Search - Alan Lomax :: Calypso After Midnight

Rumble at Town Hall

Lawrence Waldron | New York City, USA | 01/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, after Midnight, all hell broke loose! The first half of this recording: Calypso at Midnight, was a courteous introduction to calypso at Manhattan Town Hall with familiar favorites like Rum and Coca Cola and Man Smart but Woman Smarter. But after midnight, the musicians are warmed up and rambunctious and I swear they forget sometimes that they are on stage in front of an audience of hundreds of Americans. They completely revert to spontaneous Trinidadian wit and rhythm. There's more drumming, Lord Invader (a devilishly clever orator in addition to his singing skills) cracks up the audience with his haughty responses to the host's (Alan Lomax) questions, the stress is more on extemporaneous composition (a revered skill among Calypsonians that makes for some amusing and raunchy results). Gerald Clark's Band is finally introduced as the backing musicians that night. They can be recognized on countless studio recordings of the Calypsos of the 30's, 40's and 50's from their distinctive use of fiddles and clarinet. But the crowning performance of the night is a Calypso War between Lord Invader, Macbeth and Duke of Iron. The insults fly, the multisyllabic dictionary words are bandied about with deadly intentions (sometimes hitting the mark)and it brings the house down. Invader is obviously triumphant (the man has a divine gift) but the other 2 Calypsonians hold their own. The belligerent, taunting origins of Calypso (from slaves teasing each other in the fields and holding late night stick fights) are also explored in Te Way, a Kalinda (or stick fighting song) done in a call and response style with a tumbling kind of rhythm. Alan Lomax, the MC, declares that the concert is running late and some songs have to be cut. The audience is not happy about that. The concert takes place only months after the war ended so Duke of Iron does one of the last performances of the night, a heart warming tribute to FDR's visit to Trinidad. The praise for Roosevelt in this song is a fitting act of friendly diplomacy for the cultural exchange this concert represents. It was an exciting, hilarious and, for many, enriching event for sure. How thankful I am that it was committed to a recording."