Performing
Artistes for St. Lucia Jazz
Diane
Reeves
 Thursday
May 8th – Ms. Diane Reeves is the pre-eminent jazz vocalist
in the world today on the Blue Note recording label. As a
result of her virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique
jazz and R&B styling, she was awarded the Grammy for Best
Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings—a
Grammy first in any vocal category.
She has recorded and performed extensively with Wynton Marsalis
and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also recorded
with Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She is the first singer to
ever perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
In 2007 this jazz vocalist was featured in a documentary on
the remarkable and all-too-brief life of Billy Strayhorn and
her next recording is expected in 2008.
Juilliard Quartet
Feat. Ron Blake, Eddie Henderson, Carl Allen and Ben Wolfe
Ron
Blake
 Juilliard
Quartet - Saxophonist Ron Blake can be lyrical or romantic
but always brings a lot of grit to his solos; he is obviously
well aware of the funkier, bluesier side of jazz and usually
doesn’t go out of his way to be abstract. Blake brings
a long list of influences to his work, and they range from
Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane,
to Grover Washington, Jr., Gene Ammons, and Stanley Turrentine.
Ron Blake - part of the Juilliard Quartet.
Eddie
Henderson
 Eddie
Henderson is another member of the Quartet and he was one
of the few trumpeters, strongly influenced by Miles Davis’
early fusion period. He grew up in San Francisco, studied
trumpet at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, but was
trained to be a doctor when he permanently chose music. Henderson
has worked with John Handy, Tyrone Washington, and Joe Henderson.
Eddie Henderson – another member of the Juilliard Quartet.
Carl
Allen
 With
over 150 recordings to his credit, this gifted Milwaukee-born,
New York-based drummer, sideman, bandleader, entrepreneur,
and educator, Carl Allen’s profound and propulsive percolations
provided soulful and syncopated support for nearly three decades.
Allen is also an accomplished businessman. He co-founded Big
Apple Productions in 1988 with saxophonist Vincent Herring,
produced several recordings for several Japanese labels with
future stars Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton, and created
The Art of Elvin, a tribute band dedicated to his two drum
influences.
Carl Allen - part of the Juilliard Quartet.
Ben
Wolfe
 Bassist-composer
Ben Wolfe started his career in his 20s, freelancing in the
Portland area and backing Woody Shaw and other national touring
acts. He then moved to New York, where he worked with musical
luminaries such as Junior Cook, Jimmy Cobb, Dakota Staton,
and the Mel Lewis Orchestra.
His collaborations with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
have included performances with Joe Henderson, Doc Cheatham
and he has recorded with Wynton Marsalis, James Moody, Branford
Marsalis and Diana Krall. He has also recorded three CDs of
his own compositions and arrangements.
Ben Wolf of the
Juilliard Quartet is coming to St. Lucia!
Jacques
Schwartz-Bart
 Jacques
Schwartz-Bart is a New York based jazz saxophonist. He has
been praised by major American soul artists, raised by a Black
Guadeloupean mother and a French Jewish father, and grew up
between Switzerland and Guadeloupe… The son of two award
winning novelists, he followed an original and sinuous path
that speaks volumes about his identity.
He was born in the suburbs of Pointe a Pitre on December 22nd
1962.
With the album “Soné Ka la”, Jacques Schwarz-Bart
is the first musician to fully consume the marriage between
Gwoka and Jazz: 2 musical styles coming from the African Diaspora.
Performing at Pigeon Island on Thursday May 8th - Jacques
Schwartz-Bart!
Jonathan
Butler
 Jonathan
Butler was signed as a teenager to Jive Records. His first
single was the first by a black artist played by white radio
stations in South Africa and earned a Sarie Award, South Africa’s
equivalent to the Grammys.
Born and raised in Cape Town, Butler spent his youth under
the shroud of apartheid. His escape was music. His self-titled
debut album introduced him internationally and scored a Grammy
nomination for the pop hit “Lies.” An instrumental,
“Going Home,” earned a Grammy nomination and the
mid-tempo ballad, “Sarah, Sarah,” confirmed his
place in popular music.
