As fate would have it, US-born pannist Andy Narell and David Rudder were quietly collaborating on an album at the same time US R&B/pop/hip-hop artiste Beyonce must have been recording her country album with its current hit song Texas Hold ’em.
The two vastly different projects have some symbolic connections. They both challenge perceived musical boundaries.
US-born pannist Narell and Rudder had collaborated on songs before, but this album in the making, Kaiso Gone Dread: the Words and Music of Black Stalin, expands their collaboration to include musicians from the French, Spanish and English-speaking Caribbean.
“I was talking to Andy one day and said, ‘We haven’t done anything together for a long time,’ and he suggested we do an album of Stalin’s music,” said Rudder.
“I always wanted to produce a great David Rudder album. In the past, I produced a couple of tracks like my version of David’s Long Time Band,” said Narell. For Narell and Rudder, Stalin had an emotional pull from nostalgia to timeless relevance.
“I’m taking a deeper dive into Stalin’s work. Now that I’m learning all the words to his songs, I’m more impressed by his poetry – his message,” said Narell.
“He lays out his arguments like a brilliant lawyer. We, the listeners, are the jury. I find the parallels between him and David so strong in terms of the message, the power and the poetry.” Keeping the roots of Stalin’s music and blending in a pan-Caribbean jazz twist was the challenge.
“The goal is to re-interpret the music – not the lyrics. We want to keep Stalin’s message and original lyrics, just present it in a slightly different way. In some cases I just phrased the lyrics differently,” said Rudder. Rudder’s vocals are much softer that we are accustomed to in the past. “It’s a more classical sound,” he said.
Narell has been busy sending tracks to Rudder and musicians to add their contributions. “David sings me a few bars on the telephone so I know what key he wants to sing in, and then I get with my keyboard and computer and try to do a track that he can sing to and make sure he feels comfortable with it,” said Narell.
A drummer from Martinique, a bass player from Cuba, a percussionist from Brazil, Narell on keyboards and pan, Trinidadian Etienne Charles on trumpet and a horn section arranged by Narell’s son Isaac surround Rudder’s voice with a musical tapestry representing the region.
“The jazz arrangements are going really well,” said Rudder. For Narell and Rudder, Stalin’s messages have no boundaries so it’s not surprising they see his music bridging musical genres. They strive to preserve Stalin’s charisma and power.
“Stalin knew the mood of the crowd,” said Rudder. “I would like to perpetuate artistes who are really relevant to our society – just give them a second voice.” Rudder most remembers Stalin’s “instant smile,” and he said Stalin had a way of drawing people to him.
“He would light up for anyone he met, almost like, ‘Look at me. Don’t be afraid.’” Stalin’s disarming smile made his messages – like Burn Dem– m
