BIOGRAPHY - ANDRÉ
WOODVINE
Jazz
saxophonist and composer André Woodvine is a graduate of Berklee College of
Music (1986), where he majored in performance. His interest in woodwinds
extends to the alto, tenor and soprano Saxes and the flute. For over Twenty
Five years, André's music has taken him to stages across the Caribbean, North
America and Europe where audiences have enjoyed his passionate tone, exciting
improvisations and unique compositions.
André
has produced four CDs of original Caribbean Jazz, including his most recent
release entitled “Fix it on Monday”. His compositions are regularly played on
radio stations throughout the Caribbean and are covered by Barbadian jazz
ensembles. André composes music in a wide variety of styles including television
sports themes, jingles and show tunes. Andre's 1992 composition “Hold you in a
song” earned first place in both the Barbados and Caribbean Song festivals.
Over
the years André has also been featured on recordings by local and regional jazz
artists including El Verno Del Congo, Adrian Clarke, Fal Frett, The West Indies
Jazz Band and most recently Ebe Gilkes.
Woodvine’s
musical interests have extended to the development of Caribbean Jazz through
education. In 1998 André assisted in the formation of the first associate
degree of music program at the Barbados Community College, where he now teaches
part-time. Andre has also been involved in the development of the Copyright
Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (COSCAP) where he spent Five years as
a member of the board of directors including one and a half years as the
Chairman of the board.
André
enjoys a close association with the music scene of the French Caribbean and has
been a member of the group Fal Fret for the past Fifteen years. Fal Fret has
featured Andre's performances on their CDs 'Live at the Atrium' and 'Blue
Outremer'.
In
2009, Woodvine mixed the debut cd of Barbadian jazz pianist Ebe Gilkes and, in
January 2010, André made a special performance with the Martinique Jazz group
Fal frett at the legendary L'Olympia concert hall in Paris. In 2011 André
performed in two sold out shows at the Martinique jazz festival and in 2012
André was selected to represent Barbados at the MIDEM international music
tradeshow.
André
recently returned to school online at Berklee College of Music, where he successfully
completed courses in film scoring, orchestration and composition for film and
television. His film music can be heard in several You Tube productions
including “The Kirk and Roxann show” a short comedy series by Trinidadian
director Kirk Budhooram.
André
resides in the Island of Barbados with his wife Louise and two sons.
