If you’re seeking that one iconic image to represent Sint Maarten’s ebullient music scene, the dread-locked silhouette of saxophonist Connis Vanterpool can’t be far from mind.

“Me, icon?” laughs the veteran horn-player, rolling his prominent eyes and flashing a wide grin. “I’m just a regular guy trying to make things happen.”

Born and raised in Sint Maarten, Connis graduated from Boston’s Berklee College of Music and built a career in jazz performance and production in the U.S. before returning to his native island in 2001.

Over the past decade, the musician who hesitates to “blow his own horn” has certainly earned his place among the Caribbean’s senior jazz statesmen. performing with Michael X of Rockin Vibes, Shadowman anguilla jazz festival and opening for Jamaican dance-hall queen Tanya Stephens, the omnipresent musician has steadily built a following for his special brand of warm, honied jazz.

In 2006, Connis recorded his First CD “Unity” s. Four years later, Connis and his Lil Man Productions are at work on a follow-up CD – “in the carribbean funk jazz tradition, but taking it up a notch” — scheduled to appear in spring 2011.

Tentatively entitled “Replace,” the CD is inspired by the tenacity required for durable success in the music industry and, according to Connis, “taps the energy of the hottest young band on the island, House Appliances.”

Currently, Connis’ torch-lit “Topaz & Jazz” concerts at Karakter Beach Bar — a sun-washed agglomeration of over-sized cushion s, low-slung canvas seating and flotsam-like tables on Simpson Bay Beach – are the weekend’s don’t-miss first stop on every music-lover’s agenda. FrIdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Connis and his special guests celebrate the sunset with tasty jazz standards, classic pop and reggae tunes and original compositions.

Meanwhile, Connis’ production skills remain in demand behind the scenes, added to that is “Producer who assists artists in putting together there production. Currently, he is in the studio with Sint Maarten’s Percy Rankin, Mr. Rude Dread I. Recently, Connis also has expanded the scope of Lil Man’s production work to include music-video photography and just finish working his new video perception which u can catch on youtube and tempo

From private parties to international tours, from Grover Washington and Charlie Parker to Bob Marley and Michael Jackson, if it’s jazz-ified music on the Friendly Island, you can be sure that reluctant icon Connis Vanterpool is just a short breath away. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.