Arturo Tappin is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. He performs predominantly the genre of

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

, and has performed alongside personalities such as

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander OJ CD (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican American jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was in ...

, and on an album by

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

. He is based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but is strongly linked to his homeland. In the late 1980s he made his debut as a leader of his own quintet including pianist

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

at International Barbados/Caribbean Jazz Festival.

Background

Arturo Tappin began his musical career, with formal training at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. Described as a cross between the

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

and

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...

, Tappin has been referred to as
"the smoothest, horn man the Caribbean has to offer."
Influenced by the roots culture, he made headway with his roots-reggae Jazz-fusion album for his debut recording, and increased the hype with a repeat performance on his second album, entitled ''Java'', both licensed by Pioneer Records in Japan. His dynamic live performances and his reputation for putting on explosive shows led him to perform at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, Soho Jazz Festival, Miami AT&T Caribbean Jazz Festival, St. Lucia

Antigua, Curaçao, Montserra
SKNVibes , Montserrat Jazzes Up Annual Calabash Festival
St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Grenada and Barbados Jazz festivals, Arturo continued his live performance schedule at

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

's Birthday Bash,

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

Film Festival in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, and Trinidad's Independence Day celebration in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Besides touring jazz festivals the world over, Tappin has performed at social engagements as well including a performance for past United States President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and twice for

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

and President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. He received the 2005 Excellence in the Arts award from former Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson. Tappin has played and recorded with many artists including Luther Vandross,

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese in the United Kingdom, Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound and socially conscious lyrics; his music has blended elements of p ...

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

, Milt Hilton,

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels, including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pl ...

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964) is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

Al Harewood Al Harewood (June 3, 1923 – March 13, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and teacher. Biography Harewood was born in Brooklyn. As a musician he worked with many jazz musicians including the J.J. Johnson/Kai Winding group, the Art Farmer/Gigi ...

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...

, Ellis Marsalis, Oliver Jones,

Doc Cheatham Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, better known as Doc Cheatham (June 13, 1905 – June 2, 1997), was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He is also the grandfather of musician Theo Croker. Early life Doc Cheatham was born in Nashvi ...

, Pete King,

Mutabaruka Allan Hope CD (born 26 December 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Stepp ...

The Wailers Band The Wailers Band is a Jamaican reggae band formed by former members of Bob Marley and the Wailers after Marley's death in 1981. It was led by bassist Aston "Familyman" Barrett until 2016, when he passed the role onto his son, Aston Barrett J ...

, Earl Brooks Jr., Frederick "Toots" Hibbert,

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

, Mikey Bennet,

Dennis Bovell Dennis Bovell (born 22 May 1953) is a Barbados-born reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer, based in the United Kingdom. He was a member of a progressive rock group called Stonehenge, who later changed name and became the British r ...

, Sandra Cross,

Luther François Luther most commonly refers to: * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German priest credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation Luther may refer to: People * Luther (given name) * Luther (surname) Places * Luther (crater), a lunar crater ...

Maxi Priest Max Alfred Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an Contemporary R&B, R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. ...

Bongo Herman Herman Davis (born 16 September 1944), better known as Bongo Herman, is a Jamaican hand-drummer, percussionist and singer who has had a successful career stretching back to the early 1960s. Biography Herman Davis was born on 16 September 1944, ...

and

Dean Fraser Dean Ivanhoe Fraser (sometimes appearing as Dean Frazer; born 4 August 1957) Allmusic.com biography by Sandra Brennan/ref> is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Mus ...

. Tappin attributes much of his success to a former tutor at Berklee College of Music, Bill Pierce (

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

and the Jazz Messengers), uncle Elombe Mottley, and his parents for their constant love and support. He can be currently seen on stage with singer and pianist Roberta Flack. Artistes who have credited Tappin as a source of inspiration include: Elan Trotman and

Shabaka Hutchings Shabaka Hutchings (born 1984), also known simply as Shabaka, is a British jazz musician, composer and bandleader. He leads the band Shabaka and the Ancestors, and formerly led Sons of Kemet before its dissolution in 2022. He was also a member ...

. He is also a first cousin of The Hon. Mia Mottley, first female Prime Minister of Barbados.

Awards

In 2003, Tappin won the SUNSHINE Award for Contribution to Caribbean Art Comedy Dance Drama Music and Poetry In 2021 the blog CONAN Daily ranked Tappin as #7 on its list of Barbados' "10 most handsome men alive".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tappin, Arturo 1965 births 21st-century saxophonists Jazz saxophonists Barbadian jazz musicians Barbadian reggae musicians Berklee College of Music alumni Living people People educated at Combermere School Queen's College (Barbados) alumni

Background

Awards

References

Further reading

External links