Caribbean Jazz: A Performative Discourse on the Roots, Rhythms, and Reach of Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean Jazz

Caribbean Jazz has been practiced since the early 1940s, and conceivably a bit earlier. Some also argue that the Caribbean had great influence on jazz's inception (see Jerde, 1990 and Miller, 2010). Jazz, as stated by Merna Bradshaw, "turned to the rhythms of the Caribbean as a way of reconnecting with their African origins" (Bradshaw 2015). However, in the early 20th century, many jazz greats of Caribbean ancestry "often felt compelled to 'de-emphasize' their heritage to avoid prevalent stereotypes" (Van Pelt, 2008) held by jazz purists, African American musicians, and critics. These musicians felt that they had to gain jazz credentials and "establish themselves as a [true] jazz player" (Miller, 2010) before attempting to express their Caribbean roots musically.

The term Caribbean Jazz refers to the incorporation of jazz harmonies and improvisation onto specific Caribbean rhythms. However, this musical style has mainly been attributed to the hispanophone Caribbean, excluding the anglophone and francophone Caribbean groups. Much research has been done regarding the influence of Latin/Fusion jazz; however, a definitive study has yet to catalogue jazz styles originating from anglophone/francophone Caribbean regions, from both academic and performance perspectives. These styles have been largely undefined, leaving room for varying interpretations which center mainly around the practitioner instead of its musical structure.

This study of Caribbean Jazz, practice-based and autoethnographic in design, will investigate, analyze, and interpret the structural aspects of anglophone and francophone Caribbean jazz cultures through performance. It focuses on elements of rhythm, time, melodic structure, improvisational styles, and ensemble instrumentation, as well as other performance characteristics. By analyzing these elements, this project will enable us to further understand the distinctiveness of jazz of the anglophone and francophone Caribbean, contributing to research on Caribbean music, and offering a preliminary characterization of the Caribbean Jazz genre.
The study's autoethnographic nature allows me to connect with the social components of Caribbean Jazz, enabling a more personal synthesis of the research on the socio- cultural contexts of this genre and my performance practices. The methodology then becomes not only an academic endeavor, but also allows for a comprehensive performative and written commentary on Caribbean Jazz to emerge, one that captures the influence of the Caribbean Jazz performer upon improvisation within jazz altogether and upon ethnographic writing about the genre.