Jazz in The Caribbean

Sadly it appears my map is not very useful when it comes to identifying the individual Caribbean countries, so for the moment I will list them here, and add links to the profiles of countries’ jazz scenes and key individual musicians as I add them. A large number of these musicians made their careers in Britain, and had a huge impact on British jazz, so will also appear in that context.

Antigua and Barbuda
Roland Prince (1946-2016)

The Bahamas
Norman Mason (1895-1971)

Barbados
Harry Beckett (1923-2010)

Cuba
Machito (1909-1984)
Mario Bauzá (1911-1993)
Chano Pozo (1915-1948)
Bebo Valdés (1918-2013)
Chucho Valdés (born 1941)
Paquito D’Rivera (born 1948)
Arturo Sandoval (born 1949)

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Haiti
Voodoo-Jazz & Compas – Rene St Aude (1909-1995), Nemours Jean-Baptiste (1918-1985)

Jamaica
Joe Harriott (1928-1973)
Dizzy Reece (born 1931)
Sonny Bradshaw (1926-2009)
Coleridge Goode (1914-2015)
Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson (1906-1959)
Harold McNair (1931-1971)
Ernest Ranglin (born 1932)
Monty Alexander (born 1944)
Eddie ‘Tan Tan’ Thornton (born 1932)
Rico Rodriguez (1934-2015)
etc

St Kitts and Nevis

St Lucia

St Vincent and the Grenadines
Shake Keane (1927-1997)

Trinidad and Tobago
Russ Henderson (1924-2015)

There are many more islands that are territories or overseas departments and municipalities. I’ll deal with those as and when it becomes necessary, but it’s all rather complicated.

Bandleader Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson and singer/percussionist Frank Holder were born in Guyana in South America, so are listed there.