Govanah in reggae

Di Govanah

Desmond Ray Williams began his career as Di Govanah at age 15 when he stamped his class as a talented  lyricist by decimating his teacher in a DJ showdown on a concert at his school, Maldon High, St James. With his star potential now exposed, Di Govanah's fan base quickly started to grow and by age 17 he had already recorded two albums: "Combination" and "Musically Equipped".

From those relatively humble beginnings, Williams matured rapidly in the business, and has racked up an enviable list of performance credits, including Reggae Sumfest and Reggae Fever. On the recording front, his output includes such tracks as "Time Like This", "Jah Say Don't" and "Inna Trouble."

Having been thus seasoned, the artiste believes he is close to the top of his game creatively, and anticipates a busy period over the coming months , during which time he will appear on several local shows whilst he prepares for a European trip come this summer. To accompany him on that tour of the continent is Swiss band Gully Echo, with producer Aron Franchetti. 

Ahead of that though, Govanah remains very active in the studios and is set to release a new EP, entitled "(Jam) Session". Already his fans are eagerly anticipating his arrival and commonly regard him as the "Young Peter Tosh". Accompanying him on this tour is 

Assessing his career to date, and reflecting on the struggles he quietly and humbly endured, the artiste is filled with pride, optimism and a sense of mission. "This marks a very exhilarating time for me musically as I strive to achieve the heights. My goal is to be a  voice for Jah people bringing a positive message while maintaining my musical relevance". 

Fully confident in the abundance of his talent and blessed with talent and with an infectious personality to match, Di Govanah is now set to unleash his arsenal of conscious reggae/Dancehall music to the world and is tipped to become one of Jamaica's leading break-out artistes of 2015.

Look out for Di Govanah, he is definately one to watch.

Riddims, Rasta and Redemption: Reggae Wednesdays night 1

Inasmuch as he starred in several Pantomimes, the late Randolph "Ranny" Williams (also lovingly known as "Mas Ran" was not widely acknowledged as a singer, nor would he have been expected to have much facility with the reggae genre (he passe about 6 months before Bob Marley, but at the gae of 68)

So it was ironic yet fitting that under  the light of a new moon (and man-made props), the Centre named in his honour hosted fantastic expositions of the very essence of the reggae genre - the percussion-driven Afro-centric rhythms of the likes of Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus.

Complete with life-size screen backdrop, and full production credits, the Ranny Williams stage seemd tailor-made for the regal Ras Michael dressed in a peach caftan and trousers with immaculate white sneakers. He regaled the constantly growing audience with tracks such as "Birds in the Treetop"  "Give love" and "None A Jah Jah Children Nuh Cry"
ably supported by both his son and grandaughter, the latter a vocalistto watch in her own right.

They were preceded (and aided) by the Warrior Love band, who have been stalwarts for the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) in its annual presentations of Reggae Month, now finding, since last year, a permanent home at Ranny Williams.

Before them, the night started in rousing fashion, with the Akwaaba Drummers, comprising some of the most accomplished percussionists working in Jamaica today. A lone female dancer sought o accentuate and translate some of the energy being generated by the instruments, which included the "kitchen cabinet" a homemade percussion and multi-phonic creation of writer-musician-artist M'bala.

When this writer left, the audience had been treated to a sterling display by a unique multi-generational cast: the likes of trombone virtuoso Nambo Robinson and  drummer extraordinaire Desi Jones alongside youngsters such as Shiah Coore (son of Stephen "Cat" Coore), saxophonist Sheldon Palmer and Desi's son Joshua on bass. their expanded repertoire  took in soul (the Isley Bros. "Livin' for the Love of You") as well as r n' b (the Whispers' "And The Beat Goes On") and contemporary reggae.

Above it all, "Mas Ran" flashed a toothy, silvery grin of approaval.


The Reggae month calendar featuresa wide range of musical and other cultural events throughout february. For details, visitthe JaRIA website at www.jariajamaica.com

Reggae Month 2K15: More riddims, More Groundings, More on show

Anticipation continues to build for February as the annual reggae Month approaches.

