Sept 6th 2003
Contact: Kanchan Paser
Tel: 212-963-0343
Fax: 212-963-1395
e-mail: kanchan@sunshineawards.com
For Immediate Release
HAITI'S - TABOU COMBO
JAMAICA'S - FREDDIE MC GREGOR
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO's - PAUL KEENS-DOUGLAS
AMONG SPECIAL HONOREES AT FIFTEENTH ANNUAL CARIBBEAN SUNSHINE AWARDS
Teaneck, New Jersey, USA, Sept 6th 2003….The SUNSHINE Awards™
organization today issued the following statement:
On Saturday, September 27, 2003 at the New York Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan,
the Caribbean SUNSHINE Awards will hold its Fifteenth Annual Awards, with the
theme of "One Family, One Caribbean." It is a theme, which truly
reflects the all-inclusive nature of the Caribbean SUNSHINE Awards, as artistes
are recognized for their outstanding talents and contribution to the art forms
and culture of the English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Creole-speaking
Caribbean. The Awards program celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the
Caribbean people and has remained committed over the years to the promotion and
preservation of their dynamic art forms. This year the program is dedicated to
the celebration of the Haitian Revolution.
In addition to the awards in the various music categories, the Caribbean
SUNSHINE Awards each year recognizes individuals for their exceptional
contribution to Caribbean culture, whether through music, dance, art, theatre or
other artistic endeavors. This year's list of nominees for special Caribbean
SUNSHINE Awards recognition includes luminaries such as Jamaica's Freddie
McGregor, Paul Keans-Douglas of Trinidad & Tobago, Arturo Tappin of
Barbados, and from Haiti, sociologist/researcher Jean Julien, movie producer,
Frantz Voltaire and the well-known and very popular band Tabou Combo. Each of
these honorees is known and recognized for the artistry and commitment to
excellence in the pursuit of their craft.
Freddie McGregor has been on the reggae music scene for 40 years. He has
survived the evolution of the music and has firmly established himself as a
reggae superstar, not only as a singer, but also as a songwriter and producer.
As a young aspiring performer in the sixties, he had the extraordinary good
fortune of having mentors such as Bob Marley, Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe, who
helped to shape his musical style. Freddie was also influenced by America's
rhythm and blues as is evident in his early releases in the 1960s. By the mid
70s, his conversion to the Rastafarian faith took his music in another
direction. It became the music of roots and culture, with conscious lyrics such
as "Rasta Man Camp," "Zion Chant," "Walls of
Jericho," to name but a few. His most recent album entitled "Anything
For You" was nominated for a Grammy.
McGregor has entertained fans in a number of countries around the world and
has performed for Queen Elizabeth II, President Mandela and Prince Charles. He
has also performed with John Holt and the Royal Orchestra at the London
Hammersmith Apollo and he was recently saluted by "Live at the Apollo"
in New York with a living legend tribute.
Arturo Tappin of Barbados is known for playing a smooth, mean saxophone and
has been described as being a cross between Teddy Prendergrass and Kenny G. He
is known for his dynamic and explosive performances of roots reggae-jazz fusion
music, which has earned him a wide fan base. Tappin's first album, Strictly
Roots Jazz, was recorded in 1994 during a jam session in London with Denis
Bovell and his "Dub band." It wasn't long after that that he released
his second album "Java."
Tappin has performed at a number of prestigious Jazz festivals throughout the
Caribbean, Europe and the United States, including the Edinburgh Jazz Festival,
the Soho Jazz Festival and the Miami AT&T Caribbean Jazz Festival. He has
also performed at Jamaica's Reggae Sunsplash and the Miami Reggae Festival.
Tappin has played or recorded with many major artists, such as Monty Alexander,
Ernest Ranglin, Nicholas Brancker, Red Rodney, Milt Hinton, Roy Haynes, Elis
Marsalis, Mutaburaka, The Wailers Band, and Third World, as well as steelbands
Skiffle Bunch and Pannaz. He has also worked with R&B superstars Roberta
Flack, Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, and Anita Baker. A talented and
exciting performer, Tappin is considered a musician's musician.
Trinidad & Tobago has produced a number of creative talents, men and
women whose contributions to Caribbean art forms can be seen not only in the
Caribbean, but also in many countries across the globe. One such talent is Paul
Keens-Douglas, one of the most eloquent raconteurs and dramatist in the
English-speaking Caribbean. Keens-Douglas has a wide and varied background in
theatre and the creative arts, as a writer, performer and producer. He is widely
acknowledged as being a leading exponent of the oral traditions of Trinidad
& Tobago and Eastern Caribbean vernacular. Very much in demand as an
international performer and presenter, he has made appearances at a number of
prestigious international festivals and venues including Britain's Royal Albert
Hall, Westminster Abbey, Howard University, and the Saidye Brofman Centre in
Canada, to name but a few.
