Trinidad-born trumpeter Etienne Charles’ fourth full-length release, Creole Soul, is due July 23 on Culture Shock Music. An exploration of Charles’ musical roots featuring sounds from the French, Spanish and English speaking Caribbean as well as North America, Creole Soul highlights myriad inspirations from Haitian creole chants and blues to bebop and R&B while drawing on an array of rhythms including Rocksteady, Reggae, Bel Air, Kongo and Calypso.
Performing alongside Charles on Creole Soul are Jacques Schwartz-Bart (tenor saxophone), Brian Hogans (alto saxophone), Alex Wintz (guitar), Obed Calvaire (drums), D’Achee and Daniel Sadownick (percussion), as well as Thelonious Monk Competition winners Kris Bowers (piano & Fender Rhodes) and Ben Williams (bass). The record features a half-dozen original compositions by Charles in addition to interpretations of Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys,” Willie Cobbs’ classic “You Don’t Love Me (No No No),” Winsford Devine’s “Memories” and Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low.”