The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA)is promising a bigger and better event this year including the following events as part of the choices for "edutainment" which complement the standard Reggae Month offerings:

- Grounation Series at The Institute of Jamaica – February 1, 8, 15, 22

- Trench Town Festival “Jamming at the Bass”, Ambassador Theatre – February 1

- Uptown Mondays, Savannah Plaza, February 2, 9, 16, 23

- Lyming at Culture Yard, Trench Town, February 4

- Weddy Weddy, Burlington Ave, February, 4, 11, 18, 25

This year, in the Reggae Village at Ranny Williams Entertainment Complex, the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) will introduce four new and three repackaged events, namely:

- JaRIA LIVE: a weekly series presenting local renown and upcoming talent - February 3, 10, 17 and 24. February 17 and 24 will be dubbed Ladies' Nights. This event began last year at a different location but comes home to the Reggae Village this year.

- JaRIA Mixer: a weekly Friday "after-work jam" with games and music by a guest selector - February 6, 13, 20, 27

- Lunchtime Entertainment will be a big attraction throughout the month of February, as the best of music, dance, poetry and drama will be served along with culinary delights from the Reggae Month concessionaires.

- JaRIA Dance Vibz: a creative dance show in the Louise Bennett Theatre interweaving music and movement - February 21

- Reggae Praise, a music ministry show featuring top gospel artistes, is not a new event. What is new is that it is now holding its own, on Sunday February 8, instead of being one element of Reggae Wednesdays.

- Neither is the Jamaica Music Symposium a new event. However, it will now be a 2-day event in collaboration with the University of the West Indies on February 15 and 16.

- Movie Night on February 23 is an offshoot of the very successful screening of documentaries and a movie during Reggae Month 2014

The annual Dennis Brown tribute event is organised by The Dennis Brown Trust, Leggo Records, Sounds and Pressure and the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA). Artistes perform in tribute to Dennis Emmanuel Brown. 

Visit  www.jariajamaica.com to get information on all Reggae Month activities.

Musical "Pon-Fusion" at Jojo's

Corinne Bailey-Rae brushing up against Dennis Brown? Prince and John Legend in the same show with Frankie Paul and John Holt?

Genres dissolved and made way for fun and musicianship during the latest exposition of Live music Saturdays at JojJo's Jerk Pit

The night's feature act was up and coming singer Deji, who brought a clean clear tone and genuine warmth to some of the aforementioned and standards like Peggy Lee's "Fever"

The bill also also featured singer Stratdon who put his vocal gifts and easygoing presence to good use.

all well served by Pon Fyah, the resourceful musical tandem of O'zuone on keys (including some driving bass riffs) and drummer Junior "Bird" Baillie, the latter regaling this writer with his experiences as musical director for Sean Paul (you just don't know how much of a diva Beyonce can be) as well as Mariah Carey, J-Lo, and others.

Deji

Stratdon

Building That Belgium Reggae Vibe

Ran into veteran reggae music promoter Copeland Forbes a short while ago, huddled with Danielle Pater.

Who's that, you may ask? Well, she's the artistic director for Reggae Geel, which is set to take place in Belgium in August.

  "You have to prepare from now" the reggae industry stalwart shared.

The tag line of the event is "catch a vibe" and this Belgium-Jamaica link is to secure the line-up.

One of Europe’s oldest reggae festivals, Reggae Geel was founded in 1978. Throughout the years Reggae Geel became a trendsetting and authentic festival. Every year we bring the best of what Jamaica has go to offer to the ‘Belse Bossen’ in the city of Geel. What once started as a party in open-air is now a leading festival with over 30,000 visitors each year.

The previous roster included Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, Raging Fyah, Chronixx, Bunny Wailer, Sanchez, Protoje, I-Octane, "Daddy" U-Roy, Jesse Royal and more.

"Shaggy & Friends 2014": Mo' Money(?) Mo Problems

so, the "Tessanne Homecoming" edition of Shaggy & Friends is now behind us. Having opted not to go (neither by purchase nor accreditation),  I had refrained from any public review/comment, apart from a social media debate (Ok, Facebook)  on the "unfortunate" decision to give working media armbands with "No Meals" printed on them.