Keens-Douglas has authored nine volumes of work, and has produced fifteen
albums, three videos and several CDs. His work has been featured in many
anthologies and well-known international publications and has been highlighted
on the BBC, Canadian and American radio and television, and throughout the
Caribbean media. In his performances, he has created a number of characters,
which have all become an indelible part of the Caribbean literary landscape. He
is the recipient of several national and international Awards, such as the Zora
Neale Hurston Award, the Caribbean American Intercultural Award, The Character
Club of Canada Award, the Beryl McBurnie Foundation for the Arts Award, the
National Drama Association Cacique Vanguard Award, the Trinidad & Tobago
National Award and the Hummingbird Silver Award.
One of the main features of this Fifteenth Annual SUNSHINE Awards is the fact
that it is being dedicated to the Bicentennial celebration of the Haitian
Revolution. It is therefore only fitting that there will be two special
recognition awards for nationals of Haiti. Jean Julien was born in
Port-au-Prince. His professional life has had taken him on many interesting and
diverse paths. He received a law degree from the University of Haiti Law School
in 1957 and practiced law until 1964. During this period, he also taught French
literature and regularly published articles in a local newspaper. In 1966 he
received a scholarship to study sociology at New York's Columbia University. He
then went on to Baruch College, where he received a BA and an MBA in Business
Administration.
Jean Julian worked for many years as a social worker at Harlem Hospital and
the New York City Department of Social Services, and as an accountant and
commercial finance auditor. He has also taught Financial Accounting and
Economics at Essex County College of the State University of New Jersey. Jean
Julien, now retired, has been devoting his time to researching the story of the
Haitian people and has completed a video history of the Haitian people in
Creole.
When one speaks of Haitian music, the first group that comes to mind is Tabou
(sacred) Combo, a band, which has successfully incorporated the rhythms of rock
and Brazilian samba into the infectious rhythm of Konpa, Haiti's national dance
music. Tabou Combo has been around for 36 years, and had already established
itself as Haiti's preeminent band before migrating to New York in 1971. Tabou
draws from musical rhythms from around the world -- meringue from the Dominican
Republic, French quadrilles and contra dances, and funk from the American soul
era of James Brown. This rich musical mix makes for an exciting and electrifying
rhythmic experience.
Perhaps as a way to emphasize that music knows no language barrier, Tabou
performs in Spanish, English, French and their native Creole. While theirs is a
music made for dancing, the group also uses lyrics to highlight Haitian social
issues, with songs such as Zap Zap (dealing with the issue of AIDS), and Yo
(addressing the Haitian people's struggles to end their political and economic
misery). The group's last three albums were produced by their own production
company, Zafem Productions.
Tabou Combo has toured extensively in the Caribbean and throughout Asia,
Europe, South and North America. The group's release of Aux Antilles in 1989
topped European and Caribbean charts for six consecutive weeks. It also won Best
Album for Haitian dance music at the 1991 1st Annual Caribbean Music Awards.
Kitem Fe Zafem (Let Me Do My Things) was voted among Beat Magazine's Best of
1988. Original members of the group, since its formation by drummer Herman Nau
and guitarist Albert Chancy in Port-au-Prince in 1967, are lead vocalist Roger
M. Eugene (Shoubou), back-up vocalist and songwriter, Yves Joseph (Fanfan), and
percussionist and songwriter, Yvon Andre (Kapi). Tabou Combo is a group, which
has audiences dancing from concert halls to the streets and nightclubs around
the world. They are widely acknowledged as Haiti's Ambassadors of Konpa.
The Fifteenth Annual SUNSHINE Awards will take place at the New York Sheraton
Hotel at 811 Seventh Avenue & 52nd Street on Saturday, September 27 at 6
p.m. The Awards is sponsored in part by Propel Fitness Water by the makers of
Gatorade, Hennessy, Keyspan, BWIA, Air Jamaica, The New York Carib News,
Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation Calypsocity, Travel Span Vacations
and WWRL 1600 Radio.
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Call the Caribbean SUNSHINE Awards office at (201) 836-0799 or
send a fax to (201) 836-4440 for reservations
