The Normandie presents Jazz 40, Under The Trees, The Normandie, St Ann's, on June 30, at 8 pm.
This event coincides with The Jazz Alliance of Trinidad & Tobago (Jatt) celebrating the 40th birthday of musician, pannist, drummer and educator Sean "Jazz" Thomas. The feature act will be Canada's premier Calypso Fusion band Kobo Town in their one and only public performance in Trinidad. Their presence is being facilitated through the kind courtesy of the Canadian High Commission!
Jazz 40 is a loose Birthday Party Jam and special guests will include opera singer Anne Fridal, and jazz elders Clive Zanda and Michael Boothman. Also appearing will be the vocal styling of Glenda Collens.
The entrance fee for the show is only $100 and there will be a special four-course Birthday Dinner from 6.30 pm which includes special reserve seating at the show for only $285, courtesy The Normandie's gourmet chef.
For more information, call: 689-4298; 797-0949; 731-8893
Kobo Town Biography
Founded by bandleader Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town is named after the historic neighbourhood in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where traditional calypso (kaiso) was born amid the boastful, humorous and militant chants of the roaming stick fighters. Situated near the fishermen's wharf, in the vicinity of Crowne Plaza, the area was a site of constant defiance and conflict, a place where sticks and stones, songs and verses clashed with the bayonets and batons of colonial rule. For the members of the eight-piece outfit, the name suggests an origin as well as a destination.
The repertoire of "Kobo Town" explores the rich lyrical tradition and compelling rhythms of calypso's formative years-the age of the Roaring Lion, Mighty Spoiler, Lord Invader, King Radio and Attila the Hun.
Kobo Town strives to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of this art form by engaging the pressing concerns of our time and by fusing the traditional form with a range of other genres like rock, jazz, and world beat. Domestic violence, the US war on Iraq, the paradoxes of globalisation, the ongoing state of Caribbean dependency, and the bittersweet experience of immigration are all treated within their wide and varied repertoire.
Calypso is an art that developed in dialogue with other musical forms. The members of Kobo Town, who come to calypso from all over the musical map, hope to continue and extend this tradition of rhythmic and melodic cross-pollination. While rooted in ole-time calypso and various West Indian folk music, their music also draws heavily on dub poetry, roots reggae, zouk, son montuno, funk and jazz.