LAVISO GWOKA TRIO

Touch of France 'Cari-Jazz' show:
Vive Laviso

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The great shows - especially with jazz bands - all have that defining moment. Its that instant where the proceedings break away from mere perfromance and slip, just perceptibly, into the realm of vocation, where the artiste has moved from merely playing or sounding good to becoming a force inseparable from the music.
At the Hilton Kingston poolside on Monday night (the dynamics of timing these musical offerings may yet need more tinkering), a commendably large gathering saw the Guadeloupean Christian Laviso (on guitars) and his three compadres make that transition on a number titled San Mele, from Laviso's latest album.
There was hardly any need for translation, as Laviso's musical language was sufficiently clear and eleqouent. He and his bandmates deftly blended more formal structures with the more open type of improvisations, the latter typically driven by the very able percussionist. Laviso also got some fascinating interpaly with saxophonist Luther Francois, who was on a homecoming of sorts. Francois, a St Lucian native, lived in Jamaica in the '80s whilst a student at the Jamaica School of Music. On tenor as well as on flute, he blew crisp yet unhurried lines that provided both compliment and counterpoint to the leader's "free-bop" strumming and the frenetic work of the drummer and percussionist.Prior to the headliners, The Maurice Gordon Trio brought a more conventional but no less welcome approach to modern improviation in their renditions of Gordon originals, the jaunty Ragamuffin Groove and the smoother Irie Moods. Their invigorating set closed with a reading of the Maytals' classic Bam Bam, stretched out but not to unprecedented limits. We've made no secret of our admiration for the work of the French Embassy and the Alliance Francaise in terms of both frequency and calibre of the presentations. Though the music proved too intense for some memebrs of the largely unsuspecting audience, this performance belongs right up there with the very best of them (a previous quartet, led by saxophonist Julien Lourau comes to mind). The value of these musical offerings can't be overstated especially as they offer not only the opportunity for a great listening experience but also to build the bridges between us and our diverse island neighbours.

- Michael A Edwards

Laviso s' burst in L' Artchipel
When in the middle of the Eighties Christian Laviso still played with “Kafé” or “Horizon”, the experts or the malicious gossip said: “ouais, it is well, but that resembles Lockel too much.

” Yes, Laviso sometimes took as a starting point the phrased by Gerard Lockel, the inventor of modern Gwo ka. But since, the man worked much. He made experiments enriching with jazzmen African-American such as Kenny Garrett or David Murray which, them, do not weary themselves to work with Laviso.
Laviso thus matured and was completely emancipated to the Lockel style. Christian Laviso moulted and it became “Laviso”!

Last week on the scene of Artchipel with Low-Ground, in front of a public sometimes a little timid, but very attentive, Laviso made a true demonstration of its talent. Accompanied well by Sony Troupé (Battery) which does not adopt to fill with wonder us and by Aldo Middleton and Yves Thole (Gwo ka and perceived). The guitarist of ka was magic!

He explored with his usual dexterity all the corners and recesses of the gwo ka modèn. Laviso was then shown in turn inventive, air, swift, but also simply percussif with its guitarka. Laviso 2008 is thus a good vintage!

Its chorus-singers, Patrice Ulman, Lydia Barlagne, and especially Lucile Kancel (which deserves a particular mention), knew to give emotion (African-American would say it “drunk”) to this concert. After the show of Sony Troupe to Sonis (see CaribCreole of the 15/04/08) and those of Jacques Schwartz Bart, Laviso comes to show the new music inhabitant of Guadeloupe how is spirit to climb tops, where it will be difficult to reach it!
- Danik I. Zandwonis