Having watched the greater portion of the live telecast ( I dozed off twice, but more on that later), and having covered each of three previous shows, I write out of a compulsion to address some glaring issues. Before that though , the show had a few positives. Firstly, the turnout was obviously the biggest they have had and that no doubt augurs well for the cause - so eloquently outlined by Agent Sasco mainly, and the other artistes. Secondly, the decision to provide live stream and also live television coverage (the latter via CVM) was highly commendable.

Several of the performances were good to very good; Sasco, as I already mentioned, the Mighty Diamonds, Matthew Schuler and more.

Tessanne, as expected, sounded absolutely great, but I just couldn't fathom why she would want to do her "Voice" repertoire all over again (maybe its just me) but, having acknowledged that your own material has been stifled by local interests (media and otherwise) why not make a proper showcase of that material now that you have the people at your feet?

Next - Macka Diamond. I could probably just leave that there and it would be self-explanatory.

But WHY?

Why bring to the stage of a family event, with scores of kids (okay maybe not "scores" but you get the point) visible in the front rows, one participant in the egregiously disgraceful Sting clash incident. Giving Lady saw her due, she apologised publicly and repeated the apology in an on-camera interview at the venue. Macka Diamond has, to my knowledge, remained defensive and unrepentant. She then added insult to injury by proceeding to tell said audience "how to give bun and not get caught.". Okay, on one level I get it. Shaggy had  a big  hit with "It Wasn't Me" and Macka scored a not-so-big hit with "Bun Him" (which of course was a springboard for her literary career, but I digress). But whereas the Shaggy-Rik Rok combo was an acceptably tongue-in-cheek comic paean with some risque lines, Macka's mini-lecture left subtlety far behind.  A Mercedes Benz and a Lada are both automobiles: they hardly conjure up the same mental associations in people's minds.

Enough on that. On this next issue, I have mixed feelings. Young Gio, Wayne Marshal's son, delivered of himself a poised and very confident performance - in plain terms, he one-upped his Dad on the night. But, truthfully I have some personal misgivings about a pre-teen (or even an adult) using public platform to boast about "stoopid money" and having a house with an Olympic-size pool. I have no objections to kids being inculcated about wealth, but sheer material acquisitiveness without a corresponding attention to values like respect and community-building sends, in my view, the wrong set of messages.

Inadvertently or not, it had a seam of crassness about it that beyond any particular act or performance,  tainted the body of the show in my opinion. I'm the last person that anyone could justifiably label a snob, but the show came across as a virtually "anything goes" type of affair which, to me is not befitting the cause: will the  children lying ill or recovering in their beds at Bustamante really be uplifted by "How To Give Bun"? or "Stoopid Money"? With great respect, I think not.

Then to the famous media pass issue, which as I indicated, formed the basis of a moderately lengthy debate on my Facebook page (here:  https://www.facebook.com/EmxGroup - scroll dwn to Jan 4). In the strictest sense, hospitality for media is not mandatory but then, neither is media coverage at said events. Its not  a quid pro quo, but simply a matter of basic goodwill. My belief is that if I invite your presence at my event, then all such invitees - media included - are deserving of an acceptable level of hospitality. This, obviously, is not (necessarily) the same level as paying patrons, but it should still be acceptable. Also, there's a media accreditation process, where the organizers, having received applications to cover (or having decided to invite select media directly) will make a determination, in good time, as to the media presence at the event, give or take a few "unexpecteds" (my term) If, for whatever reason, the promoters decided not to provide any such hospitality then it should not have been too difficult to communicate directly to said media, again, in good time. To do otherwise, such as to have it blatantly displayed on the press accreditation, as was reported to me (reliably) to be the case, speaks to a level of disdain that also is unworthy of an event such as Shaggy & Friends 

I expected the telecast to be long and, frankly, having been busy through the day and facing an early assignment (6:00 am) the following morning, I admittedly didn't have the juice to stay up through the whole thing. That knock is squarely on me. Having said that, why was Tessanne not the closing act? As far as I'm aware, the convention in multi-act shows is that the headliner closes and I'm sure that notwithstanding his name in the title, even Shaggy would concede that the clear headliner in this case, was Tessanne. With respect Tarrus, Sean Paul, et al who I understand followed her ( I was counting sheep), the overwhelming public anticipation was for the "Voice" winner so why not allow her the honour, even if it might have meant trimming the line-up/running order to accommodate her?

