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Andy Narell (nato nel 1954, cresciuto a New York, laureato a Berkeley) è uno dei
primi virtuosi dei metallofoni
(steel drums),
degli strumenti delle "steel band" di Trinidad. Con i suoi dischi ha creato
uno dei primi stili d'"autore", che si ispira più che altro al jazz.
Ha iniziato nei Listen (august 1975) del reed player Mel Martin e dal 1979 ha preso a
registrare dischi in cui i metallofoni sono i protagonisti, spingendosi ben oltre di convenzioni di
Trinidad.
Stickman (july 1980 - Hippocket, 1981) contained only three originals, notably
Stickman and Oz.
Light In Your Eyes (march 1983) was still fundamentally a pop
album, although it contained the nine-minute Whitestone.
Slow Motion (march 1985) contains short and long tracks that fuse different
Latin American styles and are basically pretexts for the leader's improvisations.
The more mature and austere
The Hammer (1987), featuring David Rudder, contains the ten-minute Jour Ouvert, besides the soca hits Bahia Girl and The Hammer.
Formally one of his best albums,
Little Secrets (Windham Hill, 1989) boasted lengthy
sophisticated pieces such as
We Kinda Music,
Chamcha's Cha Cha Narell ,
Armchair Psychology ,
Don't Look Back ,
The Songlines ,
but the polished sound was clearly an attempt to capture the new-age audience.
The ratio of mellow ballad-like pieces further increased on Down The Road (Windham Hill, 1992).
The Long Time Band (Windham Hill, 1995) returned Narell to a more
comfortable pan-ethnic format (Bacchanal).
Behind the Bridge (1998) collected mostly covers.
On the contrary, Fire In The Engine Room (2000) was a set of eight
long and exuberant originals, from Coffee Street to The Long
Way Back (one of his standouts), from Blue Mazooka to Tabanca.
Sakesho (2002) was a bit too lighthearted though.
Il Caribbean Jazz Project comprende anche il sassofonista Paquito D'Rivera
e il vibrafonista Dave Samuels. Carousel, Como Un Bolero e Valse Triste sono fra le sue
danze più suggestive di sempre. Anche la Long Time Band vive soprattutto di motivi festosi,
come il Bacchanal.
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