Dale Virgo's Blog » Kingston

Jolly Boys @ Redbones Cafe//July 3, 2010

Dale — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:32:46 +0000

On Saturday July 3, Geejam Productions will heat up the summer at Redbones Café in Kingston with Geejam Nights, a one-night-only concert event and party showcasing the Jolly Boys featuring Albert Minott and their new, modern take on mento, Jamaica’s first-time dance music.

First set begins at 8:00pm with a performance of the kind classic mento tunes your granny used to sing you when you were small. Then, at 10:00, the modern mento experience begins. The new-look Jolly Boys will play tracks from Great Expectation, their upcoming album of unique cover versions of songs made famous by artists including Amy Winehouse, the Clash, the Doors, and others, that fuse old-time style with modern beats and a fresh international vibe.

Among the throng of journalists flying into cover the event will be acclaimed & influential London DJ Chris Sullivan (of the Wag, Momo, Sketch and Supper Club), who will spin reggae, soul and funk in between sets and well into the night for your dancing pleasure.

Geejam nights is the official launch for the Jolly Boys and their new modern mento sound; it will be filmed for international release. Visit the Jolly Boys online at www.jollyboysmusic.com to see their music video of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and to learn more about their summer European tour and album launch this fall.

http://www.redbonesbluescafe.com/events.htm

THE JOLLY BOYS:Half a Century of Mento Madness

Dale — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Taken from www.jollyboysmusic.com

Written and researched by Dr. Daniel Neely,

Pls. check out www.jollyboysmusic.com and become a fan on facebook @ facebook.com/jollyboys

In winter of 1946, Errol Flynn purchased Navy Island for the princely sum of US$80,000. For the next decade that small swath of land, not even 100 yards from the beaches of Port Antonio, became the berthing place for Flynn’s yacht Zaca, and the staging point for his unending party that is today the stuff of legend. The entertainment Flynn featured most often in those days was a small local group called the Navy Island Swamp Boys which consisted of Noel Lynch on Guitar, Moses Deans on banjo and “Papa” Brown on rumba box. The mentos, calypsos and rumbas they played were the perfect soundtrack for Flynn & co’s bacchanalian excesses.When this group broke up in 1955, Moses and Papa reformed the group with Derrick “Johnny” Henry on maracas & drum, Martell Brown on guitar, and David “Sonny” Martin on guitar. When Papa couldn’t make gigs, Allan Swymmer was brought in (he later became a permanent member). Legend tells us that Errol Flynn named this group “The Jolly Boys” after the vibe he caught from their playing. With Flynn’s imprimatur, the Jolly Boys music quickly defined mento and calypso entertainment in Port Antonio and set a high musical standard.

Although the Jolly Boys had a committed core of musicians, many others were pulled into and passed through its fold (to date, no fewer than 18 people have been official members). Access to a large number of musicians meant the Jolly Boys–a kind of musical family, custodians of a musical tradition–could take more gigs. One such group of “moonlighting” Jolly Boys was called the Mockingbirds; it was generally led by Allan Swymmer. Although a group leader, Moses sometimes led this kind of group as well. In fact, it was on a moonlighting gig in 1961 that Moses met future Jolly Boy Joseph “Powda” Bennett, who at the time was playing for people rafting down the Rio Grande; the two hit it off and formed an informal band that lasted for two years. (It was Moses who later pulled Powda into the band.)

By the end of the 1960s, the Jolly Boys had became an important part of the north coast’s entertainment industry, often performing with dance troupes in floorshows for elite Port Antonio visitors. One of the dance troupes the Jolly Boys very often performed with was led by Albert Minott, a young man of extraordinary talent. Albert specialized in hand-walking and fire eating, and impressed his audiences with his daring feats, but he also loved mento music. When he wasn’t busy dancing alongside the Jolly Boys in the floorshows of the 1960s, he joined them on rumba box whenever he could.

With the ascendence of reggae in the late 1960s, work slowed for mento bands. This forced the Jolly Boys to look for opportunity elsewhere and ultimately they split into two groups. Allan Swymmer moved to St. Ann’s Bay in 1969 where he started his own branch of the Jolly Boys, while Moses took his Jolly Boys group to the Round Hill estate in Montego Bay for a series of annual gigs. During this time, both groups maintained a very high musical standards (as seen on the Jolly Boys LP Lyrichord released in 1977) and kept regular contact with each other.

