Jazzing Up Calypso in the New Millennium

This chapter returns to Frankie’s earlier interests in jazz, and how he began playing and recording with bassist David “Happy” Williams and steel pianists Len “Boogsie” Sharpe and Garvin Blake. The music they made is discussed in the context of Brooklyn’s Caribbean jazz scene, addressing the question of what constitutes the slippery categories of “calypso jazz” or “Caribbean jazz.” Frankie and his bandmates offer their observations on the current state of Caribbean-influenced jazz and new directions for popular calypso and soca music.