(Jazz, Calypso, Latin-Jazz) Andy Narell and Relator - University of Calypso - 2009, MP3 (tracks), VBR 208 kbps

Artist.......: Andy Narell And Relator
Album........: University Of Calypso
Label........: Heads Up
Genre........: Jazz
Catnr........: 3168
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Nov-05-2009
str.date.....: Jun-23-2009
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: andynarell.net
track  title                                          time
 01.   Gavaskar                                      05:03
 02.   Love In The Cemetary                          03:49
 03.   Food Prices                                   05:15
 04.   Pan In Harmony                                07:29
 05.   Eating Competition                            03:54
 06.   Steel Band Music                              04:14
 07.   My Pussin                                     03:44
 08.   Sugar For Pan                                 06:07
 09.   Hold Onto Your Man                            04:55
 10.   Peddlars                                      03:35
 11.   Bottle And Spoon                              04:23
 12.   Take Yuh Meat Out Meh Rice                    03:45
 13.   Pan On Sesame Street                          04:31
 14.   Ugly Woman                                    02:22
 15.   My Brother Your Sister                        04:07
                                            Runtime  67:13 min
                                            Size     100,2 MB
Release Notes:
It's no secret that calypso has been a major
influence on Andy Narell, whose main instrument,
the steel pan, originated in Trinidad. Narell isn't
the only jazz improviser who has been affected by
calypso; tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins started
combining hard bop and calypso in the 1950s, when
Narell was only a child. But if Rollins did a lot
to get the jazz/calypso ball rolling, Narell was
more than happy to take that ball and keep running
with it 20, 30, 40, and 50 years later. In fact,
Narell and veteran calypso singer/guitarist Willard
Harris, aka Lord Relator, are co-leaders on
University of Calypso, which finds them performing
calypso songs that range from the well known to the
obscure. This 2008 session contains some
instrumentals, although it is primarily a vocal
album -- and Relator sings more often than not.
Jazz has influenced a variety of music in the
Caribbean over the years, including
salsa/Afro-Cuban, ska, and calypso. Thus, it makes
perfect sense for Narell and Relator to make
extensive use of Narell's jazz chops on songs
previously recorded by Lord Kitchener (including
"My Pussin," "Take Yuh Meat Out Meh Rice," and "Pan
in Harmony"), Roaring Lion ("Ugly Woman"), the
Mighty Terror ("Sugar for Pan"), and Relator
himself ("Pan on Sesame Street," "Food Prices,"
"Gavaskar," "Bottle and Spoon"). Bop fans will
notice that Lord Melody's "Peddlers" incorporates
Charlie Parker's "Anthropology," and some might
assume that the use of "Anthropology" was Narell's
idea. But in fact, "Anthropology"'s melody was used
on Melody's original 1950s recording of "Peddlers."
One of the great things about University of Calypso
is the fact that it sounds like a genuine exchange
of ideas between Narell and Relator; Narell clearly
draws on Relator's calypso background, and Relator
clearly draws on Narell's jazz background. In a
perfect world, Rollins would have appeared on this
album and been featured extensively; Rollins is no
doubt familiar with some of these songs, and one
can imagine him revisiting "St. Thomas" or "Hold
'Em Joe" in the presence of a well-known calypso
artist like Relator. Regardless, University of
Calypso is a consistently interesting collaboration
that world jazz enthusiasts shouldn't miss.