Farewell to ‘Mr Kaiso’

Bandleader/musician Frank Michael Francis died on Thursday night from prostate cancer. Francis turned 80 last October. Popularly known as Frankie Francis he also played with several bands over the years. His main instrument was the saxophone but he also played the clarinet and flute. Fellow musician Roy Cape told Newsday yesterday: “It is sad. Frankie was a great person and one of the greatest musicians we ever had in the country and in the Caribbean.” Cape said Francis was a mentor to him and taught him all the music he knew while growing up in the orphanage with Francis. “His contribution to calypso is immeasurable.

He was one of the early people who wrote music for calypso. He was a pioneer and soon became known as Mr Kaiso, Cape said. In his early youth, Francis played the mouth organ before discovering his natural aptitude for reproducing exactly by whistling any tune he had heard. At 13, he joined the Belmont Orphanage Band at the encouragement of assistant band master Charles Douien. He stayed there for eight years and received formal training in sight reading music, and playing the saxophone.

In 1939 he was chosen to play sax at the orphanage. In 1942 he joined the Trinidad Naval Voluntary Reserve and was a member of a five-piece band of sailors. De-mobbed in 1944, Francis joined Clifford Mansing’s Green Orchids. Francis went on to play with most of the bands in Trinidad since 1944, including Merry Makers, John Buddy Williams, Johnny Gomez, Cyril Diaz, Al Leacock and Mano Marcellin. He appeared in over 200 recordings of Sa Gomes Vitadisc Cooke and Kay, Dial and Telco recording labels and many others. It was during one nine-month stay with John Buddy Williams in 1946-that Francis became interested in arranging.