The SUNSHINE Awards Organization announced the recipients of the 2023 SUNSHINE Awards. The awards will be presented at the 35th Annual SUNSHINE Awards Celebration on Saturday, October 14, at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey. The event will begin at 6:00 pm with a cocktail reception followed by the presentation of awards and a live show at 8:00 pm.
The following are the recipients:
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Patrick “Eze” Rockcliffe (Guyana)
Patrick Rockcliffe affectionately known as Eze of Guyana founded the Yoruba Singers in 1970. He is credited for his vision, dedication, and passion for African music. Eze’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the Yoruba Singers through the years have resulted in many hits (e.g., Black Pepper, Danger Water, Massacurra Man, etc.) and memorable performances throughout the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and North America. Their first tour was in 1973 to neighboring Suriname, which Eze hailed as a success, and resulted in a second tour in 1975 and an invitation to perform at the Suriname Trade Fair. Other notable performances by the Yoruba Singers include sharing the stage in 1974 with the world-renowned Nigerian drummer Michael Babatunde Olatunji, at Guyana’s esteemed Queens College, 1976 Carifiesta in Jamaica, 1979 Carifiesta in Cuba, 1981 Carifiesta in Barbados, and the Varadero Festival in Cuba. In 1982 the group did an extensive tour of Canada and the United States, and in 1983 and 1984 they performed on the Mother’s Day Show at Madison Square Garden, sharing the stage with top, world renowned, Caribbean Artistes, such as The Mighty Sparrow, David Rudder, and the late Lord Kitchener, Black Stalin, and Arrow, to mention a few. The Yoruba Singers’ performances have been described as historic and remarkable, leaving an indelible mark on the memories of their audiences. Eze will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for his contribution to the performing arts.
Gerardo Contino (Cuba)
Gerardo Contino is a multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer, and community organizer, who has toured the world with his music. He is a classically trained singer, who began performing professionally in Havana, Cuba at the age of 19. He is the founder and director of Camino al Arte, a non-profit arts organization that connects and produces cutting edge cultural and educational opportunities for young and established artists across the United States and the Caribbean. A versatile singer and bandleader, Gerardo has performed with Cuban and American salsa, jazz, and big orchestra bands. In Cuba, Gerardo was lead singer for NG La Banda, the legendary timba and jazz band directed by Jose Luis Cortes. In the United States, he was a lead singer for the Max Weinberg Orchestra and the Larry Harlow’s Latin Legend’s Band. Gerardo has also acted and performed opera, most notably in the Peak Performances’ Hatuey: Memory of Fire, a Yiddish-Cuban opera production. In 2012 Gerardo created Los Habaneros, which was recognized by WNYC/NPR in 2015 as the “Best Band in Manhattan”, and by New York Latin Culture Magazine in 2017 as the “Best Cuban Dance Band”. With Los Habaneros, Gerardo performed at The Kennedy Center for the Arts, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and several festivals in the United States and around the world. In addition to his musical career, Gerardo received his education in law at the University of Havana and his Master of Laws (LLM) at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, with a focus on intellectual property and entertainment law. Gerardo Contino will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for his contribution to the performing arts.
