Anthony Joseph - Caribbean Roots (2016)

Strut team up for the first time with respected French label Heavenly Sweetness for the brand new album by the inspired poet, novelist and musician, Anthony Joseph. The Caribbean is an influence that runs through Josephs discography, obliquely or headon, suggested or on full display. It resonates on each of his albums, from the furious trance of Bird Head Son to the more polished Time. On Caribbean Roots, he has now decided to turn a guiding thread and a reference point into a communications cable a powerful bond that makes light of distance and braves the seas to link his island to that of his friends in the Caribbean arc, dancing to the strains of tumbl and mend only a few miles from Port of Spain where people live it up to rapso and soca beats. Caribbean Roots represents a return to his roots for Anthony Joseph, who has always remained true to a powerful, deep-seated sense of his Caribbean identity. Having started out as a joint project with the outstanding percussionist Roger Raspail (Cesaria Evora, Papa Wemba, Kassav), Caribbean Roots swiftly grew into a creative force incorporating the rhythms, sounds and vibes that rock the Caribbean from San Fernando, Scarborough, Kingston and Les Abymes to Port-au-Prince and Havana. Backed by a band made up of a blend of local musicians, the album attempts to unite the different islands into a single entity whilst ensuring that the identity of each is in no way diluted by the mix, instead creating a richer and stronger alloy. The saxophones of Shabaka Hutchings (The Heliocentrics) and Jason Yarde, the trumpet of Yvon Guillard (Magma), the bass of Mike Clinton (Salif Keita) and the trombone of Pierre Chabrle (Creole Jazz Orchestra) all combine to form a group of Caribbean All Stars to which Andy Narrell, the master of the steel pans, brings ringing drum beats.