Roy Cape, whose music provided the beat of Trinidad & Tobago Carnival, dies leaving a precious legacy

‘His influence extended far beyond the stage’

Originally published on Global Voices

Roy Cape, the revered Trinidadian saxophonist who provided the musical backdrop for generations of regional performers, died on Thursday, September 5 at the age of 82, leaving the calypso and soca music fraternity bereft. Reports suggest he suffered a fatal stroke that morning; Cape had also been struggling with cancer for many years.

In an era where the term “icon” can be frivolously bandied about, Cape earned himself the title. His peers said he “lived for music”; his protégés recalled his magnetic personality. Everyone agreed he was a genuinely good guy, always with a smile on his face and an outstretched, helping hand:

It's just too sad. You've always been so kind, helpful, and encouraging. I'll miss our chats, your jokes, and your laugh. Your contributions are vast. You did them with excellence & passion. My deepest condolences to your wife and family, RIP #RoyCape #Pappy . pic.twitter.com/vAcOKzE6y5

— Achsah Gulston (@AGulstonTV6) September 6, 2024

Fondly known as “Papi,” Cape was a cultural institution. When Steel Talks, a website dedicated to steelpan music and history, once noted, “If you remove [Cape] from the time-line, his significant and global impact to date on Pan culture, the art form and music world in general would be voided — and all that exists because of his interactions would never have been.”

Cape's journey towards music — specifically calypso and soca music — began when he was a boy, growing up in east Port of Spain, where there were many panyards. The music was all around him, and the pull was strong. He was just 10 when Pancho Benjamin, a tuner from the legendary Renegades pan side, gave him a tenor pan, but his mother didn't allow him to keep it.

He described himself as a “restless youth,” and Cape's parents didn't quite understand how to handle him, so they gave him a choice: go to live with his grandmother in Grenada, or be sent to the nearby orphanage in Belmont. Cape chose the latter; he was 12 years old at the time and remained there until he turned 16. During those four years, he learned music, first playing the clarinet and later switching to the saxophone because his tutors said it would offer him more opportunities. They were right.

In 1969, playing with The Mighty Sparrow and the Troubadors at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Cape shared a stage with the renowned Duke Ellington Orchestra. He later cited it as the proudest moment of his career.

While some began to describe Cape as “the Duke Ellington of calypso,” the reality was that he had his own style and was always completely himself, leaving a unique stamp on the region's musical identity. Cape's sound, deeply rooted in the soul of calypso, also ventured into genres like jazz and reggae, blending rhythmic, soulful, and energetic elements that were the engine of Trinidad and Tobago’s world-famous Carnival celebrations.

Marked by vibrant brass arrangements and lively, pulsating rhythms, his musical contributions have been central to soca’s development. Cape was also versatile; he could, with the same amount of ease, play big band or soca style. His effortless ability to integrate his traditional calypso roots with modern musical influences made him a favourite accompanist for a wide range of artists. His long and illustrious career, which spanned the course of more than five decades, took him all over the world.

As music enthusiast Nigel Campbell said on Instagram, however, “Roy Cape was more than a bandstand musician, becoming in the end a bandleader of note, a mentor, and a name synonymous with the development and spread of soca on the road, in fetes, and of course on recordings. With those all star musicians […] the band Roy Cape All Stars was always guaranteed to deliver.”

Campbell also noted that Cape “made space” for starting the careers of many other big-name soca stars, including Destra Garcia and the late Blaxx: “Just about every calypsonian has sang with Roy, and possibly every effective brass musician has played with him too. A tangible debt of gratitude is due to him as a session musician to carry soca and calypso to the world […] may his legacy rise forever.”

Calypso and soca veteran Austin Lyons, who goes by the sobriquet Super Blue, admitted that his friend's passing “hit hard,” while rapso music artist Wendell Manwarren added, “So humble and kind and loving and inspiring. So gentle yet powerful and caring and encouraging. Thank you Papi for all you gave in service of the music, your contribution is immeasurable and your impact will reverberate for generations.”

So engaging was his story, so expansive his reach, that in 2014, a book about his life — with an eponymous title — was published. Pegged as “part ethnography, part biography, and part Caribbean music history,” the book explores Cape's reputation and reach, and his work ethic as a bandleader and performer, and his lifelong love of music.

On Instagram, one local radio station described Cape as “a true pioneer and [a] man who dedicated his life to uplifting our music and culture,” noting that from leading his amazing band, The Roy Cape All Stars, to his generous mentorship of generations of musicians, “his influence extended far beyond the stage.”

In 2017, Cape renamed the band “D All Starz,” and began to focus his energies on his philanthropic endeavours with the Roy Cape Foundation, whose mission is to make music literacy and instrument performance programmes available to anyone who is interested. A believer that “education is the pathway out of poverty,” Cape's Foundation wanted to make it possible for up-and-coming talent to have sustainable careers in music and the arts.

He had founded the entity just a year before, spurred by the untimely shooting deaths of two young men on their way home from school in the urban community of Laventille. He and a friend decided to start a music education programme “to engage young persons in the joy of learning music as a means of combating the threat of violence and other anti-social behaviours”:

After fifty-plus years of performing on the calypso and dancehall stages all over the world and here at home in the Caribbean, I felt a sense of giving back to the community in the best way I know; through music.

In 2004, Cape was the recipient of a national award, the Hummingbird Medal (Gold), and in 2011, he received an honorary doctorate from The University of the West Indies, a time he called one of his “happiest and calm days.”

An event streamer remembered Cape as “[bringing] joy to countless Carnival stages and fete nights [and] leaving behind an indelible mark on the culture and music of our twin islands.” The tribute continued:

For decades, Roy Cape and his All Stars band set the standard for live soca music, backing some of the greatest voices in the industry. His passion, talent, and humble spirit touched everyone he encountered, both on and off the stage. Rest in peace, Roy Cape. Your music will live on forever.

In 2023, Cape was honoured with the very first Augustine Award of Excellence by the Toronto-based CaribbeanTales Film Festival, which screened the Roy Cape episode of “Iconography,” a docu-series about various Trinidad and Tobago cultural personalities.

Always wanting to be remembered as “someone who, with the blessings of the Creator God, contributed to make the world a better place through music,” social media user Michelle Benjamin summed up his loss by saying, “Roy Cape was a musical genius and a true [titan] whose talents enriched the cultural landscape of not just Trinidad and Tobago but the entire Caribbean. The legacy of his famous band “The Roy Cape All Stars” will forever be remembered helping with the promotion of Calypso music as a global force. Roy Cape may have left us but his musical legacy will live on for generations to come.”

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco