Jazz icon Luther François make Jazz and Arts Festival more fun!

Saint Lucia, celebrated the festival of Jazz – Jazz and Arts Festival on May 11, 2023. Luther François, the country’s prodigal son, returned home with a new concept. Accompanied by 42 musicians from all over the world, Luther François returned to his music catalogue to produce a symphonic jazz concert.

His peers called him “the living godfather of Caribbean jazz.” This reputation partly explains why 42 of the best musicians in the world accepted his invitation to create a new concept for the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival.

Cancelled 3 years ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Jazz Festival is renewing its ties with Luther François, who moved to Martinique decades ago.

To create this experience which he hopes will change the lives of all who attend the concert, Luther François has searched his catalogue to find compositions and arrangements that have never been performed in public.

With this raw material, he created an original symphonic work.

We are going to cross a new frontier to provoke reflection on the future of Caribbean music. We will unveil, express and share this music with the public.

Luther François, the first to develop the fusion between jazz and calypso, believes that jazz has come out of the classic formats of trios, quartets and quintets. Taught today in conservatories around the world, music is open to all kinds of interpretations and styles.

The Jamaican Peter Ashbourne, the Israeli Yonathan Bar-Rashi, the Ghanaian George Francois, the American Corcoran Holt, but also Allison Marquis and Barbara Cadet from Saint Lucia, are among the 42 musicians brought together for this concept.

This unique symphonic performance, the largest of the festival, will be recorded by the Saint Lucia Center for Cultural Development.

Luther François has been rocked since his childhood by traditional, classical and contemporary music. His childhood home in Castries was frequented by all the musicians in the country. The members of the national police orchestra, the choristers, the pianists and the violinists played at the François. In the street, passers-by stopped to listen to the sounds.

Martinique, his adopted country, for several years, has inspired him a lot.

They know how to play everything in Martinique. The people of Martinique have mastered the salsa de Cuba. Few musicians know how to do it. If you play it badly, nobody dances. In Martinique we play reggae and calypso. There are pianists all over the street with all kinds of cultural influences.

The Jazz Night takes place on May 11, 2023 at the Ramp Pavilion in Rodney Bay at 7 p.m. Gustavo Casenave, pianist from Uruguay who won 2 Grammys for his work, is also on the program with his musicians.