The beautiful thing about music is that once it’s on record, it has the potential to long outlive any of its creators. A lot of the time the record will just lie dormant on a shelf gathering dust but every once and a while someone will come along and connect with it to such a degree it’s like they’re reliving a small part of the recording artists’ life.
Vibrant, self-effacing and masterfully articulated, there was something about calypso that struck a chord with DANNY FITZGERALD. There was something about the music – made on another continent, sometimes more than half a decade before he was born – that spoke to him much more readily than the any of the stuff everyone around him was listening to. As the fascination developed the Wavertree-based DJ’s knowledge of the genre grew with his record collection and he soon started compiling mixes and playing out his 45s in clubs.
Danny would have been content to carry on digging and only have his mixes heard by a handful of people, that was until he saw a calypso-shaped hole in Soul Jazz Record’s collection and decided it was time to bring the genre into 2014 via his Calypso: Musical Poetry in the Caribbean 1955-69 compilation.
Calypso Cruise (Rare Calypso 45s) by Danny Fitzgerald on Mixcloud
We loved the compilation so we thought it appropriate to invite Danny along to open our Super Weird Happening at CONSTELLATIONS / THE OBSERVATORY on 18th October. However, seeing as his compilation was made to be something the casual listener could dip in and out of, we decided to catch up with Danny to have a real dig…
What is it about calypso music that makes you connect with it in such a significant way?
I think calypso is one of the purest, most unpretentious forms of musical expression. Wit, wisdom, political and social commentary are all masterfully articulated in the storytelling of calypsonians – and most importantly these artists retain a down-to-earth sensibility, functioning as the voice of the people, the mouthpiece of the underprivileged. There are no seriously big egos, no sacred cows, and seemingly no limit in regards to subject matter… and all of this over a compelling jazz composition!
Do you remember when you first discovered it?
I can’t recall the exact moment but I stumbled upon it in my research of jazz. I can point to Sonny Rollins’ St Thomas,
and Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan’s cover of Wilmoth Houdini’s Stone Cold Dead In The Market as examples of calypso-flavoured jazz that piqued my interest.
The first calypso I listened to was very early material like that of Lord Invader, Atilla The Hun, Roaring Lion… 1920s and 30s recordings. I particularly remember digging I Don’t Know How The Young Men Living by Lord Executor.
But I don’t think I went calypso crazy until later on, when discovered Lord Kitchener and the modern calypso sound of the 1950s and 60s.
A lot of people confuse mento with calypso. What’s the best way of
telling them apart?
The confusion stems from the deliberate marketing of mento as calypso in the 1950s as part of an international calypso fad. Harry Belafonte’s landmark Calypso album was a monumental success and shaped many people’s understanding of what calypso was all about. The only problem was that it isn’t a calypso album at all, but a mento album! Mento is the rural folk music of Jamaica. Though it is lyrically similar to calypso, it is characterised by a unique rhythm and style of instrumentation. If you can hear banjo and bamboo flute… it’s mento.
There are so many different elements thrown into calypso. Can you tell
us a bit about the genre’s roots?
The roots of calypso are parallel to those of Trinidad, an island that has absorbed parts of many cultures in its long and varied history. In the past 500 years Trinidad has been heavily influenced by Spanish, French and English culture, as well as that of West African and Asian nations. Musically, calypso began as a melting pot of French, Spanish and West African moods, though lyrically I would consider it an extension of the storytelling traditions of the West African Griot. The early stages of calypso in Trinidad began in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
After the dawn of recording technology, as calypso moved into the 20th century, the instrumentation and arrangement began to become noticeably influenced by American jazz music, and it was in the 1920s and 30s that the first wave of crucial calypso recording artists standardised a style and song form that we know as calypso today.
It obviously went on to become highly influential; do you think you can
still hear remnants of calypso in modern music?
I think in terms of subject matter and lyricism, calypso helped pave the way for outspoken self expression in popular music. Songs like Growling Tiger’s Money Is King,
Mighty Sparrow’s Ah Diggin Horrors
or King Short Shirt’s Nobody Go Run Me embody all of the streetwise political social commentary that Ice Cube or Tupac Shakur would become known for 20 years later.
Not that I’m saying Chuck D sits at home and listens to calypso all day – he might do, but he probably doesn’t – but you can view these calypso artists as part of a progression towards complete, uncensored free speech on records.
You saw a hole in Soul Jazz Record’s collection, and ended up filling
it with the compilation; Calypso: Musical Poetry in the Caribbean. That
must have been some journey?
It was a an honour to work with Soul Jazz Records on the album, and I am infinitely grateful for the opportunity they provided me to put calypso back in the public eye for 2014. I could be collecting records and making calypso mixtapes until the end of time and barely anybody would hear them, so it’s a dream come true that a label could step up and release this kind of project. Due to the obscurity of calypso and the chaotic nature of the Caribbean music industry in the mid-20th century, I can imagine that licensing and mastering the album was a complete nightmare, and would most likely be viewed as an insurmountable challenge by others… so all credit goes to Soul Jazz for making the album a reality.
Is there anywhere you regularly play out your records in town?
Despite my reverence for calypso I’ve come to accept that it isn’t very palatable for most general audiences, so I’ve sort of given up playing my calypso records at gigs unless I know the audience is appropriately open minded. One gig I do get to spin calypso records at is the bi-monthly Hoodoo Basement party at The Cabin Club – an all-vinyl rhythm ‘n’ blues & ska dance. We do a limbo competition soundtracked by calypso 45s. And of course I’ll be playing plenty of calypso records at the Super Weird Happening!
Which track would you recommend for a first time listener?
From my compilation, two tracks… King Fighter’s People Will Talk and Mighty Spoiler’s The Bed Bug Song as performed by Brownie. These two tracks perfectly illustrate two ends of the spectrum for calypso – between serious social commentary and absurdist ribaldry.
Which record do you think best embodies everything calypso is about?
It’s impossible to pick just one so I will recommend a few… Mighty Dougla’s Split Me In Two is a great social commentary about xenophobia and racial identity which showcases the ability of calypsonians to present weighty subject matter with surprising levity.
Lord Melody’s Mama Look A Boo Boo is a good example of the sharp, self-effacing humour calypsonians are famed for.
And for a typically spellbinding calypso tale, there is Dear Sparrow by Mighty Sparrow.
Most genres have at least one fringe leftfield type. Does calypso?
It can often be rewarding to check out calypso from outside of Trinidad. The Eloise Trio from the Bahamas can make for very curious listening – the bandleader, Eloise Lewis, had a unique, distinctly high-pitched tone to her voice, and seemed to be quite open to vocal improvisation. Look up their song Calypso Twist for an example of this.
They also included non-calypso songs on their records which are fun too. Check out their killer version of Richie Valens’ La Bamba!
In terms of the genre’s development, which is the most important record?
I couldn’t pin it down to a particular record, but definitely the early recordings of Lord Kitchener – a body of work which was crucial in modernising calypso after World War 2, introducing bebop and R’n’B influenced compositions which were groundbreaking at the time.
Which track could you listen to on repeat all day?
Maria by Lord Blakie. Tuuuuune!
—
DOWNLOAD CALYPSO: MUSICAL POETRY IN THE CARIBBEAN HERE
TICKETS ARE PRICED £12 AND CAN BE FOUND HERE
[OXJAM LIVERPOOL TAKEOVER wristband included in ticket]
You can donate £3 to Oxjam Liverpool by texting [JAM0010] to 70066 or you can donate as much as you like HERE
The post Danny Fitzgerald // Interview appeared first on Oxjam Liverpool.