Michael Boothman is the personification of excellence in the arts in Trinidad and Tobago. Pioneering, innovative and consistently successful as a performer, composer, arranger and recording artist, Boothman continues his 50-plus year career that showcases a number of firsts and milestones in the development of modern music in Trinidad and Tobago.
In the early 1960’s, as rock and roll music became the favoured genre of youth worldwide, its influence was reflected in Trinidad and Tobago in the birth of the combo bands. Starting as a pre-teen, Boothman figured as a leader of his own combo band, Rockafellas, during its heyday then wowing young audiences and ultimately recording popular singles.
From teen band leader to innovator, Boothman began utilising and fusing the many rhythms in these islands to create a new genre, Kysofusion that signalled the possibilities in Caribbean music.
In the 1970s, as a working studio musician, he is acknowledged for his contribution to the evolution of Soca music and its inherent rhythms. With a string of hits on the local Trinidad and Tobago charts, international major label executives including Clarence Avant searched him to be ultimately one of the first Trinidad and Tobagonian artists signed to a major record label with the resulting landmark album, “Heaven” on Avant’s Tabu Records label, showcasing Caribbean music to the wider world through global distribution from RCA Records.
Touring Europe extensively with Taj Mahal and performing at most of the regional and international Jazz Festivals through out the world including Tobago, St.Lucia, Montreux and Glastonbury, has brought Michael back home to inspire, to entertain and to continue to create music that makes us dance and sing. Today he owns and runs Poui Tree Studios where he continues to record music and mentor young talented up and coming producers with his wealth and depth of knowledge and experience. For more information, go to www.michaelboothmanmusic.com
