Carlos Malcolm, Jamaican  trombonist / composer / arranger. He may easily be classified as a musical chameleon because of the versatility and ease with which he arranges and executes music of various culture and genres. Carlos was born in Panama and was taken to Jamaican when he was two years old. The composer/bandleader was most popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. His first music ‘gigs’ were on piano with the Vivian Hall All Stars which featured Don Drummond on trombone.

As a trained arranger, Carlos became head arranger in the Variety Department of the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, partially operated by the Government of Jamaica in the 1960s.  He was the first arranger to write formal arrangements of Jamaican Ska music.  By transcribing “Top Ten” songs from 7-inch 45RPM records and formally re-arrange the music for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation Studio Orchestra to accompany singers on the weekly live show “The Jamaican Hit Parade”, partially developed by Carlos.  The show spawned and influenced the careers of many Jamaican artists such as Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, who became international Jamaican music icons. Carlos’ popularity as an arranger earned him a commission to compose music for tropical scenes in the first James Bond movie “Dr. No”, which was filmed in Jamaica.

By transcribing “Top Ten” songs from 7-inch 45RPM records and formally re-arrange the music for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation Studio Orchestra to accompany singers on the weekly live show “The Jamaican Hit Parade”, partially developed by Carlos.  The show spawned and influenced the careers of many Jamaican artists such as Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, who became international Jamaican music icons. Carlos’ popularity as an arranger earned him a commission to compose music for tropical scenes in the first James Bond movie “Dr. No”, which was filmed in Jamaica.

Carlos was appointed Musical Director of the Jamaica National Dance Theater Company and composed and directed music for the debut of the company at the Inaugural Independence Celebrations of Jamaica. In 1995 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival along with Jazz Tenor saxophonist/flutist James Moody. In recognition of his musical excellence and contributions to Jamaican music, the Government of Jamaica presented Carlos with the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Award.

The award led to an invitation from Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia, where as guest speaker  Carlos demonstrated his alternate education  program ‘Bak2bay6’- with a Musical Twist, which teaches an Introduction to Critical Thinking, Multiplication and other math tables, the Eight Parts of Speech in the English Language and their functions, to young students..

In addition to his work on developing educational modules, Carlos also utilizes folk music from the Caribbean to create etudes for the piano and expands them into light symphonic Caribbean Concertos which allow the performing soloist room for improvisation within the concerto.

Carlos Malcolm was born in Panama in 1934. He was raised and educated in Jamaica. This amazing versatile musician/educator and a graduate of the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been professionally involved for over 50 years on almost every level of Jamaican music, setting high musical standards for a nation about to take the first historical steps into political Independence.

As a composer, arranger, and producer, Malcolm helped to create the musical backdrop for the emerging nation. He became head arranger in the Variety Department of the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation. Among his many accomplishments, Carlos developed the popular Jamaican Hit Parade and was the first arranger to write formal music scores of Jamaican Ska music.

The Jamaican Hit Parade spawned and influenced the careers of many artists, such as Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, who became international Jamaican music icons. Carlos Malcolm’s popularity as an arranger earned him a commission to compose and arrange tropical background music for scenes in the first James Bond movie, “Dr. No”. Malcolm was appointed Musical Director of the Jamaica National Dance Theatre Company.

He composed and directed music for the recital debut of the dance company at the Inaugural Independence Celebrations of Jamaica. In 1995, along with internationally famous Jazz tenor saxophonist/flutist, James Moody, Carlos was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival.

In 2000, Carlos Malcolm received the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of musical excellence and for his contributions to Jamaican music. In 2017, the Jamaican Recording Industry presented Carlos with their JARIA Award for a lifetime of musical excellence. As stated by Leonie Forbes at the Prime Ministers award gala in 2000 “Carlos Malcolm is a Jamaican treasure”.