Lionel Belasco

Who was Lionel Belasco?

Lionel Belasco was a prominent pianist, composer and bandleader, best known for his calypso recordings. According to various sources, he was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; he grew up in Trinidad, the son of an Afro-Caribbean mother and a Sephardic Jewish father. He travelled widely in the Caribbean and South America in his youth, absorbing a wide variety of musical influences. He was leading his own band by 1902. He made his first phonograph recordings in Trinidad in 1914, and soon after first traveled to New York City, where he made more recordings and set up a publishing business. He would continue to travel back and forth between New York and Trinidad for the rest of his life. He is unusual as a calypsonian in the fact that his instrument was the piano, It is because of this that his style is more orchestrated and arranged. Instead of marching the streets or playing the tents, as was the custom for the average calypsonian, he instead became a darling of the local elites, playing the high class balls and debutante dances. In fact, around this time he began giving piano tutorials to the mayor's daughter.