Austin “SuperBlue” Lyons and Ronnie McIntosh will be on cast at this year’s North Coast Jazz which takes place from May 26-28.
The organisers also hope to grow the festival into a regional and international event, generating revenue for Trinidad and Tobago.
One of its organisers and former Port of Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing, said they decided to add a different flavour to this year’s event at the Blanchisseuse Recreation Ground, Blanchisseuse.
North Coast Jazz was one of the first events to return after the lifting of the harshest covid19 restrictions last year.
[caption id="attachment_1006116" align="alignnone" width="683"] Ronnie McIntosh - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Lee Sing said, “This year we have an exciting programme. We have some very interesting, new artistes. We have ensured that we build on the heritage component of the jazz, which is to say, the art, craft and cuisine.
“In addition, we are doing our damnedest to ensure all of our support services, for example, our park and ride (PTSC bus transport from the Paddock, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, to the festival grounds), that it operates efficiently.”
“The demand for people wanting to take the park and ride has grown considerably,” he added.
Burt Marcellin’s Brass 2 the World is also on cast and SuperBlue and McIntosh are vocalists with the band.
“They will engage our audiences with a full repertoire of not only the soca in jazz but also the music that they have become famous for,” Lee Sing said.
Pannist and arranger Duvone Stewart, Mungal Patasar and calypsonian Stacey Sobers are also among the new artistes added to the event’s cast.
Lee Sing said this was Patasar’s first time at the festival and he would be releasing a new CD at the event.
[caption id="attachment_1006118" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Mungal Patasar - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
Krisson Joseph, the son of late calypsonian Penguin, and his band will also be there. So, too, will Marva Newton and Kairi Kaiso. Dean Williams Quartet returns as the event’s resident band.
“We are confident the cast of musicians doing music that will be uniquely prepared for North Coast offers the uninitiated and initiated an opportunity to be part of an amazing production,” he added.
The festival begins with its movie night on Friday, May 26 and will show the 2018 movie, Hero, by director Frances-Anne Solomon which tells of the life of late Caribbean war hero and judge Ulric Cross.
“We go back to a simple Sunday where the community council is going to have a brunch at 10 am and going until 1 pm. The last day of the festival is really a kind of family day for the community of Blanchisseuse,” he said.
Lee Sing said the planned J’Ouvert did not work as was anticipated last year and, once something does not work, the organisers take corrective action.
“Our intent is to seek as many foreign visitors, whether from the islands or the diaspora. While we do get the support of the local community, and they have allowed the jazz to grow and survive, an important component is
