The man behind Sparrow’s music: Errol Ince 

“He was more than a musical collaborator. He was like a brother to me. He was like a father to me. He was a very, very good friend to me; we were best friends. I worked extensively with him, travelling internationally and arranging his music. He took me across five continents with him. Our relationship extended far beyond the recording studio.” These are the sentiments of accomplished veteran trumpeter, arranger, composer and musical director, Errol Ince—the very last musician alive who worked consistently with the world’s undisputed, captivating calypsonian, the Mighty Sparrow (Sparrow), from 1955 to his last tune. The world was mesmerised by Sparrow’s music.

Ince joins hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in mourning the loss of the Calypso King of the World and remembering the music he created as this country celebrates Calypso History Month. “I was born on April 18, 1939, and from 16 years old to present-day, I associated with Sparrow,” Ince told London-based Caribbeans Connects, validated by his wife Jahmela Ince (known as Mother 9), in a historic hour-long interview on October 3 with founder Jermaine Young-Bushay. “That’s a 71-year steady relationship, but most of our contemporaries from that era have passed away. At 16, I was called upon to play on an early recording of Sparrow’s landmark calypso, Jean and Dinah.”

Mother 9 set the tone. She thanked Ince for having exposed her to many great artistes, but none stood out and were treated like kings like Sparrow. Among her thrilling spurts of input, some of which jarred Ince’s memory, were how she actually met Sparrow—first in 1992 at a fashion show she hosted in Brooklyn, then with her parents at carnival in St Croix, Virgin Islands, at age 16. She also recalled Sparrow’s gestures of the close friendship and mutual appreciation to Ince such as gifting him a Rolex watch; Sparrow having been the best-man in their New York-based wedding, during which he shared how long he knew Ince, toasted and blessed them, sang May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You to them, threw picong on Ince’s exquisite taste in choosing a wife, but contrastingly to the bride of the groom, which raised laugher, offered salient big-brotherly advice which got Ince’s attention: “It’s important to stay committed, so ‘don’t let she get away,’ and got a special photo with the bride.”