“Giveton is one of the few players that I have heard that actually sings through the horn.”
—ROY HARGROVE 

Giveton Gelin. Nicholas Payton. Roy Hargrove. Wynton Marsalis. Arturo Sandoval. Lee Morgan. Hugh Masekela. Miles Davis. Clifford Brown. Dizzy Gillespie. Louis Armstrong. This is the ancient, majestic family tree of otherworldly trumpeters of which Giveton is the latest prodigy. The branches of that tree stretch from New Orleans to South Carolina, from Cuba to South Africa, from East Saint Louis to Harlem. And from Haiti, holy land of his parents, to the sleepy eyelids of The Bahamas, where Giveton was born and raised. Indeed, as the son of Haitian immigrants, Giveton was introduced to music in his mother’s belly. Mom was the prophetic lead singer of his preacher dad’s soulful group called The Messengers. So be it the hypnotic hymns bouncing off the church pews, or the earthy island melodies of the English-speaking Caribbean, or the pulsating Creole grooves of Haiti’s Kompa sounds, music is hand-carved into Giveton’s DNA. 

And just as his father spit biblical verse from atop his head, plucked Haitian folk melodies at will, and fluently juggled guitar, trumpet, saxophone, piano, and bass, Giveton was digesting this world-class cultural education as the art of improvisation, as his ticket to freedom. 

That is why his musical journey began so young, at age five, playing drums and piano in his father’s church. By age ten Giveton had picked up the trumpet for the first time, as a member of his school’s marching band. 

But it was jazz, a couple of years later, that would change the trajectory of Giveton’s life. When he heard the mighty sonic musings of Marsalis, Hargrove, and Payton, it was as if God in the flesh had personally sanctified Giveton’s trumpet. And that horn has become Giveton Gelin’s sacred vessel.

With a graduation stop at the prestigious The Juilliard School in New York City, Giveton has been mentored by both the late, great Roy Hargrove and Adrian D’Aguilar, one of The Bahamas’ most renowned musicians. For sure, Giveton has morphed into a dynamic trumpeter, composer, and educator, one who has performed with a diverse range of giants, like Christian McBride, Kamasi Washington, and Oscar- and Grammy-winner Jon Batiste. 

Says the legendary Wynton Marsalis, another important role model, “Giveton is definitely an important part of the wave of younger musicians who have the intellect and intensity to perpetuate the highest levels of our music.” 

Written by Kevin Powell, GRAMMY-nominated poet