His final note will be a sombre one but scores of friends, colleagues and fans will fill the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) today to bid farewell saxophonist and musician Roy Cape.
A viewing of his body will take place between 9 am and 9.45 am, before the funeral service begins at 10 am.
Cape died on September 5 at the age of 82. He had been battling prostate cancer for years.
Scores of calypsonians whom he played music for through the years, as well as colleagues within the orchestra he led and played in, will attend the funeral, with some expected to perform.
Cape’s musical career spanned six decades. He led the band The Roy Cape All Stars for more than 50 years and had a hand in the careers of soca stars like Destra Garcia, Dexter Stewart “Blaxx” and Ricardo Drue, to name a few. He officially retired in 2017.
In 2004, he was the recipient of the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) and in 2011 he received an honorary doctorate from The University of the West Indies (The UWI).
Cape’s formal musical training started at the Belmont Orphanage (now known as St Dominic’s Home). From there he started his musical career as an in-demand saxophonist in the 1950s and 1960s with bands led by Frankie Francis, Clarence Curvan, Fitz Von Bryan, Ron Berridge and others, before he founded his own band, Roy Cape All Stars, in 1980.