Lionel Belasco
Encyclopedia
Lionel Belasco was a prominent pianist, composer and bandleader, best known for his calypso
recordings. According to various sources, he was born either in Barbados
or in Port of Spain
, Trinidad and Tobago
; he grew up in Trinidad
, the son of an Afro-Caribbean mother and a Sephardic Jewish father. He travelled widely in the Caribbean
and South America
in his youth, absorbing a wide variety of musical influences. He was leading his own band by 1902. He made his first phonograph
recordings in Trinidad in 1914, and soon after first traveled to New York City
, where he made more recordings and set up a publishing business. He would continue to travel back and forth between New York and Trinidad for the rest of his life.
He is unusual as a calypsonian in the fact that his instrument was the piano, (not exactly the best instrument for the calypso tent.) It is because of this that his style is more orchestrated and arranged. Instead of marching the streets or playing the tents, as was the custom for the average calypsonian, he instead became a darling of the local elites, playing the high class balls and debutante dances. In fact, around this time (1903-4) he began giving piano tutorials to the mayor's daughter. Don Hill, an expert on the subject, who wrote detailed liner notes on the "Goodnight Ladies and Gents, the creole music of Lionel Belasco" CD, claims that "According to rumour", he taught her a bit more than simply how to play the piano.... she was shipped back to England in disgrace, and Belasco was forced to flee to New York, where he died.
He is originally the famous interpolator of the Martiniquan
Folksong L'Année Passée, a tragic song about a Martiniquan girl who became a prostitute in Trinidad. The melody was used in the song for which Lord Invader
became famous.
During his stay in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in the late 1930s, he wrote waltzes with a local flavour (Luna de Maracaibo) and introduced a touch of jazz in some of them (i.e. Juliana). He also wrote the calypso Margarita, recorded by the Cuban singer Vicentico Valdés in New York in the sixties.
Aldemaro Romero
once said about Lionel Belasco that he was the first who jazzed the Venezuelan music, in the 30's.
He also was featured in the soundtrack for the 2001 film, Ghost World
.
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
recordings. According to various sources, he was born either in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
or in Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
; he grew up in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, the son of an Afro-Caribbean mother and a Sephardic Jewish father. He travelled widely in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in his youth, absorbing a wide variety of musical influences. He was leading his own band by 1902. He made his first phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
recordings in Trinidad in 1914, and soon after first traveled to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he made more recordings and set up a publishing business. He would continue to travel back and forth between New York and Trinidad for the rest of his life.
He is unusual as a calypsonian in the fact that his instrument was the piano, (not exactly the best instrument for the calypso tent.) It is because of this that his style is more orchestrated and arranged. Instead of marching the streets or playing the tents, as was the custom for the average calypsonian, he instead became a darling of the local elites, playing the high class balls and debutante dances. In fact, around this time (1903-4) he began giving piano tutorials to the mayor's daughter. Don Hill, an expert on the subject, who wrote detailed liner notes on the "Goodnight Ladies and Gents, the creole music of Lionel Belasco" CD, claims that "According to rumour", he taught her a bit more than simply how to play the piano.... she was shipped back to England in disgrace, and Belasco was forced to flee to New York, where he died.
He is originally the famous interpolator of the Martiniquan
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
Folksong L'Année Passée, a tragic song about a Martiniquan girl who became a prostitute in Trinidad. The melody was used in the song for which Lord Invader
Lord Invader
Lord Invader was a prominent calypsonian with a very distinctive, gravelly voice....
became famous.
During his stay in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in the late 1930s, he wrote waltzes with a local flavour (Luna de Maracaibo) and introduced a touch of jazz in some of them (i.e. Juliana). He also wrote the calypso Margarita, recorded by the Cuban singer Vicentico Valdés in New York in the sixties.
Aldemaro Romero
Aldemaro Romero
Aldemaro Romero was a Venezuelan pianist, composer, arranger and orchestral conductor. He was born in Valencia, Carabobo State.-Biography:...
once said about Lionel Belasco that he was the first who jazzed the Venezuelan music, in the 30's.
He also was featured in the soundtrack for the 2001 film, Ghost World
Ghost World (film)
Ghost World is a 2001 comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff, based on the comic book of the same name and screenplay by Daniel Clowes...
.
External links
- Discography of Lionel Belasco on Victor RecordsVictor Talking Machine CompanyThe Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) - http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Biography/bio_Lionel_Belasco1.html