Jazz originated in the Crescent City – New Orleans, Louisiana – at the beginning of the 20th century. Who were its earliest proponents? That brilliant ragtime-jazz pianist, part-time raconteur and shameless self-promoter Jelly Roll Morton laid claim to the title, as did Nick La Rocca and the Original Dixieland ‘Jass’ Band. But of course the development of jazz included many people, Hyman suggests, and grew out of a complex of European, African American and Creole musical traditions from throughout the Caribbean.
In this evening’s concert (the first of two with the world-famous Jim Cullum Jazz Band and renowned trumpeter Byron Stripling) Hyman will explore two of those traditions: the brass band tradition of New Orleans, in which Buddy Bolden (who most musicologists regard as the first true jazz musician) played, and the music of Martinique – that unique island sound which gave the world the Biguine and which sounds, Hyman asserts, "suspiciously like early New Orleans jazz". An intriguing and unusual evening that is an absolutely must-see for jazz aficionados and Latin American music lovers alike!