Creole Soul

Trumpeter Etienne Charles is in fine form on his fourth solo album, Creole Soul. A number of Caribbean musical styles inform the Trinidad-born musician’s take on jazz, and his core group—tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart, alto saxophonist Brian Hogans, keyboardist Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer Obed Calvaire—are all in. The album starts with Vodun priest Erol Josue intoning a chant in the Haitian language of Kwéyol. The band creates a groove that ripples with percussive hits and is fueled by Williams' propulsive bass. Up top, Charles lets loose a sparkling solo. “Memories”—written by Winsford “Joker” Devine and recorded by calypso legend Mighty Sparrow—finds Charles playing the melody with a lovely, burnished tone. Thelonious Monk's “Green Chimneys” from the 1968 album Underground gets updated in a fashion that smooths out the zigzagging lines, while a rendering of Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low” incorporates reggae rhythms and keeps a mellow vibe throughout. The bop burner “Doin’ the Thing” closes the album on an energetic note.