Eastern Caribbean nationals will feel at home, as their region's music seems to dominate the lineup. Brother Marvin, Singing Sandra and Crazy are all from T&T. Each offering a different style of delivery, they represent calypso's many flavors. To add to that element, ADLIB Steel Orchestra will add instrumentation to the islands' unique genre. Winners of last year's steel band and calypso competitions at the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association's Labor Day gala on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, the 30-member, 11-year-old group promises youth from 7 years old to deliver the beat. St. Paul's J.O.B. Young Adult Choir represents New York in drama, song and dance. Traditional island-style Christmas carols are promised by Charles Dougherty and Circle of Friends Caribbean ensemble.
Prophet and loss: A [Bob Marley] documentary forms the centrepiece of a Channel 4 special series on the Caribbean The music continues on August 7 with Top Ten: Caribbean, a celebration of Latino, reggae, ragga, hip-hop and everything in between with the 10 most successful Caribbean chart acts in pop history. Representing the lighter side of Caribbean life is rising star Richard Blackwood in a one-off Caribbean special of his entertainment series, The Richard Blackwood Show.
The term "world beat music" is less than a decade old. The music is a genre defined by the heads of a number of small London-based record labels who found that their records from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean were not finding rack space. Major record stores had no obvious place for these unclassified sounds. The average listeners have not. Today the major record chains - Spec's, Best Buy, and others - have responded to buyers' demand to make available music from Africa, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil and Latin America. Finding releases from Senegal's Kouding Cissoko or Baaba Maal is no problem. Finding the Afro-French, hip-hop sound of Les Nubians is simple; so finding the music of Nacio from Dominica, Gilberto Gil from Brazil, or Bamboleo of Cuba.