“Triptych Lespri”, is a recording project and suite that documents the first culminated work of my trio that formed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Davis Whitfield, Mark Lewandowski and I formed a musical collaboration with all of the afforded time of the pandemic to perform, record, rehearse, write and ‘break bread’ weekly. This project is a recording of my compositions and arrangements, with Whitfield and Lewandowski’s talents and unique styles being highlighted in the suite “Triptych Lespri I, II, III”.

“Triptych Lespri” is the next phase of building my quest to research and link the different rhythms and cultures of the African Diaspora in the Western Hemisphere with a foundation in the fusion of jazz and traditional Haitian rhythms from both the secular and Vodou realms. My motivation for my goal arises from my upbringing by an American Jazz musician father and a Haitian immigrant mother.

Track 1, “Ti Roro’s Yanvalou(Sen Jak), is an arrangement of a traditional song played by the famous Ti Roro on one of his rare recorded albums. The original only consisted of drums and flute, so I fully arranged it out with lyrics written by Judette Elliston and translated by my cousin Nathalie Brunache. To further honor Ti Roro I decided to ask my fellow colleagues of the Haitian diaspora, Willerm Delisfort, Jon Michel, Giveton Gelin, Tiga Jean Baptiste, Judette Elliston and the only non Haitian, Juan Diego Villalobos to play on this composition and bring it to life with a fusion of modern jazz and traditional Haitian drums.

Special thanks to my longtime friend Julian Musicio, who was the ultimate catalyst for myself, Mark Lewandowski and Davis Whitfield becoming a band. Julian reached out to me in July of 2020 to perform outdoors at his Jersey City restaurant Luna, when many establishments in New York City were not yet having live performances. For the next two years we were able to develop our sound and bond through a weekly residency at Luna and I’m forever grateful for this silver lining and opportunity, Julz you’re the best man!

Lastly, none of this would have been possible without the help of Ryn Miake Lye and her non-for-profit People Are Different. They were the fiscal sponsor that secured the New York State Council on the Arts grant that made this entire project possible. I am eternally grateful for NYSCA’s contribution and for Ryn’s hard work and guidance!