Why T-Vice’s Jessie Alkhal doesn’t see managing her sons’ band as a job 


NEW YORK—Jessie Alkhal, manager of T-Vice and mom to its founders Roberto and Reynaldo Martino, doesn’t stop being everywhere the konpa band goes. As band manager – known in the Haitian Music Industry (HMI) as La Madre for “the mother”  – Alkhal wears multiple hats. She pushes for T-Vice to be as visible as possible, while seeking out promoters and producers to book them. She helps the band to secure record deals, attends practice sessions and negotiates contracts on their behalf.

Recently, Alkhal’s redoubled efforts have helped T-Vice to be, in perhaps the best spot they’ve ever been. Based in Miami, Alkhal is a strategic partner who acts as a screen between T-Vice and their professional entourage, representing and protecting the band’s interests. But above all, Alkhal advises band members to develop in this rapidly changing music industry, where increasingly, artists must be autonomous and are confronted with entrepreneurial logistics such as self-production and organizing tours.

Overview:

Jessie Alkhal, mother of T-Vice founders Roberto and Raynaldo Martino, talks candidly about her unique role as the manager of a top band in the Haitian Music Industry (HMI).

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Ralph Delly is an award-winning music and entertainment journalist with extensive experience covering the Haitian Music Industry and the Haitian-American community. He has worked in Haiti and the United States at such media organizations as Radio Metropole, WNWK/107.5 FM, Radio Soleil d’Haïti and The Haitian Time – where he penned the popular “The Delly Dish” gossip column. Dellys has worked with numerous artists in the HMI, including Zin, Lakol, Phantoms, Zenglen, Sokute, Jam, See Well and 509 – to name a few. Delly graduated from Carlos Albizu University of Miami and City College of New York (CUNY)

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