Courtney John, The Future: Taking Reggae into the Theatre of Ideas

There's no serious listener of Jamaican music who would contest that the idiom has gone into a prolonged and unhealthy stasis over the last 25 years. Its not that not good music ha been released over that period, but rather that the few worthy tunes have been bowled over by the tide of mediocrity and even excrement that has prevailed. Simply put, Jamaican music has run out of ideas.

Barely a minute into Courtney John's rendering of Errol Dunkley's "Black Cinderella" one gets the first thrilling jolts of hope; the track is one off his latest project entitled "The Future" - the album's been out for months now and the music's been worked on for even longer but - with material this good - the public may forgive us for being a bit tardy in covering it.

For The Future - notwithstanding that it references the past in covering a decades-old classic (among other tunes) - is Courtney John's theatre of ideas, and those ideas are very powerful, especially from the sonic viewpoint. For the fuss that has been made about "riddims" in the dancehall space since their 90s heyday, only handful of those have proven to be truly transcendent. Onr of that handful is the "Diwali"  the handiwork of keyboard ace Steve "Lenky" Marsden, who is one of John's recording and producing cohorts on this project which he has dubbed "Rootstronic".

On the "Cinderella" track, John's spare yet urgent vocals form a cool counterpoint to the super -spaced-out dub and ambient sounds that form the backdrop, addin

g even greater urgency to the question of the title. But this is far from the album's only stellar offering. Cue up "Soul of A Man" and an even more marvelous contrast emerges, this time with John employing the more familiar falsetto. If "Cinderella" is an homage to the classics, "Soul of a Man" is a torpedo - John, Marsden and drummer-performer Wizzard have put together a sonic storm that sounds not only perfectly logical, but entirely heart-felt and, in fact........human. Similalr effects are realized on "Rain Like Gold" and "Nothing For free"

this is indeed the great virtue of this entire project. john and his partners have managed to  sincerely reinvigorate the Jamaican sound and make it more globally accessible but without robbing it of the warmth and spontaneity for which it deservedly grabbed world attention in the first place. This sounds easier said than done and may come off as casual praise, but if one patiently takes in this album and allows the sounds to simply find their way and wash over one's consciousness, the simplicity and daring within them becomes apparent - in most cases wonderfully so. this is an album which will elicit many an unintentional smile and a nod of the head - not simply in time with the often staccato beat, but in recognition that one is witnessing the evolution of an artist who is intent on pushing the sound forward on his own terms.

it's about time.

Gina Shone Brightest in the West

With a full moon outside the Montego Bay Convention Centre and bright lights inside the ballroom, the radiant Gina Hargitay eclipsed her 24 rivals to

Suzuki MJW 2013 Gina Hargitay

take the coveted Suzuki Miss Jamaica World 2013 crown and this book her place at the Miss World Pageant in Indonesia later this year. Strong support also followed 1st runner-up Jennae Jackson and 2nd runner Amanda Mcreath.

Full review and pics tomorrow

[Miss] Jamaica's Got Talent

Forget the varied public appearances, the "grip n' grin" expressions, the forced charm even if you're rubbing them the wrong way.

The Talent segment is the way into the real Miss Jamaica World 2013 contestants, and alst Saturday's showcase at the Spartan complex revealed a lot in the concept but sadly not so much in the execution. The evening began and ended with drama: Arriel Brown's thought-provoking but overly long presentation on race and class, set to Etana's "Wrong Address" and then the best of the night's offerings (see more below)
The best was saved for last as first Ashley Miller(right), known to the demographic as the co-host of TVJ's "Intense" staged a clever but bouncy and heart-fel
t dance skit involving a suited male mannequin, delivered to the beat of Chronixx' Smile Jamaica. She was "pipped at the line" for best over all performance (in my opinion) by  contestant #25,  Jenaae Jackson (below
left), who




showed true star power as the ghetto girl Bo-Quee-sha   returning form "foreign" with all her hot things purchased, and confronting her no-good man, Tony. Despite a slip into sanctimony near the end, Jackson's melodrama was fun, fierce and authentic, qualities not sufficiently present in most of the other routines. There was even a risky but ultimately harmless and fun fire-eating routine, from Jessica Campbell,

which had  the judging panel - and most everyone else - rather skittish, given the wood floors and low-hanging fan blades.  

The preparation continues towards the Grand Coronation come July 21, but you'll hardly get a better or more diverse look at the entrants than this

Reggae Nite: Tanya Stephens' "Ride" and Sumfest Steps Out

Live entertainment has traditionally held down the weekend slots, especially in Kingston, but traditions are giving way in this "instant-eferything" media age. Tuesday night last proveda banner night, as there was a trio of quality live presentations within a half-mile radius on the night.

At the salubrious Macau Bar & Grill, itself home to the excellent Live & Revive series (held mondays, but presently on hiatus), the crew bwhind reggae Sumfest took their 21st Launch to members of the media and other interests. Mis Kitty kept the proceedings moving as the obligatory sponsors greetings and lineup announcements flowed, amid giveaways and photo-ops galore. Continuing its tradition of adding US r n' b and hip-hop to the local reggae/dancehall fare. Thus current r n b hearthrob (and stage diver) Miguel will bring his ditial-age funk n' soul to Mobay on the climactic International Nite 2; before that, the cleverly named Flo Rida charges into International Nite 1.

But the local reggae guard are no slouches and a couple of them took to the small stage on hand to deliver a satisfying preview of things to come. The fast-rising Nature showed a welcome intensity in his pleas for "World Peace" but it was Portland native Bugle who had the guests rocking to his cautioanry hit "nuh Compatible". All in all a typically robust outing for the Summerfest crew, indicating good things await the live stgae faithful come July 21 through 27.

A long stone's throw from Macau saw veteran (yes she is now) singer-songwriter-provocateur Tanya Stephens delivering a typically (if rarely heard these days ) stirring set as part of the Behind The Screen series at Usain Bolt's Tracks & Records. With the bodacious Stacious introducing her, Stevens, never shy with her opinions, rapped with the capacity crowd about all manner of subjects in between delivering her hits and near-misses, the majority female audience prominent (hostile in a few instances) with their devotion to "girl power, dancehall style".

Neither time nor energy co-operated for us to catch the third event, that of Tina Simone delivering her soul-jazz-rockers gems at the Bleu essence club tucked into the Kings Plaza - the show actually unfolds in the large car park. We're sure however that she gave a great account of herself and encourage you to look out for and follow her future endeavours. Find her on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/anit.ttawom?fref=ts