirvat. He quickly became a ‘first-call’ pianist. From 1976 on, he toured and recorded with such jazz legends as Chet Baker, Sonny Stitt, Art Farmer, Johnny Griffin, Lee Konitz, Bill Coleman, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Barney Wilen and Benny Golson.
In 1979, Alain received the Django Reinhardt Prize, France’s foremost distinction for jazz musicians. In 1987, Alain Jean-Marie recorded a duo album with bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen. In 1990, he joined Abbey Lincoln in New York to record the album “The World is Falling Down”, along with Clark Terry, Jackie McLean, Billy Higgins and Charlie Haden. Alain also frequently performed with saxophonist Barney Wilen.
The year 1992 marked the release of his album “Biguine Reflections”, the first of a series in which Alain Jean-Marie creates a link between his Caribbean roots and his be-bop culture and pays tribute to phenomenal biguine musicians such as Al Lirvat and Robert Mavounzy. In 1999, his solo album “Afterblue” won the First Prize from France’s Jazz Academy, for ‘Best French Jazz Record’. The following year, Alain received the ‘Golden’ Django Award as ‘Best French Jazz Musician.’
To this day, Alain remains a huge inspiration and example for a whole generation of musicians on the French jazz scene.