Charlie & The Tropicales (USA / Trinidad)
Charlie & The Tropicales are a New Orleans-based band led by trombonist Charlie Halloran. With a nod to the city’s history as the northernmost port of the Caribbean, they play music from Trinidad and Venezuela, Martinique and Guadeloupe, and beyond, recreating the sound of a 1950s hotel dance band with calypsos, biguines, boleros, cumbias, and rocksteady alongside New Orleans jazz and R&B. Halloran’s The Alcoa Sessions (2021) imagined the music aboard the Alcoa Steamship cruises that sailed from New Orleans through the Caribbean in the 1950s. The group has since released Shake the Rum (2022), Jump Up (2024), and New Orleans ‘26 (2026).
Featured Song:
Halloran wrote “Gabe’s Archipelago” in the style of the instrumental calypso bands of mid-century Trinidad, such as those led by Cyril Diaz, Johnny Gomez, and Fitz Vaughn Bryan. These groups backed calypso singers at Carnival and played for dancers year-round at venues like the Hotel Normandie, much like New Orleans dance halls of the same era. The track ends in a burst of collective improvisation, a core element of New Orleans jazz, with Cuban trumpeter David Navarro soaring over the band. The title honors New Orleans author and record collector Gabe Soria.
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