Jonathan Butler performs on Friday May 9th, 2008 at St. Lucia
Jazz.
Anita
Baker
 Saturday
May 10th - With her classy, refined brand of romantic soul,
Anita Baker is considered one of the definitive quiet storm
singers of the ‘80s. Gifted with a strong, supple alto,
she was influenced not only by R&B, but jazz, gospel,
and traditional pop, which gave her music a distinctly adult
sophistication. Smooth and mellow, but hardly lifeless, it
made her one of the most popular romantic singers of her time.
Born January 26, 1958, in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in nearby
Detroit, where she grew up listening to female jazz singers
like Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald, Baker
has had a list of hits like – Giving You The Best That
I’ve Got, Caught Up in the Rapture, and Sweet Love the
St. Lucia Tourist Board presents Anita Baker.
She will perform at Pigeon Island on May Saturday May 10th,
2008.
Jazz Package – featuring Najee, Alex Bugnon, Nick Colionne
& Ledisi
Najee
 And
now we come to a jazz artiste combination packaged especially
for St. Lucia Jazz 2008.
First, Najee - a man who is superb on the saxophone. In addition,
he can also play flute, keyboards and bass synthesizer. He
was one of the first innovators of urban jazz, which grew
in popularity throughout the 1990s.
He has been called one of the finest instrumentalists on the
contemporary jazz scene. His smooth pop-jazz style, heavy
on rhythm and blues, has gained him a tremendous audience
of fans and a series of gold albums. He gives the people what
they want to hear, and this has been his road to success.
He continues on that road to success with an appearance here
at St. Lucia Jazz 2008 – Jerome Najee Rasheed –
known as simply - Najee.
Alex
Bugnon
 Next
on the star-studded list making up our specially formulated
jazz package is an instrumentalist who has created one of
the most recognized styles in today’s contemporary jazz
piano. It is a sultry mixture of contemporary jazz, funk,
and R&B with hints of gospel.
Even the titles of his CDs create anticipation for a musical
experience that is delivered with passion. His latest album,
FREE, reunites him with Atlanta based keyboardist and producer
Phil Davis. FREE is a refreshing blend of exotic rhythms with
haunting, soulful melodies.
Alex Bugnon is part of our Saturday May 10th Jazz package.
Nick
Colionne
 This
third member of the featured jazz package grew up in a house-hold
full of music - and at age 9 he began to learn guitar from
his stepfather, Edward. The Chicago born, bred and still residing
guitarist turned pro at 15, touring all over the world with
rock bands and some of the greatest legends of R&B, from
The Staples Singers to Curtis Mayfield.
Nick Colionne launched his solo career in 1994 with “It’s
My Turn” which reached #13 on the national charts, and
he hasn’t looked back since.
Most recently, he won the International Instrumental Artist
of the Year Award by the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards; the
2006 winner was Trumpeter Chris Botti.
Ledisi
 And
finally the jewel in the crown of the 2008 jazz package –
Her name means to bring forth in Nigerian. She was born in
New Orleans where she sang with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra
when she was eight years old.
Ledisi
did a jazz album with bassist Marcus Shelby for Noir Records
that further illustrates her amazing skills. Her resume includes
singing in choirs, performing jazz and studying opera and
piano at the University of California Berkley’s Young
Musicians Program for five years.
She’s
also done commercials and soundtracks for the Sci-Fi Channel
along with appearing on the same stages with some of the world’s
most beloved entertainers. Her third studio album, Lost &
Found, was released in 2007.
David
Sanchez
 David
Sanchez took up the conga when he was eight and started playing
tenor at age 12. He graduated from a performing arts high
school in 1986, spent a year studying psychology, and then
moved to New York City in 1988, having decided to become a
musician.
His early interest in jazz was fueled by recordings of such
saxophone giants as Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane
and Charlie Parker.
