The gentleman playing clarinet is Gregory Felix (real name Gregorio Felix Delgado) born in Puerto Rico. He was recruited by Lt. James Reese Europe to take part in the All-Black N.Y. 15th National Guard orchestra during WW1. The N.Y. 15th became the 369th Infantry Regiment under the French military (White U.S. racism prevented the 15th from fighting alongside their U.S. White counterparts). In the aftermath of WW1, Felix opted to reside in NYC and reconnected with a group from his time in P.R., then established in NYC known as the "Jolly Boys," led by another Musician of the Harlem Hellfighters (Pvt. Rafael Hernandez). Performances in NYC during this period (ca. 1919) were limited overall for ensembles comprising Black musicians whose primary language was Spanish. Felix, Hernandez, and a handful of others in the "Jolly Boys" travel to Cuba to work in a theater in Havana, overseen by theatrical owner Arthur L. Pratchett. Felix returns and finds work with early All- Black orchestras during the "Hot Jazz" era of the 1920s. Including the Elks Club Orchestra, Wilbur Sweatman's ensemble, and Fess Williams' orchestra. The years 1930-1931 saw the transition of the "Hot Jazz" era to the infancy but burgeoning emergence of the early Swing sound. Many musicians from the previous era opted to play music of other genres and avoid adapting to the new sound. But also the amount of work interpreting a genre dictated the direction one set forth in. For Felix, the early West Indian community in Harlem, whom had been migrating there since the early 19-teens, provided him with work his clarinet playing prowess could benefit and star in. That genre was Calypso. Felix emerges in the 1930s and early 1940s as a staple of the early Calypso movement in NYC. The Duke of Iron, Lord Invader and Macbeth the Great (the latter artist who also dabbled in Cuban Popular Music. Leading a "Mambo" dance orchestra at the Park Palace ballroom in Harlem during the 1950s, featuring his young son Ralph MacDonald, the Jazz percussion great, on the "Conga" drums. Allegedly, Felix found work in this format with Macbeth the Great playing the saxophone) were among the Calypso greats Felix performed with. Eventually, Felix launched his own Calypso ensembles. Including "Felix & the Cats," and "Felix & his Internationals." By the late 1940s Felix was so celebrated as an honorary "Calypsonian," he was publicly recognized for his work in the genre as a pioneer during the first major All-Calypsonian concert held at NY's Town Hall, produced by Alan Lomax. The concert itself began with the curtains opening to a dark stage followed by a spotlight that was placed on none other than Gregory Felix, who seconds earlier had emerged from the shadows, raised his clarinet to his pursed lips, and began to improvise a solo to open the concert. Such was the respect he possessed as Calypso's long standing instrumentalist. A Calypso renaissance re-emerged in the late 1950s and found new avenues of work for Felix. Including at the Palladium ballroom on Broadway where his band, and others from the Virgin Islands, performed for dance enthusiasts, while sharing the bill with the orchestras led by Machito & Tito Rodriguez. Sadly, Gregory Felix passes away in the mid 1960s. Leaving a legacy that is widely unheralded and forgotten. Both sound recordings and films such as these is how we remember our past, or how we discover it.

My uncle. Thank you for finding and preserving this piece of family and musical history.

Awesome..! Original kaiso beautifully done by a master of the art. Sadly, the artform has been put in the cultural background of T&T where "rubbish soca" now prevails.

I was pleasantly surprised to have seen this video on Cala Classics. Our Kaiso artform is so unique.

A mighty contribution to the calypso legacy. Thanks for taking the time to digitize and upload. Invaluable!

SO nice to see the man perform! What a find! thanks for sharing!!

A lovely bit of history - thanks for making this available!

Wonderful music

Beautiful!

" WHAT AH GEM "

OMG this is gold!

Qué maravilla, gracias por compartir

Brilliant ! Thank you so much for finding this classic and for posting in on KZfaq for all to enjoy. Wishing you health and safety ! May 2nd 2020.

The image is clear, it’s cool to watch thanks for your work!

As others have said, thanks so much for doing this. And you're so right that preserving media is preserving history. Good luck in your future work!

There are more to this Video Varieties series. I have Out the Fire and a few others featuring The Duke of Iron.

Modesto Calderon on Bass. Gregory Felix playing the clarinet. I do not know who the drummer is, unfortunately.

Wow! Wait til Martin Fisher sees this!

:)

>8O

First. Lol the duke ain't even red man. 火🔥