Etienne Charles Brings Creole Soul To Cooperstown
The performance is on Thursday, August 21 at 7:00 PM.
By: Stephi Wild Aug. 07, 2025
The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival will present Trinidad-born trumpet virtuoso Etienne Charles for the festival's final concert of the 2025 season. Charles will perform with his acclaimed Creole Soul band at Fenimore Farm and Country Village on Thursday, August 21 at 7:00 PM.
Charles was recently named the 2025 Laureate in Arts and Letters by the Anthony N Sabga Award for Caribbean Excellence, one of the Caribbean's most prestigious honors with a $75,000 award. In November 2024, he received the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. His latest album Creole Orchestra was named the #1 album of 2024 by JazzWeek and earned him an NAACP Image Award nomination. JazzTimes calls him a "daring improviser who delivers with heart-wrenching lyricism," while DownBeat Magazine notes that "Charles delivers his ebullient improvisations with the elegance of a world-class ballet dancer."
Born into a rich musical lineage, Charles's great-grandfather played banjo and violin, his grandfather recorded with legendary calypsonian the Growling Tiger, and his father and uncle were members of Phase II Pan Groove, one of the world's most formidable steel bands. This Caribbean heritage, combined with classical training at Florida State University and The Juilliard School, creates an artist who defies categorization.
"I come from a fusion of cultures," explains Charles, “that's what this album is all about.” Creole Soul blends original compositions with classic Creole tunes, inspired by Charles's cultural encounters across Haiti, Martinique, and Jamaica. Audiences can expect interpretations of Bob Marley's "Turn the Lights Down Low," Thelonious Monk's "Green Chimney," and compositions honoring the Mighty Sparrow.
As a dedicated cultural researcher, Charles travels extensively to meet with musicians and cultural leaders, participating in rituals to become fully immersed in the cultures he studies. His mission highlights marginalized communities and connects the African diaspora through music.
Charles has collaborated with Roberta Flack, Marcus Roberts, the Count Basie Orchestra, and Gregory Porter, performing at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival. Currently serving as Associate Professor at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, he continues touring internationally.
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