PORT OF SPAIN – Veteran musician, band leader and saxophonist Roy Cape, who received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2011, has died. He was 82.
In a post on social media yesterday, his daughter Jo-Ann Cape Julien confirmed the death of Cape, who had been battling prostate cancer for years.
“It [is] a very difficult time for the family. Please keep us all in your prayers,” she wrote.
Cape, whose musical career spanned six decades, led the band The Roy Cape All Stars for more than 50 years before retiring in 2017. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Trinidad and Tobago National Award, the Hummingbird Medal (Gold).
Many calypsonians expressed their condolences at his passing.
“When I [heard of] the passing of my great and loving friend Dr Roy Cape, this one hit me very hard. Every week we talked and laughed about the old times we had travelling and performing all over the world. May you rest in peace; fly with the angels above. Until we meet again,” said Austin “Super Blue” Lyons, while former Calypso Monarch Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool described Cape as a “tower in the world of calypso”. (CMC)
