Juno Award calypsonian John Perez was among the best composers
April 6, 2022
John Perez (Jayson), the only calypsonian to win a Juno Award, has died at age 81.
He passed away in hospital on March 29, a week after suffering a heart attack.
In 1991, the accomplished singer/composer collaborated with other calypsonians to make history for their rendition, ‘Soldiers We Are All’, that was recognized in the Best Reggae/Calypso Recording category.
Four years earlier, Perez received a Juno nomination for his hit single, ‘Free South Africa’.
He wrote songs and composed melodies for many calypsonians, including Michael Moore (Beginner) and Tara Eulith Woods (Macomere Fifi) who have won a combined 11 Calypso Monarch titles.
“Jayson had an amazing writing ability,” said Moore. “Once I told him I was competing, I would make an appointment to go to his Scarborough home. By the time I got there, he had a verse and chorus ready even though the song didn’t have a title. I never considered myself a writer. I left that to Jayson because that was one of his strengths.”
Perez encouraged Woods to sing calypso after witnessing her perform with La Petite Musicale launched 53 years ago as a folk music ensemble.
For the first decade of her calypso career, he wrote all of the songs, including ‘I Ain’t Singing Dat’ and ‘Woman Made To Love’ that catapulted her in 1998 to the first of six Calypso Monarch crowns.
“Jayson was one of the hardest working people I have encountered in the calypso industry,” said Woods.
The late Selwyn (Nip) Davis (l), Whitfield Belasco, John Perez & Ian Jones were honoured at the 2009 Caribbean Carnival Ball (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Retired high school principal and former Caribana Arts Group chair Henry Gomez (King Cosmos) said Perez’s songs showcased his versatility.
“He had a grasp of things taking place in society and that was reflected in some of his songs that demonstrated his political consciousness,” the 1995 Calypso Monarch said. “On the other hand, one of his most popular calypsoes, ‘Drunken Sailor’ is based on revelry and the stereotypes we have of carnival time with the sailor and the booze and women. His song, ‘Mash It Up’ was a hit in Trinidad. Though it wasn’t rewarded with the Road March title, revelers gravitated to that song at Carnival time. That’s a rare occurrence for an artist based outside Trinidad & Tobago.”
Perez, noted calypso aficionado Oscar Wailoo, was one of the best calypso composers in Canada.
“In all my years listening to calypsoes in tents, most of the melodies I heard were forgettable,” he noted. “Jayson’s own caught me. Clearly, he had a knack for penning outstanding lyrics and melodies. After listening to him, I always had a few lines running around my head and I found myself singing the tunes that he composed. I have always measured a good calypso, which is a song, by the lyrics and melody that have to go hand in hand. Jayson was a master at putting the two together.”
A member of The Five Flames singing group alongside his older brother Stephen Perez who died in Hamilton in May 2020, Perez played pan with Esso Tripoli and Starlift prior to joining the Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard in 1963 where he became the arranger of the Mariners Steel Orchestra. He and other T & T law enforcement officers were part of a band that performed at Expo’ 67 in Montreal.
Perez relocated to Hamilton two years later and formed a string band, ‘The Legends’, that lasted 13 before he switched to calypso music in 1983.
He wrote calypsoes for Lawrence Caresquero (Loving Larry) who took part in the first two Organization of Calypso Performing Artists (OCPA) competitions in 1980 and 1981. Extremely shy, Caresquero refused to do media interviews or make public appearances.
This prompted late record producer Ulric Hewitt to challenge Perez to start singing his own songs.
Perez accepted and, in 1984 captured the first of his four Calypso Monarch titles. He also won the New York City Calypso Monarch crown in 1986.
John Perez was the first and only calypsonian to win a Juno Award (Photo contributed)
In 2005, he and the late Dick Lochan started ‘Pass the Torch School of Calypso Music’ to teach young children in the Malvern community all aspects of soca and calypso, including songwriting, rhyming and performing.
He also taught steelpan music as a credit course at L.S Beattie Secondary School in Toronto for seven years.
In July 2009, Perez, the late Selwyn ‘Nip’ Davis, Whitfield Belasco and Ian Jones were recognized for their significant cultural contributions at the second annual Caribbean Carnival gala in Toronto.
“Jayson’s compositions have been witty, social/political and provocative,” said Jones. “He was a very generous human being whose infectious smile greeted you long before his handshake. He ought to be remembered as a true cultural ambassador of Trinidad & Tobago.”
Perez, who co-hosted ‘My Data Bag’ on CHRY 105.5FM and hosted a weekly internet program, ‘Soul of Culture’, leaves behind his wife of 34 years, Brenda Alexander-Perez, four children, a grandchild and a great grandchild.