Then, in the early 1980s, Moses reformed the original Jolly Boys back in Port Antonio, with Swymmer leading on drum and Powda playing rumba box. They found abundant work in all of the parish’s major venues, including Jamaica Reef, Round Hill, Frenchman’s Cove, and Goblin Hill. But then, in 1989, singer-songwriter and producer Jules Shear saw the band during a visit to the Trident Hotel. Inspired, he recorded an album of their music and revealed their sound to a new generation of international listeners. Between 1989 to 1997, the group released a series of well known albums and toured internationally. On their way to being the most recognized mento band in the world, they even appeared in a scene in the film The Mighty Quinn, starring Denzil Washington.

In 1998, the group embarked on a new phase of its existence. Shortly after Moses passed away, the group began playing regularly at GeeJam, a residential recording studio in Port Antonio, for the artists recording there, a group that includes Gwen Stefani & No Doubt, the Gorillaz, Drake and Amy Winehouse. When GeeJam opened as a hotel in 2008, Jolly Boys became its house band and impressed co-owner Jon Baker with their poise and vibe. With the idea of documenting their music for future generations, Baker teamed up with Dale Virgo, GeeJam’s in-house studio engineer engineer, to co-produce their current album, Great Expectation.

Despite their busy schedule in Port Antonio, the group is still very much in demand in Jamaica and beyond. For example, it was a featured act in the Institute of Jamaica’s Mento in May concert in Kingston in 2003; later that year, it performed at the Montreal Jazz festival. In addition Powda was a featured mento performer in Monty Alexander’s Lords of the West Indies concert at New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2008.

For nearly sixty years, the Jolly Boys and their tradition have persevered, largely due to their ability to draw from the community of original musicians who have been in the group’s orbit since the start. Today, the “foundation” group includes Joseph “Powda” Bennett on maracas, Derrick “Johnny” Henry on rumba box, Allan Swymmer on percussion, and Egbert Watson on banjo, with Albert Minott singing lead and playing guitar.

Still here in 2010, the Jolly Boys are truly timeless. With new members Donald Waugh on banjo, Lenford “Brutus” Richards on guitar and Dale Virgo on percussion, the group has a new sound and is ready to take yet another generation–and their bacchanalian excesses–by storm.

Mento was the music of the Jamaican dancehalls before ska, rocksteady and reggae came along. A people’s music typically played in the countryside on acoustic–often homemade–instruments, it dates to the late 19th century. Its lyrics often dealt with rude or slack topics, or addressed the social issues of the day. Although often confused with calypso (largely because calling it “calypso” was a handy way of marketing it to tourists who didn’t know any better), it has a rawness and rhythmic feel that is uniquely Jamaican.

Testimony – Stranded in Junction

Dale — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:00:20 +0000

God is so great, last night i was on my way to Kingston from Portland, i was very tired, my trip was delayed because i was supposed to come the night before. I went to the doctor earlier in the day. I was driving on the junction and I hit a mysterious deep pot hole, my tyre blew out. Then i checked outside, the tire seemed fine. I drove again, something sounded weird. I came out and examined the tire. It was actually getting soft, so i jacked up the car, took off the tire, and took out the spare. Dang… the spare was busted too. I don’t know how it got busted, its still a mystery to me. A friend drove up and offered assistance to me, i was shocked this person was actually in the area, because when i left portland they had left before me. The guys explained that they had stopped to buy chicken thats why I was ahead of them. I had to carry my spare to the tire shop in Annotto Bay to get a new tire for my space because my rim was dented by the pothole. When i reached the tire shop, i couldn’t find a tire to fit. We finally found one. We fitted it… It looked perfect. But then when i checked the tire in the tank, it had too many holes in it. I had to look for another tire for the rim. Then we went back to the car. When we reach back to the car, we had learnt that 4 other cars hit the same pothole. The was a line of 4 cars all changing tires. (Dang, they need to fix that pothole).

I put on the spare and I was on my way.

Thanks God for those guys. God was surely on my side, because if it wasn’t for them i would be out there stuck with no help.

NO GO FOR RENETO, Policing requires more than university education, says Adams

Dale — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:49:47 +0000

RETIRED senior superintendent of police, Reneto Adams’ dream of becoming Jamaica’s next commissioner of police will not become a reality, the Sunday Observer can report.

ADAMS. If someone does not get a position because he does not have a degree, I would view that as victimisation and discrimination

Adams, 61, arguably Jamaica’s most recognisable and flamboyant crime fighter in the 154-year history of the police force, does not fit certain criteria required for becoming police commissioner, including the criterion of having a first degree, which has been thrown into the selection mix by the Police Service Commission (PSC), this newspaper has learnt.

Sources close to the PSC, which will announce the new commissioner soon, say that the particular academic qualification and the fact that the Government would not approve of Adams serving as top cop, would automatically disqualify the colourful ex-policeman, who served the force for 41 years before retiring.

“Even if he applies, he will not be invited to attend an interview,” the source told the Sunday Observer.

“There is a feeling too, that his style of policing is not what the country wants at this time,” the source said.

But Adams immediately shot back that he would regard the degree requirement as a ploy to exclude him because he did not have a degree.

“As far as I know, Regulation 61 of the Constabulary Force Act does not stipulate the need for a degree,” he said. “If they do that, I know that it would be a move to hinder those of us who have the ability, but who are without degrees.

“A degree does not mean that one person is brighter than another, but if they ask for it, then that would preclude me from becoming commissioner. I know that it would be specifically designed to preclude me,” he insisted.

The Sunday Observer tried unsuccessfully to contact commission chairman, Professor Gordon Shirley for comment.

The Government had stated three weeks ago that the post would be advertised. But it is still not certain whether or not the commission will go that route, or choose from the available talent within the force and make a decision which, it is highly anticipated, would result in the confirmation of acting police commissioner Owen Ellington, as police chief.

Adams, in an interview, warned that if the PSC went ahead and asked for a first degree as one of the qualifications, then there could be trouble.

“Unless the Act has changed, no policeman requires a degree for any position in the force,” said Adams. “If someone does not get a position because he does not have a degree, I would view that as victimisation and discrimination.”

The man who has received overwhelming support from citizens who expressed their choice for top cop on websites, newspapers and the airwaves, said that he had no plans to quit the race and would submit his application as soon as the situation allowed him to.

He maintained that police work required more than having a university qualification.

“If a man has a degree in Mathematics for example, obviously he would multiply faster that I could. But if you have a riot in East Kingston, I am sure that I would be capable of handling the situation better than the man with the Maths degree,” said Adams.

“I could have had a degree before, but at university they don’t teach the kind of things that I would want to know. I want someone to teach me how to own my own business, not to teach me how to work for someone and running the business of others,” he added.

Adams now runs his own security firm and names Caribbean Estates, New Era Homes and the Matalon group of companies among his major clients.

“I spent 41 years in the force and never had the chance to attend university because of a number of reasons,” he explained. “I remember starting a correspondence course from Bennett College in England and was threatened by my sub-officer when I was trying to study that he could charge me for idling on duty. I had to hide and study.

“The last commissioner had a Master’s degree in public administration and he turned public administration into a joke. (Former commissioner) Francis Forbes had a law degree and you would have thought that he would have known better, but he did no better,” said Adams.

“The degree that I have is QBE, meaning Qualified By Experience. I am not satisfied with the people who have first, second and third degrees, as they have led this country nowhere,” he argued. “The wealth, good health, the ability to support my family and myself was due to the education that I got and it had nothing to do with corruption.

“All my children have gone through university level education and I owe no debt. I have achieved everything I want to achieve by the time I reached 50,” St Elizabeth-born Adams said.

He criticised the constabulary’s accelerated promotion programme, whereby persons with tertiary level education could join the police force at a senior level, saying that such persons had not acquired the requisite police knowledge to be effective.

Defending his own time as a police officer, Adams hit back at those who said that crime had increased while he served in senior crime-fighting positions.

“Those persons are being unfair to me, because I never had all-island authority. I had the responsibility for Kingston & St Andrew and St Catherine,” he said.

Granny by General Degree

Dale — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:51:11 +0000

This was i tune i knew/know even now word for word. I used to love listen to this tune. It run inna mi head today. Big up to General Degree.

Lyrics to Granny :
[Intro:]
That bwoy left from outta da yard from morning and him don’t come back
Is him and everything just get on top of mi nerves
A soon run left Jamaica and go live a Kingston hmmmm

[Chorus:]
A could a who say granny nuh miserable
If you live with you granny you wi tun granny too
A who say granny nuh love di cussing
Fi mi granny she cuss fi everything
Granny! stop hollering out mi name
Granny! you calling mi name in vain
Granny! weh you a call mi fa
Mi soon left you and go live with mama

[Verse 1:]
Imagine I caan tek this country what we live in
Look how much money wi haffi fi pay fi chicken
Rice and flour and cornmeal is a sin
Waan buy a milk and mi caan buy di tin
Caan even get sugar now fi do some sweetening
A soon run left Jamaica and go live in a foreign
Oh lawd of mercy I have to sing
Unno help me now hmm
I use to tun cornmeal and give mi dad
But that was long before it raise si ya bwoy
I caan tun cornmeal no more a mi yard
Cause tings get hard Oh lawd
Mi say nowadays rice gone up oh lawd
Chicken gone up whooy
Flour it gone outta space
Way in a foreign him dey and caan and caan catch da note ya
Come again one more time deh fi mi oh, hear mi now

[Chorus:]
Granny! stop hollering out mi name
Granny! how you calling mi name in vain
Granny! suh weh you a call mi name fa
Mi soon left you and go live with mama
A who say granny nuh miserable
If you grow with you granny you wi tun granny too
A who say granny nuh love di cussing
Fi mi granny man she cuss fi everything

[Verse 2:]
Son I always tell you you fi look before you leap
You caan plant corn and a peas you waan reap
You don’t start di journey then how you fi reach
Tek up di broom cah di yard waan sweep
Look pon you bed you nuh spread it up with you sheet
Mi tell you fi do something all now you nuh dweet
Tun some cornmeal let mi get it fi eat
A so-so gum mi have cause mi lost mi false teeth

[Chorus:]
Granny! stop hollering out mi name
Granny! you calling mi name in vain
Granny! weh you a call mi fa
Mi soon left you and go live with mama

[Verse 3:]
Unda one tree mi hold a seat and sidung
When mi look mi see my granny she a come
She grab him by di shirt and say come here grandson
A weh di cornmeal deh weh mi tell you fi tun
She double up her fist and mi go mek fi run
She start thump mi dung like a mike Mccallum(boop)
Mi granny she just thump mi dung a ground
And in a mi chest a weh mi granny kneel dung
Boop! you wait you ears nuh have nuh drum
Boop! a soon left you with so-so gum
Boop! anything mi say must do must be done
Granny a go kill mi! well grandson
When I done with you a hearse dem haffi send come
Boop! a you mek mi old before young
Boop! a you gimme body come dung
I caan tek it no more I gwaan left jamdown
A run left ya and go live a kingston

[Chorus:]
Granny! stop hollering out mi name
Granny! you calling mi name in vain
Granny! weh you a call mi fa
Mi soon left you and go live with mama
A who say granny nuh miserable
If yuh live with you granny you wi tun granny too
A who say granny nuh love di cussing
Fi mi granny man she cuss fi everything

[Outro:]
That bwoy left out from yard talk bout him a go shoot bird
All now him nuh come back him just get on top a mi nerves
A bwoy like that mek mi cuss badword
W-w-w-Wait till that bwoy come in here
Imagine I caan tek dis country what we live in
Look how much money we haffi fi pay fi chicken
Rice and flour and cornmeal is a sin
When you talk bout milk mi caan buy a tin
Not even sugar fi do nuh sweetening
A soon run left Jamaica and go live a foreign
Oh lawd I have to sing
I use to tun cornmeal and give mi dad
[ Granny Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]