He’s also invested his talents in a wide range of Latin
and jazz settings, including performing with the late Tito
Puente’s all-star group.
Today, his sextet is one of the most innovative working groups
in jazz.
We present David
Sanchez coming to Pigeon Island for St. Lucia Jazz 2008 on
Saturday May 10th!
Angie
Stone
 Sunday
May 11th, 2008
A
singer, self-taught keyboardist, and a prolific songwriter,
Angie Stone first claim to fame was being the lead vocalist
on Vertical Hold’s smooth urban dance track “Seems
You’re Much Too Busy.”
Her
debut album Black Diamond was issued in 1999 by Arista Records.
In six years, she had definitely gained an old-school, autobiographical
vibe, exemplified by her hit ballad “No More Rain (In
This Cloud),” Contributors included Lenny Kravitz and
former Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad as producers,
and her ex-boyfriend D’Angelo as a vocal guest on “Everyday.”
The
St. Lucia Tourist Board is proud to welcome this Columbia,
South Carolina native to our warm, sunny shores – Ms.
Angie Stone!
Eric
Ildefonse
 Eric
Ildefonse has had the great pleasure of performing side by
side with St. Lucia’s Luther Francois in the Martinique
Jazz Festival in November last year at the Atrium in Fort
de France - a combination which proved enchanting to the audience.
He
is set to perform a program consisting his original compositions
– which includes the broadest spectrum of haunting Caribbean
rhythms, blending the French Caribbean sound of the classically
Martiniquan and the Guadeloupean Gwoka, with the Calypso and
Reggae sounds of the English-speaking Caribbean.
Performing
on Sunday May 11th at Pigeon Island – Eric Ildefonse
and his Quintet
Dionne
Warwick
 Dionne
Warwick has, over an illustrious four-decade career, established
herself as an international musical legend. Her reputation
as a hit maker has been firmly etched into public consciousness,
thanks to nearly sixty charted hits since “Don’t
Make Me Over” began its climb up the charts in December
1962.
Warwick
received her first Grammy Award in 1968, for the classic “Do
You Know The Way to San Jose?”, and in so doing became
the first African-American solo female artist of her generation
to win the prestigious award for Best Contemporary Female
Vocal Performance. This award has only been given to one other
female African-American legend, Ella Fitzgerald.
In
1974 she hit the top of the charts for the first time with
“Then Came You,” a million-selling duet with The
Spinners. Three years later, she teamed up with Isaac Hayes
for a highly successful World Tour, “A Man And A Woman.”
Wyclef
Jean
 Wyclef
Jean is a rapper and sometime guitarist, who was the first
member of his group to embark on a solo career, and he proved
even more ambitious and eclectic on his own. He also became
hip-hop’s unofficial multicultural conscience; a seemingly
omnipresent activist, who assembled or participated in numerous
high-profile charity benefit shows for a variety of causes,
including aid for his native Haiti.
He
is a noted producer and re-mixer who worked with an impressive
array of pop, R&B, and hip-hop talent, including Whitney
Houston, Santana, and Destiny’s Child, among many others.
His
debut solo album got its sequel in 2007 when Carnival, Vol.
2: Memoirs of an Immigrant hit the shelves. The album had
a diverse and lengthy guest list, with Akon, Mary J. Blige,
Norah Jones, Shakira, Paul Simon, and Sizzla being just some
of the names involved
Our
headline act for St. Lucia Jazz on Sunday May 11th, 2008 -
Wyclef Jean!
Ledisi did a jazz album with bassist Marcus Shelby for Noir
Records that further illustrates her amazing skills. Her resume
includes singing in choirs, performing jazz and studying opera
and piano at the University of California Berkley’s
Young Musicians Program for five years.
She’s also done commercials and soundtracks for the
Sci-Fi Channel along with appearing on the same stages with
some of the world’s most beloved entertainers. Her third
studio album, Lost & Found, was released in 2007.
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