Andy Narell with Panchromatic Caribbean Jazz

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H. Aubrey

Andy Narell

Trinidad steel drum sensation Andy Narell has worked across genres in his career and with artists ranging from Bela Fleck to Tito Puente. Narell is in Madison as artist-in-residence with the Sessions at McPike Park, and wraps up his time here by collaborating with Panchromatic Caribbean Jazz, an ensemble pulled from the larger Panchromatic Steel to focus on improvisational music. Find advance tickets for this BlueStem Jazz concert here. The night before, Narell will also give a lecture and participate in a jam session as part of the New Breed Jazz Jam (9 p.m., Aug. 16, Robinia Courtyard).

$20

media release: Andy Narell is a prolific composer and world-class instrumentalist who has spent the past several decades exploring the possibilities of Trinidad’s national instrument, the steel drum – a.k.a the steel pan, in contemporary music. His compositional and improvisational stylings marry the harmonic traditions of American jazz with the rhythms and aesthetics of Caribbean music, earning him high acclaim in both idioms. As a bandleader and soloist, he has performed for hundreds of concerts and jazz festivals throughout the globe, and has worked with renowned groups and musicians such as the Caribbean Jazz Project, Sakésho, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Marcus Miller, and Tito Puente.

During his residency in Wisconsin, Andy will perform in a variety of settings, across intimate seated concerts and main stage festival contexts, with Madison-based musicians as well as several Caribbean artists at the Sessions at McPike Park. Complete list of Andy's Madison appearances below:

Friday (Aug 12) evening duo performance (piano and steel pan) with Madison legend, Ben Sidran, at Arts and Literature Laboratory. Co-sponsored by Madison Music Collective. 7:30 pm, general admission tickets are $25 ($20 students/ALL members) in advance online at https://narell-sidran.bpt.me up to 2 hours before the show, and $30 at the door for everyone.

Sunday (Aug 14) afternoon performance with Caribbo (colorful, eclectic jazz from Suriname) at The Sessions at McPike Park.

Sunday (Aug 14) evening performance with Madison's own steelband, Panchromatic Steel, and Afro-Caribbean All-Stars composed of select festival invitees, at The Sessions at McPike Park.

Tuesday (Aug 16) evening lecture on the intersection of steel pan and jazz, followed by an opportunity for community musicians to jam with Andy, courtesy of Robinia Courtyard and New Breed Jazz Jam.

Wednesday (Aug 17) evening farewell concert, featuring the Panchromatic Caribbean Jazz combo, at The Bur Oak. Presented by Panchromatic Steel and BlueStem Jazz