Gloria Blizzard and Jesse Ryan talk on saving calypso; fiftieth anniversary reprise of the Frog Bog sound walk (bet no-one's said that before!); Gregory Oh on the necessity of failure and curatorial choices that break down barriers; fanfares for an uncommon man at the RCM; and festivals galore in our 20th annual summer green pages; plus a summer's worth of music in our listening room. All this and more!
LENARD ISHMAEL Kaiso
LENARD ISHMAEL Kaiso Street Collective far beyond the borders of the tiny twin island nation due to these recordings. Still, there are many absent narratives around calypso, many disappeared artists, composers, many lost or barely remembered works. Toronto and the Kaiso Street Society Toronto became another calypso hub, when in the 1950s immigration opened up in Canada and people from the Caribbean travelled to Canada. The Caribana annual parade, instituted by Trinidadians in the city, fashioned itself after the festivities in their homeland. The Mighty Bomber was commissioned to write a calypso for Expo 67. Calypso also had a significant presence in Montreal where Lord Caressa worked for a couple years with the CBC as a broadcaster, and where the Carifête celebration soon became established. Toronto is also the location of the Kaiso Street Society – a group that includes Deborah Maitland, Aurora Banjath, Natasia Morris and Kadijah Simpson. Founded and directed by Jesse Ryan, it has a mandate to investigate, and honour, document, promote and educate around traditional Calypso to ensure it is preserved and holds its place in the global musical lexicon. “One of the reasons why I’m so passionate about this is that I really think that traditional calypso is one of the most important musics ever created,” says Ryan. The group is ensuring the original art form has its historical place in modern music. The initiative is in part inspired by Ryan’s questioning why he grew up not knowing about calypso’s deep connection to jazz, or why he did not know much about Frankie Francis who recorded several jazz-infused albums including one with the RCA All Stars Orchestra in 1964, or why the great album, Doctor Kitch recorded by Lord Kitchener in 1963, featuring brilliant horn arrangements and improvised solos, is still not more broadly known. “I think [it is] actually one of the only forms of music that documents its own history,” says Ryan. They mean to license we mouth, they don’t want we talk — King Radio, Sedition Law (1940) “At the time, anything the British considered to be lewd or anything that invited people to scrutinize British law were deemed seditious and both were illegal,” says Ryan. This calypso, commenting on the times, was ironically banned. Calypso was a space for thinking, communicating, commenting and reminding people of themselves in environments that would obliterate them. Rock back With a focus on the four global hubs of calypso – Trinidad and Tobago, London, New York and Toronto – the Kaiso Street Society documents where the music has thrived, influenced and created cultural evolutions. As the group brings into the light the imagination, memory and spirit of resistance embodied in the music, it reframes calypso as music for social change. Kaiso aims to research, archive, share and teach the histories, legacies, the deep cross pollination globally that has taken place during the last 200 years, highlighting global connections and impact. In the works are plans to continue research, host workshops, create listening libraries, and a tour, in 2025, of the Kaiso Street Collective, an ensemble, made up of some of Toronto’s best improvisers and composers. Every music has its pop genre, and soca has elements of the traditional form; however it rarely shares traditional calypso’s musical gravitas, social and political commentary, or its clever turns of phrase. From early Superblue’s joyful What’s the time mister wolf, bacchanal time! to the infectious 2018, Afrobeats-influenced Year for Love by Voice, to the 2024 winning road march, Mical Teja’s DNA - “han’ up in the air, madness everywhere, it in we DNA … we in de road way, tell dem freedom in we dna”, soca’s fast tempos and simple lyrics are what we will now hear at the annual parade on Toronto’s streets. “Soca can take care of itself,” says Ryan. It does not need saving. Remembering calypso’s legacy is part of Kaiso’s vision. Within the unique musical contribution of traditional calypso is a powerful living history. And in the spirit of Lord Relator’s PSA Sip and Chat on responsible drinking – “if you can’t do it, don’ bother come drink my rum” – as we move close to Toronto Caribbean Carnival and jump up to the sounds of soca, let’s remember to look backwards and inwards to the original music. Let’s listen to de ole time calypso and remember the great masters and mistresses of the form. Gloria Blizzard writes on music, dance, culture and is the author of Black Cake, Turtle Soup, and Other Dilemmas 12 | June, July & August, 2024 thewholenote.com
FREE CONCERT, PART OF THE CHOIR & ORGAN SERIES THE NATHANIEL DETT CHORALE Shout for Joy MON JUN 3, 2024 • 12PM DEVONTÉ HYNES Select Classical Works with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra FRI NOV 1, 2024 • 8PM FOR TICKETS, VISIT ROYTHOMSONHALL.COM thewholenote.com June, July & August, 2024 | 13