I'll reserve comment on the technical aspects as I believe those would be more fairly served by an on-site experience which, clearly, I did not have.

So that essentially, is my two cents on the subject. I see neither acclaim nor attack, but I've been doing this long enough now to comfortably handle either. I'm open to to being corrected (if its demonstrable that I was incorrect) as well as challenged on any of the preceding points.

One last thing: I included this partial shot of the 2009 Shaggy & Friends poster (the inaugural show, if memory serves). Tessanne is pretty much smack in the middle of that pic. This is highly personal of course, but I ca't help but prefer that lushly exotic and dare I say, sensual, image to the more streamlined Tessanne whose visage is now justly world-famous.

Again, that's just me

Ce'Cile told it like it s, but Mr Lexx told it like we'd like to hear it

He is among that class of dancehall artistes that emerged in the late 90s - never quite as strident as Bounty Killer, but not clinically stuck on the "girls' train" like Beenie Man,

Mr Lexx made his name (initially as Lexxus) with tracks like "Cook" and "Cellie" and managed to weather the vagaries of the business and the changing winds of audience trends to join that small but expanding cadre of artistes that does not depend solely on the "the latest hit" for his currency.

Still, his road to success has not been with ptifalls and it was an animated Lexx who showed up at the Knutsford Court hotel last week and vented on the frustrations of  being an "ignorant, dunce-head" artiste just coming up.

Succeeding dancehall diva Ce'Cile, Lexx spoke unanbashedly about signign away his rights in his initial (and still pending till next, week, according to him ) contract with reggae imprint VP Records, which included the famous "Automatic renewal" clause that regards the contract as auotmatically renewed in the event the artiste fails to give notice to that effect within six months of initial expiration date.

As expected, both artistes paid homage to hosts Jamaic Association of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JACAP), which is itself on a drive to raise its profile within both the business and talent sectors of the industry - another seminar is to follow next month. Lexx made the call for more such interventions to prevent the present crop of uninitiated artistes from falling prey to exploitative agents and to better establish their presence and enforce their rights in what is an increasingly global scenario.

Looking svelte in a black dress pant, her trademark heels and a demure blouse, it was obvious that petite dancehall diva, Ce'cile had  traded in her 'bad gyal' persona for a minute , as

she took on the important role of ambassador for the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) at that society's Open House Forum held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston last Wednesday afternoon.

Clearly passionate about her role, Ce'cile was generous in her praise of the copyright body of which she has been a long-standing member and  disclosed that she had benefited tremendously since signing on to the collections agency . The JACAP ambassador left no stones un-turned as she urged her fellow artistes to get their act together and become members of JACAP.

"We always complain about the fact that 'things not going right'... well, here is an organisation that is doing a wonderful job of trying to turn this hustle mentality into a serious business," Ce'cile stated emphatically.

Getting a bit more personal, the 'bad gyal', who recently returned from Europe, where she had performed on major festivals, explained that there are "two Ce'ciles, the local and the foreign". With a hint of sadness, she stated that "the real Ce'cile is not wanted in Jamaica", and as a result she performs her more serious, but equally entertaining songs at festivals such as Rottotom, where she is embraced and respected for her complete repertoire, rather than a sample of salaciousness, slackness and gyrations.

"When I was on my way from Europe, I thought to myself -  'Okay, mi haffi go mek some fool-fool song for Jamaica now' -," Ce'cile admitted, to much laughter from the capacity audience at JACAP's Open House Forum.

The JACAP ambassador ended with a call for her Jamaican audience to really listen to her songs and learn to appreciate the real Ce'cile. "I need to feel that I can perform the same songs at Rottotom and in Jamaica," she said.

Guest speaker at JACAP's Open House Forum was Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Anthony Hylton, who commended JACAP for hosting such a timely forum under the theme, Understanding Copyright and Valuing the Rights of the Creators of Music'. Also present were several members of the music, media and entertainment fraternities including Mikie Bennett, Gussie Clarke, Herbie Miller, Frankie Campbell,  Clyde McKenzie, Evon Mullings, Teddy Laidley, Mr. Lexx, Tanice 'Soulchild' Morrison, Derrick '10 Percent' Brown, Brigitte Anderson, George Golding, Francois St. Juste, Joan Hutchinson, Judith Alberga and Adrian St. Louis. 