Natu Camara (Guinea)
Natu Camara, born in Ivory Coast and raised in Guinea, is one of its brightest musical stars and a committed activist for the empowerment and education of girls and women in West Africa. In the early 2000s, Camara led West Africa’s first all-female hip-hop group, the Ideal Black Girls (IBG), whose first album, Guinèya Moumonèra (It’s Not a Shame to Be a Woman) was sold in the millions and was nominated for Best Album 2002 in Guinea. Camara’s musical compositions are powerfully constructed to bridge the global gap and bring people together in a captivating blend weaving a beautiful tapestry of musical stories and visions of her beloved home. Although she performs her songs in five languages, they need no translation; she strongly believes that everyone feels the power of energy and everyone speaks the language of the heart. In 2021 Natu had the prestigious honor of being selected by GlobalFEST to appear in an exclusive video along with 16 other celebrated international artists. She kicked off 2022 with performances at Lincoln Center and was the opening act at the Festival International de Louisiane. She wrapped up her 2022 American Tour with the successful staging of an international festival at the Amphitheater in the legendary Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. Natu’s foundation supports local organizations to mentor and empower young girls and support education as a tool to reduce poverty in Guinea. Natu will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for her contribution to the performing arts and humanit
Alvin Daniell (Trinidad & Tobago)
Alvin, a trained Mechanical Engineer, can be easily described as a Cultural Ambassador and Researcher. He is also regarded as a prolific composer and producer. He has written lyrics for compositions by several steelband arrangers, musicians, and artistes. In 1972 Alvin wrote the lyrics for the famed “Pan On The Move”, and also co-wrote the lyrics for the sequel, “Pan On The Run”, melodies composed by Ray Holman for Starlift Steel Orchestra. Since 1986, beginning with the Calypso Fiesta Semi Finals at Skinner’s Park, until his departure in 2020, he has provided color commentary on Calypso and Steelband shows for Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), and is regarded as an incubator of knowledge for Calypso and Steelband music. Alvin has composed over 50 songs and published more than 20 Compact Discs. In 1990, he founded the publishing company, MAJOR & minor Productions, and from 1991 until 2000 he produced the weekly television program, Calypso Showcase, which was broadcast throughout Trinidad and Tobago, and which continues to serve as an archival reservoir for the featured Calypsonians and the artform. He also co-produced the award-winning and internationally acclaimed DVD, Calypso Dreams. Alvin has also served as a Calypso adjudicator on several occasions and has also served as the President of the Copyright Organization of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT). In 1995, he received the Trinidad and Tobago National Award of the “Hummingbird Medal, Silver” for his contribution to culture. Alvin will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for his contribution to education and the performing arts.
Ron Reid (Trinidad & Tobago)
Ron is a bassist, steel drummer, arranger, composer, and educator. He is a Professor of Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee College of Music where he teaches arranging, ensemble and steel pan performance as well as Caribbean music history. Ron began his professional career in 1977 as a bassist for the late Lord Kitchener’s Calypso Revue Tent, and spent many years as bassist for Andre Tanker and the Mau Mau Drummers and the Repertory Dance Theatre of Trinidad & Tobago. He has performed and recorded with ace composer, steelband arranger, and pannist, Dr. Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe, and with many top Calypso, Soca and Caribbean pop and jazz fusion artists including, Dr. Slinger “Mighty Sparrow” Francisco, Lord Superior the Mighty Shadow, Dr. David Rudder, and Vaughnette Bigford, to name a few. He has also composed music for several of Trinidad’s television programs—most notably, Gayelle and Caribbean Eye, and has been musical director for the Trinidad Theatre Workshop’s productions of Derek Walcott’s plays, Joker of Seville, and Dream on Monkey Mountain, at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, and well as for the premiere production of Steel, produced by the American Repertory Theatre. As a sideman bassist and steel drummer, Ron has performed and/or recorded with several renowned American artistes. His popular recordings as leader include Calypsoldier, Reid, Wright and be Happy and Precious Metals. Ron has received many recognitions and awards including the Berklee Urban Service Award (2010), the 2016 Distinguished Hall of Fame Award from Trinity College, his beloved high school, and the Caribbean Foundation of Boston’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Award (2022). Ron will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for his contribution to education and the performing arts.
Rimli Roy (India)
Rimli Roy is an artist, dancer, choreographer, producer, actor, director, visionary and humanitarian from Kolkata, India who embarked on her artistic journey at the age of four, immersing herself first in classical Indian dance forms like Odissi, Bharatnatyam, and Manipuri under renowned gurus of India, while also learning Western classical pianoforte under the tutelage of the Trinity College of Music, London as well as Indian Classical music (Hindustani vocals and harmonium). She is the founder and Artistic Director of Surati for Performing Arts, a performing arts and education company in Jersey City. Significant milestones in her journey are the creation of productions like “Glimpses of India” and “Ramaavan – A Musical” that seamlessly blend genres from the East and the West. Her artistry has graced iconic venues such as the United Nations, The Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress, The Lincoln Center, and The Alaska Performing Arts Center, to name a few. Her ensemble beautifully reflects her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity. Rimli has received several accolades for her work including a Folk Arts Apprenticeship award from the NJ State Council on the Arts and a U.S. Artists International award, and she was also nominated for a NJ Heritage Fellowship award for Folk and Traditional arts from the State of NJ in 2023. Rimli is considered one of the foremost practitioners and teachers of Indian classical dance and classical-based dance choreography in the Tri-state area. Beyond her performances, she nurtures budding dancers and collaborates with tristate organizations to democratize the arts. Rimli will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for her contribution to the performing arts.
Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle (St. Vincent & The Grenadines)
Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle is the unmistakably energetic Soca artiste, with the distinctive baritone voice, from St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Always willing to push the boundaries of Caribbean music, this singer/songwriter has a distinctive style that falls perfectly between Soca and dancehall. In 2008 Skinny Fabulous made his first major impact in the Soca arena, and it has been no looking back since. He has won numerous competitions in Vincy Mas and has copped the coveted Soca Monarch title five times. A household name wherever Soca and carnival is known, his music sets the pace in other Caribbean countries, London, and North American cities. In 2019 he dared to do what no one has done before by winning the Road March in T&T as a non-national, with the hit ‘Famalay’, which he wrote and co-performed with Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin. In 2022 he was honored with a proclamation by the city of Atlanta and was the co-Grand Marshall of the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival along with Georgia District Attorney, Fani Willis. Skinny Fabulous has collaborated with several of the Caribbean’s top artists in various music genres, and along with four other titans in the industry, he is cited on the Recording Academy Grammy Awards website as one of the “5 Artists Essential to Contemporary Soca.” It is no wonder that the title of Cultural Ambassador for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, his home country, was also conferred upon him. Skinny Fabulous will receive the 2023 Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool SUNSHINE Award for his contribution to the performing arts.
Doreen J. Ketchens (United States)
Dr. Ketchens is one of the top traditional jazz clarinetists in the world today. She grew up in Tremé, a neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied clarinet in elementary school, beginning as a fifth grader at Joseph Craig Elementary. She found her passion in Jazz when she met her husband, Lawrence who was an arranger and played the sousaphone. In 1987. the couple began performing on the streets of New Orleans. They played occasionally together then she moved to Jackson Square with her first band, the Jackson Square All-Stars. Dr. Ketchens and her current band, Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, have traveled the world performing their joyful, energetic original and soulful New Orleans jazz in (47) states and (24) countries. Doreen’s Jazz has represented the United States on several occasions by teaching and performing for Dignitaries and Royalty, including (4) US Presidents. They have also recorded 30 CDs & 3 DVDs displaying their incredible musical abilities. Dr. Ketchens performances has changed the way scholars view their clarinets. She has successfully created her own style that blends the techniques of her classical training with the soul of her cultural roots in jazz. Her intense passion gets under your skin and brings you to a new place, be it, Gospel, Blues, R&B, Classical or Jazz. She performed on programs sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and The US Department of State, and has also had performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic at a standing room only concert in the St. Louis Cathedral in 2018, and at the Orpheum Theater in 2022. She has been featured in numerous documentaries about New Orleans, its heritage, and its music, including several profiles by WWOZ, New Orleans’ Jazz radio station. Dr. Doreen Ketchens will receive the 2023 SUNSHINE Award for her contribution to the performing arts.
Nadia Batson (Trinidad & Tobago)
Nadia Batson is a well-known talented singer, songwriter, and Soca ambassador. She is the lyrical genius behind many of our favorite Soca hits. Her performances in Canada, United States, and throughout the Caribbean always leave her audiences calling for more. Not only is she a top Soca artiste and prolific songwriter with a string of hits (performed by herself and by other artistes) to her credit, but she is also the bandleader of SASS Nation, her All-Female band, which she formed in 2011. Her path to being one of the Caribbean’s top Soca artistes can be traced from her time at the St. Joseph TML Primary School, to her emergence as a professional singer at the age of 17 years as a member of the all-girls group named Silhouette, to her role as a front-line vocalist for Kes the Band, and to her emergence as a solo artiste in in 2011. Nadia has collaborated with several top Caribbean performers and has penned many accolade-winning hits throughout the region. So many can fondly recall such hits as One Island, My Land, Caribbean Girl, Flames, Expose, Hookin Meh, Pop ah Bottle, Sleeping In Your Bed, Jelly, Fatt, Counting My Blessings, Endurance, to mention a few. She has adeptly held her own in major competitions, including International Soca Monarch Finals, Groovy Soca Monarch Finals, and Chutney Soca Monarch Finals. In 2014 and 2015 she was honored by being selected as a judge for the Digicel Rising Star show. Nadia has truly earned recognition as one of the most respected singer/songwriters in the region. Nadia Batson will receive the 2023 Dr. Slinger “Mighty Sparrow” Francisco SUNSHINE Award for her contribution to the performing arts.
