The Washington, D.C. area trombonist Reginald Cyntje speaks English with an accent — it's a patois from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he grew up. He also plays jazz with a Caribbean accent, where hard bop vocabulary meets reggae and calypso rhythms. His group draws from a rich regional talent pool of undersung talent, including two men — childhood friend and drummer Amin Gumbs and steel drum bebop master Victor Provost — who also hail from the Islands. His writing often stems from his holistic vision of social justice and cultural heritage — and the head-nodding grooves they imply in his head.
As one of the most prominent composer-bandleaders of the mid-Atlantic, he's created three albums with his working band, and is about to record another. Jazz Night In America visits the historic Bohemian Caverns, a funky 100-seat room on Washington, D.C.'s "black Broadway," to take in a set previewing Cyntje's forthcoming record Spiritual Awakening.
Personnel
Reginald Cyntje, trombone; Brian Settles, tenor saxophone; Victor Provost, steel pan; Mark Meadows, piano; Herman Burney, bass; Amin Gumbs, drums.
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