" data-original-title="" title="">Etienne Charles' Kaiso helps to rectify that issue. Charles pays tribute to these two giants of calypso music, better known respectively as Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow, and explores the fusion of Caribbean music, Latin rhythms, the sounds of New Orleans, and modern jazz, throughout this ambitious program of music.

While Charles may be guilty of trying to cover too much ground on Kaiso, that also happens to be one of the album's greatest draws. Charles creates a template of sorts during the first five tracks, with short, catchy, harmonized horn riffs serving as the entrance point to energetic solo territory, only to abandon this direction in favor of greater variety during the latter half of the album.

Mighty Sparrow's "Teresa"" marks the turning point, where multiple musical personalities begin to present themselves. The sudden presence of an orchestra, delivering a romantic introduction before Charles takes control and steers the music into a pseudo-Brazilian direction, comes as a shock after five lively small group numbers, and the surprises keep coming. "Kitch's Bebop Of Calypso" brings Lord Superior onboard to sing and play guitar, as Charles' muted trumpet channels the icons of bop that Superior name checks in the song. A second orchestral take on Sparrow's music arrives in the form of "Rose." While this number takes a little while to settle in, as the music begins in a mournful state, takes a noir-ish turn, and then paints a pastoral picture, it eventually gets to a perky place where fluttery flute, delicate, yet propulsive, percussion and charming trumpet all find a place to shine. Superior comes back for seconds, on Kitchener's "My Landlady," and this proves to be the better of his two performances.

Guest pianist