Fortuitously, US-born pianists Andy Narell and David Rudder were discreetly working on an album as US R&B/pop/hip-hop singer Beyoncé was likely making her country album, which included the current hit song Texas Hold ’em.
There are some symbolic similarities between the two quite distinct undertakings. Both of them question accepted musical conventions.
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Although pianist Narell and guitarist Rudder, who were born in the United States, had previously worked together on songs, their next album Kaiso Gone Dread: The Words and Music of Black Stalin will feature musicians from the French, Spanish, and English-speaking Caribbean.
Rudder stated, “I was talking to Andy one day and said, ‘We haven’t done anything together for a long time,’ and he suggested we do an album of Stalin’s music.”
“I always wanted to produce a great David Rudder album. In the past, I produced a couple of tracks like my version of David’s Long Time Band,” mentioned Narell. Stalin evoked feelings of nostalgia and ageless significance for Narell and Rudder.
“I’m taking a deeper dive into Stalin’s work. Now that I’m learning all the words to his songs, I’m more impressed by his poetry – his message,” said Narell.
“He lays out his arguments like a brilliant lawyer. We, the listeners, are the jury. I find the parallels between him and David so strong in terms of the message, the power, and the poetry.” The objective was to maintain Stalin’s musical heritage while adding a pan-Caribbean jazz flavor.
“The goal is to re-interpret the music – not the lyrics. We want to keep Stalin’s message and original lyrics, just present it in a slightly different way. In some cases I just phrased the lyrics differently,” uttered Rudder. Rudder’s voice is far more subdued than it was in the past. “It’s a more classical sound,” he said.
Sending recordings to Rudder and other musicians so they may contribute has been Narell’s hectic work. “David sings me a few bars on the telephone so I know what key he wants to sing in, and then I get with my keyboard and computer and try to do a track that he can sing to and make sure he feels comfortable with it,” Narell noted.
Rudder’s voice is surrounded by a musical tapestry depicting the area by a horn section composed of Narell’s son Isaac, a percussionist from Brazil, a bassist from Cuba, a percussionist from Martinique, Narell on keyboards and pan, Etienne Charles on trumpet from Trinidad.
“The jazz arrangements are going really well,” uttered Rudder. It makes sense to Narell and Rudder that Stalin’s music crosses musical genres since they believe his teachings transcend all borders. Their goal is to maintain Stalin’s charm and authority.
“Stalin knew the mood of the crowd,” said Rudder. “I would like to perpetuate artists who are really relevant to our society – just give them a second voice.” According to Rudder, Stalin had a knack for attracting people to him. He most vividly recalls Stalin’s “instant smile.”
“He would light up for anyone he met, almost like, ‘Look at me. Don’t be afraid.’” Stalin’s bland smile softened the impact of his statements, such as Burn Dem. Narell remembers the night of Dimanche Gras 1987 in the Savannah, when Rudder, Mr. Panmaker, and Stalin sang Calypso Music and Dedication. Stalin sang Burn Dem.
“I saw Stalin sing Burn Dem and the crowd’s reaction was wild. He was on stage with pannist Bobby Greenridge when he sang Mr. Panmaker. I found that song to have an isolationist message of protecting what you created. Hold it close to you. I was on the stage playing with David when he sang Dedication, which seemed to be the opposite message.”
Saxophonist Roy Cape, Stalin’s close friend, informed Narell that evening that Stalin wished to see him backstage.
“After experiencing his messages that night I was apprehensive, but I found Stalin was just the warmest, gentlest, most sincere person.”
“He told me, ‘I have your records. I pick them up when I am in New York.’ Anything I was expecting him to be was totally obliterated.”
Narell had a closer look at Stalin after setting up Skiffle Bunch.
“His daughter was playing in the band, and he would stop by after the calypso tent. The second year I arranged for Skiffle Bunch, he offered to write lyrics for my song Appreciation. So far, the Stalin album has five tracks: the cover song, Wait Dorothy, Same Old Thing, De All Season Man and Play One. Narell is thinking about adding Burn Dem. Narell said Stalin’s 1978 album Caribbean Man should be recognized more in its contribution to early Soca music.
“A lot of innovation is going on in that album. We, sitting in California, (the western US state) were learning how to play Caribbean music by listening to Cuban and Latin music and then Stalin’s album showed up and we were like, ‘We have to learn to play soca now.’” Rudder and Narell agree that Stalin’s teachings on equality, black pride, peace, standing up for what’s right, and supporting a cause are timeless concepts.
“Wait Dorothy is a great song that takes a dig about all the stuff going on in the world – and is still going on in the world – and addresses the artiste’s dilemma of going for fame or creativity,” stated Narell.
Narell remarked, “His music holds up and is worthy of being played and re-interpreted. Black Stalin made a big impact, but he didn’t reach everyone. It’s really a niche audience who knew him.”
The constant aim of a musician is to reach that larger audience. Artists seamlessly transcend musical genres and ethnic borders; fans, as we can see with Beyonce right now, criticize and divide.
In an interview on her soon-to-be published book My Black Country, Alice Randall noted that, despite Beyonce’s detractors, country music is folk music with roots in the music of African Americans, Irish immigrants, and impoverished whites of Appalachia. A single sound does not represent a single race. Rudder and Narell don’t get the criticism directed at Beyoncé.
“Ray Charles did a whole country album called Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. It’s a classic. Ray Charles, Charlie Pride, Lionel Richie, Aaron Neville sang country music,” Narell remarked. “Collaboration is good,” Rudder expressed.
“That is what music is about – people coming together in different ways. I don’t know what the Beyonce fuss is about” Narell recalls the criticism he received as a white jazz musician performing with Rudder, and he recalls Rudder stating, “‘When I went to California, Andy pulled out a tenor pan from 1960. That’s where I had to go to find one because no one from Trinidad had that pan.’ We decided we were going to be brothers.”
That is something that Narell is conscious of in this endeavor. Musicians find power in their music, and the music that inspires them. “The way Black Stalin took his plight in life was like I’m going to go on stage and sing a calypso like Burn Dem. For me, it’s always been about breaking down the barriers,” Narell stated. “In this life we’re living, when we pass away, within two weeks we’re just a memory, so this is a way to make sense of everything about us,” Rudder shared.
David Rudder Kaiso Gone Dread: The Words and Music of Black Stalin is available for pre-order at A Kaiso Jazz Experience, for calypso and jazz aficionados! with The Andy Narell Group, on March 30, at 7 p.m. at Sound Forge, where Rudder will sing Black Stalin calypso.
