Sounding the Transnational: Caribbean Jazz in Trinidad and Tobago

This dissertation engages the concept of transnationalism, a process usually defined bythe permanent migration of people across the borders of nation-states, to highlight thecomplexities of the sound of Caribbean jazz in Trinidad and Tobago. This musical practicedraws on an array of sounds that are distinctly local, yet certainly influenced by knowledge ofand connections to the world at large. The sounds of Jamaica (reggae), Brazil (bossa nova), theUnited States (R&B, funk, disco) and India (sitar) amongst others can be heard and felt in themusic. While the genre of jazz has largely been understood in reference to its origins in theUnited States, its dissemination across the world has become the focus of recent scholarly work.Jazz arrived in Trinidad and Tobago as early as the 1930s through film scores and radiobroadcasts. However, the jazz emerging from Trinidad and Tobago today is quite distinct,sonically, from jazz in the United States.Critically, in this dissertation, I ask in what ways might the study of sound help to reconceptualizethe process of transnationalism. By studying how sound is conceptualized, created,and disseminated, I examine issues of race, class, gender, labor, and the inequalities of powerthat are integral to understanding the concept of transnationalism in the Caribbean context.Drawing on archival work, I situate jazz within the context of Trinbagonian (Trinidadian andTobagonian) history to show how the music first circulated. I engage the concept of soundbeyond musical details to focus on processes of listening, observing, musical analysis and livedexperience to demonstrate how issues of race, class, and power are at the core of how musiciansnegotiate the creation of their distinctive sounds. Through a collection of interviews, liveperformances and interactions with musicians, I situate biographically the experiences of sevenTrinbagonian jazz musicians to show how their quests to learn and perform Caribbean jazzreflect larger transnational processes. Approaching Caribbean jazz as a sonic record for mappingtransnational circulation illustrates how musicians in the global south collaborate and exchangeinfluence outside of dominant frameworks that center the United States and Europe