Andre Toussaint

Andre Toussaint stands as one of the prime movers in calypso's history. Although he wasn't performing at the outset of the music, he quickly became one of the premier players of the genre. Living in Nassau, Toussaint developed the lounge style of calypso (often in front of a small orchestra), a more mellow version of the usually more frantic music, often still based in goombay and junkanoo forms. His prime period of time was during the jetset calypso era, when he made the bulk of his recordings and gained a following among calypso listeners. As tourism took over the islands, h...