Jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles left Trinidad 15 years ago to pursue his career. Back in town to perform his Folklore album at Queen’s Hall, he talks to Newsday about gentrification, incarceration and the American Dream.
“I call myself a Glenconian,” Etienne Charles says down the phone. He’s heading for the airport in Detroit, on his way home to the familiar surroundings of suburban north-west Trinidad. Charles performs his jazz odyssey, Folklore, at Queen’s Hall on Sunday at 6 pm. In the run-up, rehearsals take place at home in Glencoe, where his parents, both retired public servants, have lived for 27 years.
“I try to make sure I get a good bit of Trinidad in my bones throughout the year,” he says. “Especially in the winter.”
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