Tripwolf Blog

In less than three weeks from today, I am leaving my life as a New York City writer, guitarist and high school teacher behind to embark upon an adventure of musical understanding through the Caribbean Islands. The essays that appear in this space will chronicle my experiences on the road, as I combine three of my life’s passions—travel, music and history—to journey in search of the ethnographic factors which are responsible for the region’s astonishing musical diversity. The central questions to be asked in the course of this voyage include: (1) In what ways did the combination of Native American, African and European cultures contribute to the emergence of Caribbean music; (2) How did each island’s colonial heritage (i.e. English, French, Spanish or Dutch) and economic orientation (slave plantation or settlement colony) impact the development of its own unique form of music; and (3) To what extent do these distinct traditions continue to influence each other?

My first destination is Trinidad, home to the musical styles of Calypso, Soca, Rapso and Chutney, among others. From there I will head northeast…

through the Lesser Antilles to Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Jamaica, the islands which respectively gave rise to Salsa, Merengue & Bachata, and Mento, Ska & Reggae. Due to the Caribbean’s lack of a comprehensive budget travel infrastructure, there is little in the way of ferry service or advance-ticket airfare bargains between islands. As a consequence, my itinerary at this point remains mostly unknown; I am booked to fly out of Montego Bay, Jamaica six weeks after touching down in the region, and the path I follow between arrival and departure will be guided only by luck, intuition, opportunity and a search for answers to the questions above.

To maximize my efforts at discovery, and to help document my experiences along the way, I will also be traveling with an acoustic guitar and a digital movie camera. I understand that, for this endeavor to be a success, I must take as active a role in the investigative process as possible. So instead of simply buying CDs and going to museums or concerts, I hope to learn about the music by learning to play the music. Therefore, my plan is to seek out local cultural figures, performers and musical historians, ask them to teach me about their local music, and then film the interviews, jam sessions and discussions that ensue. Upon my return to the US, I will take all that I have gathered from the road and use it to make a documentary that is equal parts cultural study, travel guide, music compilation and personal narrative. Please come back and visit often, as I will be posting weekly updates, stories and photos from the trip.

I hope you enjoy!!