About – Kadanz Jazz

About the Our Music:

Kadanz Jazz was founded by Mark Torgerson. Mark is a World Music/Jazz guitarist based in Boston, Mass.

Mark wanted to bring the wonderful sounds of the French/African cultures into the jazz repertoire. Kadanz Jazz was organized for that purpose.

Kadanz Jazz is a five piece band blending American jazz and pop music with lively Haitian and French Caribbean rhythms derived from Kompa and Zouk music – current styles of dance music with infectious rhythms that emerged from the French-speaking Caribbean in the 1970s and 80s. Our hope is to introduce listeners to the delights of these rhythms in our unique way…instrumental improvisations in a blend of the familiar and the not-so familiar.

A little Music History: Musical styles that are now called kompa and zouk grew out of traditional calypso and Caribbean variations of beguine, bolero and merengue; kompa (sometimes pronounced konpa) being primarily dance music from Haiti; zouk being primarily dance music from the French Antilles regions of Guadalupe and Martinique. 1970s Haitian ‘Compas’ music is sometimes described by the term kadans which refers to couples dances inspired by the music. Zouk is a slang word for “party”. This dance music was first labeled misik zouk i.e. party music. During the 1970s and 80s the music became cross-pollinated with Congolese rumba and soukous music along with distinct influences from North American R&B.

In Jazz music, over the last six-plus decades there has been a lot of combining Cuban (Spanish speaking) and Brazilian (Portuguese speaking) music with American jazz and pop music. However, outside of Harry Belafonte (his calypso music) and a limited few other artists, most Americans have not heard music that sounds similar to iconic French Caribbean music. The musicians of Kadanz Jazz are among the few active musicians who are working towards expanding the jazz repertoire to include instrumentally-based French Caribbean styles to the canon of jazz music.

Our band’s name, Kadanz Jazz, characterizes our musical mission. The afore-mentioned term kadans becomes Kadanz in our name. Kadanz Jazz is comprised of professional musicians who are experienced in all the noted musical genres (some are Berklee teachers). We’ve arranged Duke Ellington’s famous song “Take the A Train” to a zouk rhythm. Also, we play the Beatles “Got To Get You Into My Life” to a distinct Haitian kompa beat. The band’s instrumentation is guitar, bass and drums – instruments that anchor much of the sound of the Caribbean styles as well as the more familiar American music that we draw from. To this mix we add sax and keyboards – instruments that are deeply linked to the jazz tradition. Our rhythmic sound is driven by typical drums, timbales, congas and percussion instruments.

About the Musicians:

Mark Torgerson, guitar, leader, primary arranger:

It has been part of Mark’s musical aspiration to explore new musical territory; with hopes of making a lasting contribution to the direction of multicultural music; while helping to build community through the joy of music.

As a performer; Mark has played music locally (Boston) and in traveling bands for over 30 years; playing world music, American jazz, pop, funk and blues. For over 20 years Mark played Congolese music regularly – initially as a founding member of Rumbafrica, Boston Music Awards winner in world music category. During much of the same time period he performed Caribbean music and African music from other countries/cultures of Africa. Congolese music shares similar musical nuances to French Caribbean music. The experience of learning and performing Congolese music gave Mark a feel for playing French Caribbean zouk and konpa music.

Mark also maintains an interest in performing in jazz combos. Mostly this has been with duos to quintets, and in backing up jazz vocalists.

Background:

Mark started playing guitar in middle teenage years and began pursuing music as a career at age 22.
In the 1970s Mark studied guitar and music theory privately with Berklee School of Music staff teachers.
He studied classical music theory in undergraduate college at Beloit College, Wisconsin
In addition, Mark holds a BA from Harvard University, Extension School (2002)

Collaborators:

With heartfelt appreciation and on-going gratitude I’d like to thank two longtime friends and collaborators for their kind words on my behalf.

Tshibangu Kadima

“Mark Torgerson is a genius Soukous guitar player. As the lead/solo guitarist in the band RUMBAFRICA, he transcended his art and made a name for himself as an authentic trendsetter. The band leader of Rumbafrica – Tshibangu Kadima is proud of Mark Torgerson contribution to successful albums such as Rumbafrica and Nzambe.” Tshibangu Kadima [email protected]

Steve Berman

“I worked with Mark for many years in an original band, performing in dozens of venues, recording in several studios. His contributions—especially his guitar parts, from conception through execution—invariably brought our songs to a higher level. Among the many aspects of his musicality, his understanding of various World music traditions enables him to impart a sonically fresh, high-impact dimension to the music—individual yet universally compelling. For me as a composer/songwriter, Mark—for his creativity, his experience and technique, his work ethic and good-nature—represents the ideal collaborator.” Steve Berman (leader of Science Friction); Stephen Berman [email protected]