A Caribbean Fantasy
John Wooton and KAISO
KAISO! is a Caribbean Jazz Quintet…
that never lacks in energy. The group has been performing since 1998 at festivals, universities, casinos, nightclubs, and formal concerts. They have been featured with symphonies and marching bands. KAISO! has a unique way of turning jazz standards into Caribbean tunes unlike any other. They also compose much of their own material. They have recorded two commercial CDs, and are presently working on a recording of original material. KAISO’s instrumentation is steel pans, piano, bass guitar, drums, and percussion.
The word calypso has its roots in the Caribbean, France, Spain, West Africa. ‘Kaiso,’ is a corruption of the word ‘Kaito,’ which means ‘Bravo.’ In Africa whenever an excellent calypso is sung, the crowd shouts “KAISO!” The group features John Wooton on Steel Pans, Percussion and Vocals, Sam Bruton on piano, Larry Panella on saxophone, Lowery Hicks on bass, and Nathan Sanders on drums.