“ALCHEMY is most popularly understood as the turning of worthless metal into gold through, essentially, sorcery. This is a play on words and a reference to my steel pan which was born as the result of turning discarded worthless metal into a musical instrument. But the word Alchemy when translated from its Arabic origins means the process of transmutation by which to fuse or reunite with the divine or original form.
So our function, as relatively divergent artists, is to fuse.”
-Victor Provost
Provost, widely regarded as one of the world's leading voices on the unique steel drum, collaborates with area artists to present a concert of Afro-Caribbean-inspired improvised beats and movement.
“Provost has reached that combination of sensibility and chops that turn his bop-driven jazz solos into mesmerizing rides that at times swing the listener off into an abyss and then pull him back with a triumphant return home”
– The Washington Post
Victor Provost is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading voices on the unique and often misunderstood, steel pan (or steel drum). Through appearances at concert halls, clubs, and stages throughout the world, he has been meticulously developing a reputation as a “dazzling” soloist, crafting an impressive improvisational voice and style. With a strong foundation in Bebop, a contemporary sensibility, and deep roots in Caribbean music, he seamlessly melds and mixes genres. The Washington D.C. City Paper’s “Jazz Percussionist of the Year” six years running, his new recording Bright Eyes debuted at #5 on the iTunes Top 40 Jazz Charts and has been met with praise from The Washington Post, Downbeat Magazine, and Hot House Magazine, as well as artists and presenters.
In addition to leading his own group, Victor tours with NEA Jazz Master, Paquito D’Rivera, is a member of the GRAMMY award-winning Afro Bop Alliance and works with several of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most lauded musical collectives. Already in his relatively young career, he has performed and recorded with jazz luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masakela, Joe Locke, Nicholas Payton, Terell Stafford, Dave Samuels, Steve Nelson, Ron Blake, and Wycliffe Gordon, among others.
Victor is an Adjunct Professor of Music at George Mason University and conducts residencies and master classes throughout the United States and the Caribbean at schools such as Berklee College of Music in Boston, University of Akron, Miami University, NYU, TTU, and Northern Illinois University. He is also an Arts Ambassador to his hometown of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which honored him with a Special Congressional Recognition in 2014, and to which returns frequently to perform and teach as part of Dion Parson’s community-based arts initiative, the United Jazz Foundation.
