Jesse Ryan & Kaiso Street Collective: Music of the Mighty Bomber.

The Premiere

Kaiso Street Collective is a new ensemble led by Trinidadian-born saxophonist and composer Jesse Ryan. Re-imagined through the lens of modern jazz, the collective is dedicated to presenting fresh arrangements of music from the golden age of calypso.

Each season the ensemble will feature the music of a calypso master to preserve and present it to new audiences while honouring calypso’s greatest figures and celebrating the connections between jazz and Afro-Caribbean tradition.

This premiere features the music of Clifton Ryan, The Mighty Bomber, and Theophilus Philip, The Mighty Spoiler who was one of his mentors and biggest influences. 

Around the world, the month of February commemorates Black History Month. Though the cultural contributions of Caribbean icons to black history have been seen and celebrated in part, their stories are often left out of the global narrative. With this project, I want to echo an idea that I believe can be found within the collective consciousness of all people, but that is often unspoken: CALYPSO HISTORY IS BLACK HISTORY!

The Music

Music by Clifton Ryan, The Mighty Bomber, and Theophilus Philip, The Mighty Spoiler. All arrangements by Jesse Ryan.

Joan & James is the Mighty Bomber’s most well-known hit, which won him the calypso king title in 1964. This song is arguably the best-recorded example of autobiography in calypso as it is a story about him and his wife, the late Jean Ryan. It’s also one of the first recorded examples of Bomber using Spoiler’s iconic “ah wanna fall” hook.

Drummer Anthony Daniel swings hard with the energy of young lovers to launch this exciting new arrangement. Bomber’s playful delivery and characteristic use of large melodic leaps are both preserved, and Ryan evokes nostalgia with a melodic hook that is reminiscent of Big Ben’s chime.

World Peace was Bomber’s second selection in 1964, which won him the calypso king title. This song was written as a lament and admonition to world leaders to work together for a better world, but more specifically, the song is a commentary on major world conflicts happening at the time and even echoes messages from the civil rights movement of the 60s. 

This solemn and introspective arrangement is led off by a snare drum that invokes sounds of militia and a call to solidarity and continues with

melancholic yet hopeful solos from Jeff LaRochell on bass clarinet and Andrew Marzotto on guitar. 

Gloria was the Mighty Bomber’s first hit tune after migrating to Trinidad in 1956. It was released in 1958 on Cook Records and later recorded by Harry Belafonte on his acclaimed Jump Up Calypso release in 1961. 

The song is written in Bomber’s characteristic narrative style, telling the story of a desperate suitor who pleads with his dear Gloria to return to him and make good on her promise to marry him.

Ryan’s arrangement is a romantic calypso ballad that gently grooves to highlight the beauty and brilliance of the melody and makes room for plaintive yet hopeful solos by Alexander Brown on flugelhorn and Ryan on soprano saxophone.

Bomber’s Dream was written and recorded by The Mighty Bomber in 1964 as a tribute to his friend and mentor, the late Theophilus Philip, The Mighty Spoiler.

He co-ops in the iconic humorous style of his dear friend, to tell the whimsical story of meeting him in a lucid dream to lament on his own bad luck in the calypso tent and to ask for advice on what topic he should tackle for his next hit song. 

A dreamy vibraphone prelude leads into a driving reimagination of the melody with strains of the blues. Solos traded by Alexander Brown on trumpet and Jeff LaRochelle on tenor saxophone represent the conversation between the kindred spirits.

Talking Backwards is one of The Mighty Spoiler’s most well known calypsoes. Written in 1960, it tells the fantastical tale of a world where women could speak a type of backwards gibberish language to share secret messages to outsmart their men and ultimately have the upper hand.

Spoiler was a wordsmith and considered a genius of calypso. He impacted the consciousness of generations singing about the most bizarre, and at the same time hilarious, subjects. 

This new arrangement opens with a wild and wacky interplay of brass mutes featuring Kelsey Grant on trombone and Alexander Brown on trumpet which sets a comical tone for the rest of the performance. 

Expo 67’ was written by The Mighty Bomber who was commissioned to write and record a calypso to publicize Canada’s centennial celebration called Expo ’67, which is still widely hailed as one of the great world-fair events of the 20th century. 

Ryan’s arrangement is driving, celebratory and nostalgic featuring blistering solos by Ryan on alto saxophone, Alexander Brown on trumpet and a rhythm break that’s euphoric. Its uptempo calypso groove aims at capturing the excitement and allure of being at the expo.