Trini touted as new Jimi Hendrix

He is hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of the 21st century — our own Ron E Carter, Trinidad-born musician who grew up on the streets of Tunapuna and later migrated to England. His is a household name in the UK; wherever he plays he’s given commendatory reviews. One patron at a restaurant where Ron played commented: “Interspersed with more original material the crowd and myself had forgotten we were in a restaurant as we applauded Ron Carter’s musical talent. This guy was special.”

He’s not to be confused with Ron Carter renowned American bassist once a member of Miles Davis band. But, to prove his worth, just pop in his sophomore album Play Hendrix in your stereo system — Ron’s tribute to the legend and you’d swear it’s the man (Hendrix) himself, the “psychedelic” rock guitarist whose music still lives on despite his fleeting career. He’s a natural. He explained that his reason for celebrating Hendrix on his 12-track album stemmed from him “being the most influential guitarist ever”.

Ron’s agility and inventiveness on the guitar is signature Hendrix but admittedly, at a first glance one couldn’t help but find a similarity in his appearance to that of Lenny Kravitz — the grunged-look hairstyle, his height, muscularity and dress code. Ron is currently in Trinidad on a business trip, touching base with fellow musicians with the intention of introducing his music to the Caribbean. We can look forward to much of that taking place before year’s end, he assured.

It wasn’t too difficult for Ron to find his niche among the already crowded music industry in England, since his reputation had preceded him. At age nine, he was playing piano by ear and had moved on to the guitar. He also plays keyboards. His father Gilbert Carter, a quantity surveyor played the piano and other members of his family were also musically-inclined. “Of the seven children in the family, six have dabbled in music to some degree,” he said. Two of his siblings teamed up for a dance competition on the once popular “The Ready Steady Go” programme in Britain. In the late 60s the Carter family was featured on the BBC2 television programme Man Alive, so the Carter name was gradually being introduced to the public.

In his teen years he was made an offer by CBS as a result of his versatility on various instruments but “my father suggested I get good qualifications first”, and music later. So, he went in pursuit of becoming a reputable lawyer representing impressive clients, names known the world over at one of England’s top ten law firms. A litigation lawyer, he was known for his dogged determination. Soon, he realised that his full-time profession left him little personal time, “something like all work and no play”, so he quit at the end of ten years. “I began to lose me, becoming too consumed with the job. But, always to the back of my mind, I assumed I’d be a musician. I knew where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do. “In the Middle East (where he practised law) I stayed in a semi-dry state with no bars.

So different to England so I got out my instruments and I wrote,” Ron said. He wrote well over 100 tunes but was quick to inform: “Now don’t get me wrong, that’s not 100 quality songs, but it was very, very prolific.” Ron made a nosedive into jazz, working with some of the best artistes in England. In 1997 he released his first jazz-fusion album Ad Idem (As One) which he described as having “some Caribbean undertones. You can’t get the Caribbean out of me, the rhythms are there mingling with all the others.”

However, he’s made a crossover to rock and for the last year and a half formed the band bearing his name. He’s incorporated the work of musicians of St Lucian ancestry Michael (bass) and Mark Mondesir (drums). Together, the Mondesirs appear on over 50 albums that have been released internationally, working with names like Whitney Houston, Neneh Cherry, S Club 7, Jeff Beck and Courtney Pine.

British singer, Yvonne Howard whose vocals are also heard on Play Hendrix found that Ron was being too modest. At this point she interjected: “Evidence of how good he is, is heard by what his listeners tell you. I was at an event where he played and someone said ‘I know Jimi Hendrix is dead, but I think he has been resurrected’.” “The band plays predominantly rock, with jazz, funk flavas,” and despite the crossover, he said, “we always had the ability to get through to an audience.”

The Ron E Carter band has played as far north as Scotland, England to south Cornwall. Their motive: “We strive for excellence. I’m constantly learning, progressing and try to produce a better and better album every time.” This year he celebrates his tenth year as a musician. His accomplishment, he said, came because he never “wished his life away. There’s a big wide world out there. The limitations are in our heads. The thing that they (music moguls/listeners) won’t take an islander seriously is nonsense. The world at the time is in need of music outlets; the amount of festivals are diminishing and we (Trinidad) are situated in a prime position to capitalise on that.”

Ron said his decision to link up with local musicians and give Trinidad and Tobago a taste of his music stemmed from a bond he still has with the twin isle. “Trinidad is still very important to me...and for me everything has to be right for what you want to do.”