T&T jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles nominated for NAACP Image Award

Trinidad and Tobago jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles has been nominated for a NAACP Image Award.
In a statement, a representative for the artist said Charles has been nominated in the Outstanding Jazz Album category for his album Creole Orchestra. Other nominees in the category are Samara Joy, Matthew Whitaker, Kirk Whalum and Javon Jackson and Nikki Giovanni.
This is the first time Charles has received a solo nomination for the NAACP Image Award.
Charles, a Trinidadian musician who weaves historical and cultural stories into his compositions, has been making waves since Creole Orchestra launched in June 2024. The album spent seven weeks atop the Jazzweek charts and was named the number one album of their top 100 for 2024.
“I feel humbled, grateful, elated, excited, flabbergasted and so blessed. It was an honour and privilege to have the amazing Rene Marie alongside my stellar band of musicians in studio and on stage for this project. Big thanks to all of you for trusting me with your time and talents. It was another joy to see the album’s reception worldwide with colossal support from radio and press. To the listeners, programmers and writers, thank you,” said Charles upon receiving the news.
Long hailed for his work as a trumpeter, composer, and improviser, as well as for his deep knowledge of rhythms from his native Trinidad and Tobago and around the Eastern Caribbean, Charles has mostly worked with small combos over his nearly 20-year career.
Released in the United States in June and in Europe in September, Creole Orchestra features 22 musicians strongwith vocals from two-time Grammy Award Nominee Rene Marie who is featured on four of the 13 tracks, including “I Wanna Be Evil,” Eartha Kitt’s theme song, as well as the jazz standard “Centrepiece” and two of her originals. Rapper Brandon Rose and turntablist DJ Logic appear together on Bell Biv Devoe’s new jack swing hit “Poison” connecting Charles’s arrangement with the song’s hip-hop roots.
Lead trumpeter Jumaane Smith and trombonist Michael Dease both give standout performances on Monty Alexander’s reggae-spiced “Think Twice”; bassist Ben Williams wows with his soulful improv on the hard-swinging “Night Train”; while Charles, alto saxophonist Godwin Louis, and pianist Sullivan Fortner illuminate the leader’s calypso “Douens.”
Charles has many accolades. In 2024 he was conferred the title Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2012, he was written up in the US Congressional Record for his musical contributions to Trinidad and Tobago and the World, in 2013 he received the Caribbean Heritage Trailblazer award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies (Washington, DC) and in 2015 became a Guggenheim Fellow. In 2016 he was the recipient of the Michigan State University Teacher Scholar Award and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Millennial Swing award.
He made his debut as producer and songwriter on the album Petite Afrique by Somi (Sony/Okeh 2017) which won Outstanding Jazz Album at the 2018 NAACP Image Awards and he has been featured as a bandleader at the Newport Jazz Festival (RI), Monterey Jazz Festival (CA), Atlanta Jazz Festival (GA), Pittsburgh JazzLive international Festival (PA), San Jose Jazz Festival (CA), Java Jazz Festival (Indonesia), Ottawa Jazz Festival (Canada), St. Lucia Jazz Festival, Barbados Jazz Festival, Library of Congress (DC), Carnegie Hall (NY) and Koerner Hall (Canada).
As an educator and conductor, he has done residencies at the Juilliard School, Stanford University, Columbia College Chicago, Oakland University, Kent State University, Walnut Hills High School, Cultural Academy for Excellence, and the US Military Academy. Charles currently serves as Professor of Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami, Patricia L. Frost School of Music.
In 2013, his album Creole Soul reached number one for three weeks on the Jazzweek chart and was eventually named number three Jazz Album of the year by Jazzweek.
Charles also recently appeared with soca icon Machel Montano on NPR Music's Tiny Desk stage. 
Upcoming Tour Dates
Jan 17-18 Mendelssohn Theatre, (Earth Tones) Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 31st MOCA, North Miami, FL
Feb 4 Gusman Concert Hall, Coral Gables, FL (Frost Studio Jazz Band)
Feb 6 Road March in Concert II, Queen’s Hall, St. Ann’s, Port of Spain, TT
Feb 8 St. George Jazz Festival, St. George, UT
Feb 13 - Kravis Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Feb 15 - Jazz Houston Gala (Rene Marie’s Jump in he Line) Houston, TX
March 3 Riddim Brass & Mas presents FOLKLORE Live Carnival Monday, Woodbrook, TT
March 15 SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco, CA
March 21-23  Cincinnati Pops with Marcus Roberts, Cincinnati, OH
April 2 National Sawdust Gala, Brooklyn, NY
April 3 NIU School of Music, DeKalb, IL
April 4 Side Door, Old Lyme, CT
April 5 Amherst Jazz Festival, Amherst, MA
April 12, Princeton University, NJ
April 19 Armbrister Park, Coconut Grove, Miami, FL . 
(Source: The Loop, Jan 13, 2025)