Jazz educator Etienne Charles visits KUVO on Colorado Gives Day

Jazz educator, trumpeter, composer and band leader Etienne Charles is scheduled to visit KUVO at noon on Colorado Gives Day, Tuesday, December 10, 2019. As a member of the jazz faculty and Teacher Scholar at Michigan State University, Charles will spend an hour on the air with host Arturo Gómez, curating music and discussing jazz education.  KUVO Jazz is spending Colorado Gives Day spotlighting music students and jazz education.  Charles is in Denver with his ensemble for a two-night engagement (Dec. 9-10, 2019) at Dazzle at Baur’s, performing his work from the CD “Creole Christmas.”

Trinidad-born and Julliard-educated, Charles has racked up numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship Award to explore and celebrate Carnival and the traditions that best exemplify his Trinidadian culture.

His critical acclaim comes from The New York Times (“an auteur”), Jazz Times (“a daring improviser”), Downbeat (“elegance”) and NPR (“a modern jazz conception”). In June 2012, Etienne was written into the US Congressional Record for his musical contributions to Trinidad & Tobago and the World. Across his seven solo projects, Etienne presents the myriad rhythms from the French, Spanish, English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, as well as “the Spanish tinge” and the feeling of New Orleans.

Etienne Charles’ Creole Christmas set at Dazzle at Baur’s tonight features classic selections from the Caribbean, American, and European holiday songbooks. Charles shines a new light on tunes such as Mighty Spoiler’s hilarious classic “Father Christmas”, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas”, and Lionel Belasco’s “Juliana” and “Roses of Caracas Waltz.”