Jazz artist workshop

“JAW,” conducted by Sean Thomas, began in 2002 after Thomas returned from attending a similar workshop in Holland earlier that year, which was conducted by Dr Barry Harris.

With the wealth of knowledge Thomas gained at that workshop, on his return home he thought it would be an excellent idea to share his experiences and exposure with fellow local musicians and music students via a workshop.

This, coupled with the extensive training gained at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, Boston, USA, drove him to start up a company, ST Jazz Incorporated Ltd, dedicated to the education and promotion of jazz music in Trinidad and Tobago.

ST Jazz Incorporated, through its dedication and hard work, has been able to generate a keen interest in its annual workshop, which has grown from an attendance of six in 2002 to 23 in 2005. Although not an easy task, it is an accomplishment of which the company is extremely proud.

In celebration of the fifth anniversary of the jazz workshop ST Jazz Incorporated has invited Harris and despite being extremely busy, he has accepted the offer to be here. Harris will do a concert performance on July 30 at the Central Bank Auditorium and also conduct a session for students at this year’s workshop and the general public.

At the concert, students will be afforded the opportunity to play alongside an internationally recognised jazz icon who has for the past several decades been an exponent of the classic Jazz style that was developed by such notables as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Coleman Hawkins.

Further details of this year’s workshop and concert are available at http://www.stjazz.com