Versatility in Caribbean music

    A pleasant good morning, good night, or good afternoon, whenever you're reading this. Hope each and every one of you are doing well!! This blog will be focusing on the versatility that thrives in Caribbean music. While the Caribbean is known for its relaxing vibes, in its history it has been a force that significantly impacted the whole world. A lot has come from all these beautiful islands and so much continues to come out of it. Oh, my mistake, how could I forget? I haven't even explained what versatility is. Versatility is defined as being able to adapt to many different functions or activities. In relation to music, it is when an artist can be involved in multiple areas of music to further their careers and success. People of the West Indies particularly have to be versatile in order to become successful in their fields. Also, many Caribbean artists have second non-musical careers that help them earn their livings. The main forms of versatility in music are performance and instruction, which we will be looking at in this blog. The love for music and aspiration to learn has been passed on through many centuries. This is seen throughout the many songs made and known throughout the Caribbean. A lot of them have even reached worldwide audiences. 

Our first example of versatility in music is performance and we have the one and only:

Jorge Calderón, originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer best known for his collabs with Warren Zevon. He plays bass, acoustic guitar, various percussion instruments, electric guitar and background vocals. Image taken from https://www.eliteguitars.net/tour-page-4 This is a piece from him:

Next we have instruction and there are so many people who thrive out in this but here we have:

Adrian D'Aguilar has worked as a professional bassist for over 20 years in the USA performing with jazz combos,big bands,R&B,calypso and reggae groups. Since returning to Nassau in 2006, he has spent a lot of time teaching young aspiring musicians through The Bahamas National Symphony Orchestra and as a tutor at The Bahamas Music Conservatory. He founded an only youth Jazz band. Image taken from https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/adrian-daguilar. Below is a small piece from him.

References

LeGrand, C.G. C. (2019). Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean. Sound Caribbean. https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9789769624900

Let the Music Play Bahamas. (2020, March). Our Musicians. Retrieved from Let the Music Play Bahamas: https://www.letthemusicplaybahamas.com/our-musicans