Emcee was Desmond Young, a Board member of JACAP and also the president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians.

JazzFest says "Hi - PHI"; Turns 23

Monday, June 10, 2013

It was in Trinidad that the last great new instrument of the 20th Century was born: out of the oil industry, our neighbours to the south gave the world the steel pan, now known universally as the pan.

Fast-forward to the present and a team of Trinis have done it again - this time the instrument carries a more pedestrian name: The Percussive-Harmonic Instrument. But being the inventitive people we are, we've shortened it to PHI.Hi-PHI, Lo-PHI. Just PHI. Its essentially a form of electronic pan that has full MIDI connections and the ability to reproduce a gamut of instrumental sounds, even piano/keyboard)

 The new invention will have its Jamaican premiere during the

23rd Anniversary edition of the Jmaaica Ocho RIos Jazz Fest, which had its official (but i nthe true spirit, never too formal) kick-off on Saturday last at Hotel Four Seasons.

Organizer and heartbeat Myrna Hague-Bradshaw told the gathering that the event was being continued as a labour of love, a service to musicians, and of course, a tribute to her late husband, and festival co-founder, Sonny Bradshaw.

Darren Shepard is Trinidadian, but no stranger to Jamaica, having expounded on the steel pan art on several occasions here in the past. He will, in fact be manning the PHI and will be featured in a special Saturday night (June 15) concert at Red Bones the blues Cafe, alongside Harold Davis, who will be keeping up on keyboards as well as vocals.

The festival line-up also includes US alto saxist Idris Ackamoor, himself pretty much an "honorary Jamaican" and whose theatre-infused style (he incorporates dance, spoken word and costuming in his act) is sure to

Ackamoor

enthrall audiences, UK-born Jamaican saxophonist Yolanda Brown, fresh off a banner year that saw her win a MOBO award, and keyboardist Dr Kathy Brown. The Jamaica Big Band is  unquestionably a staple of the Festival (as it streams towards its Silver year in 2015), and new thus year - but again no stranger - is the Ralph Holding Trio. Holding, a longtime musical collaborator of Hague-bradshaw, recently served as musical direcotr for the renewal of her "Simply Myrna" concert series. Nightly Jazz Jams will be open to all (and all vocal comers) at the 4Seasons.

The fest will also feature two other stalwart female vocalists: Christine Fisher who, along with life & musical partner Alex Martin-Blanken entertained at the follow-up Jazz Brunch (watch this space for our review) and Keisha Patterson, whose previous CD, Sunday Kind of Love, established firmly her jazz vocal chops and affinity.

Musical "Mahogany" Under The Tree

Pon Fyah band - Junior "Bird Bailey on drums, Paul "Smiley" Madden on bass and Ozoune(right) on keyboards

One would expect such a top-flight and well-versed trio to provide excellent accompaniment to vocalists  - and that they did - in this case Althea Hewitt and Clancy Eccles Jr (below), each of them well-travelled on the Jamaican entertainment scene. The two worked in tandem as well as in duet form, thrilling a very appreciative audience at the Mahogany Tree Bar at  Devon House, a venue which, save for the occasional bad sight liner, could hardly be more salubrious
or accommodating of the quality live performances on offer. The spanned the gamut of popular song choices, from ballads like Adele's "Never Mind" and Evanescence's "All of Me" to jazz-pop like Bobby Caldwell's "You Do For Love" and reggae.

The musical outing was the first at the venue, but far from the first for promoters Mo'Muzyk Pros, who also stage a regular Saturday night showcase at Jo-Jo's on Waterloo Road, and previously hosted a twice weekly live presentation at the former Christopher's Jazz Cafe, all in Kingston.

With this new  - but well-known - space added to the roster, the team is bent on making an indelible mark on the Jamaican entertainment landscape, with an eye on both local and international audiences for what is undeniably a polished, heart-felt and superlative live offering

Althea Hewitt

Clancy Eccles Jr