By: Charles H.E. Campbell
Nero fiddles…
We often repeat the maxim that the high unemployment levels and lack of opportunities is a main source of the high crime rate in our society. In the search for solutions to our current security/social crisis, cultural activities can play a very pivotal role in providing communities all over the country with a structured, organized and continuous program of training and exposition of exponents of the performing arts, especially since we are by nature, artistically inclined and famously so.
This is the precise mission of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC)- to unearth, develop and showcase Jamaica’s creative talents and provide avenues for channeling creative energies into a constructive, on-going national programme of activities. They are responsible for the perpetuation and promotion of national and traditional folk forms and other cultural events. However, like many other aspects of our national life, this objective has been short circuited and compromised by narrow mindedness, lack of vision and selfish, political and economic interests.
Over the years, unfortunately, the subject areas assigned to various ministries have to a large extent been influenced by the clout or personality of a particular minister. Whole ministries have been designed for the minister’s benefit, rather than for efficiency on behalf of the Jamaican populace. This leaves us in the culture sector with a splintered budget and duplicate administrative bodies eating out a large percentage of the overall public funds assigned to it. The trend since the 70s to carve off pieces of the national cultural budget and distribute to various ministries has left the JCDC starved of vital funds and stymied its ability to adequately carry out its mandated functions.
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture has overall responsibility for government’s cultural policies through its culture division. However, the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), which falls under the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology, has a film and an entertainment unit, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism has an entertainment division and the agency in charge of intellectual property also falls under the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology. The Office of the Prime Minister still retains a cultural unit that produces special events along with its main responsibility for state ceremonies and the Ministry of Local Government is allotted funds for cultural related activities under Social Development Commission (SDC) and the division of Sport. Yet, the effect of all this is that the state has retreated from active influence and participation in the cultural lives of our communities.
For instance, the Festival Song Competition was central to our cultural cycle and a stimulus for our emerging popular music- in fact, festival songs were national hits. Artistes like Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, Jacob Miller, Tommy Cowan, Derrick Morgan and the Blues Busters were, in their formative years, participants in our Festival Movement. This did not only expose their talents but in turn enhanced their perception of cultural identity, trained, groomed and prepared them for the next stage of their international careers. Any review of our Festival Song history will reveal that the progression was from Ska to Rock Steady, and then to early Reggae. Around this time, the latter part of the 1970s, the state got side tracked (or was it hi-jacked?)- restrictive criteria were set concerning instrumentation and the Festival Song Contest regressed musically, and mainly promoted Mento music, lagging far behind the rest of society who had moved on to and with the Reggae and Dancehall genres. This marked the beginning of the mass withdrawal of our popular artistes from the competition, but more importantly, the competition’s disconnect with popular music and society in general, and the fact that it became virtually irrelevant on today’s entertainment scene. In light of this, Eric Donaldson’s Cherry Oh Baby (1970), remains the last genuinely popular festival song win. The committee formed last year to reorganize the popular song contest must stick to their bold objectives and not be ambushed by the few vociferous adherents to this musical traditional format.
While I love Mento music, our national popular song contest must strive to achieve some measure of currency and showcase the best of our Reggae/Dancehall music. How come neither a DJ nor a sing jay has ever won the contest, yet the Reggae/Dancehall idiom has won over so many people across the world who purchase the records? Think of the symbiotic impact this would have both for the festival as well as the artistes.
What the sector needs and the state of the country demands is consolidation of government funds into the Division Of Culture. This will facilitate a sustained and extensive community programme all across the country promoting heritage, culture, community animation along with the visual and performing arts to foster an ethos of collaboration , fellowship and harmony among people from all walks of life in the processes of cultural assimilation and development.
National cultural activity should be a culmination and showcase of on going, sustained community activity, so that it is self perpetuating. It should not replace it, as is now the case. So much of the budget that we should be spending in the development of creative talent in the communities is being spent on a plethora of “national” and quasi-state events which have mushroomed over recent years, attended by a rotation of about fifteen hundred people, most of whom can afford to pay for their own entertainment and do not need the sponsorship of the state and otherwise have little interest in popular culture.
While ostensibly done for a good cause, functions like the recent Tsunami Relief concert did nothing to enhance the country’s international image or the careers of the artistes who participated. It was so poorly promoted, it was the nation’s biggest secret. We need to retrieve control of the budget from carpet baggers and dilettantes and dispel the myth they perpetrate that the JCDC organized events cannot attract adequate or suitable corporate sponsorship for certain types of events. It should be returned to the professional team honed by the JCDC., so that they may infuse opportunity, a constructive vehicle of self expression and renewed spirit in our communities.
The JCDC however, must stand up to the politicians and call a halt to the wholesale giveaway of tickets to their major commercially viable events. They have painstakingly rebuilt these valuable entertainment products over the last few years and it is heart wrenching to see them having to turn back potential paying patrons because of a full house that has a liberal mix of free tickets given out by politicians, which are often callously resold outside the gates in competition with their box office, depriving them twice over of significant revenue.
Provisions under the last budget for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture for the celebration of national events, including Emancipation, Independence and Heritage Week, was $35 million; development of cultural programmes was $31 million; Labour Day $5 million; administration and direction $47 million; international exchange programme $1 million; promotion of cultural programmes $1 million and arts $60,000. When the cultural and events budgets from the various ministries are totaled, the true budget for culture is double this amount. If there is an amalgamation and streamlining of these administrations and monies allotted to all ministries and agencies aforementioned, a higher proportion could be spent directly on more useful and socially viablecultural programmes and initiatives.
As an important and indispensable sector of the economy- it is high time to expose the political shenanigans. Most importantly, however, we must more effectively lobby for rationalization and better use of public funds earmarked for cultural development in our annual budget so that these funds do not continue to be hi-jacked for personal hairy-fairy schemes, but are instead used to channel the creative energies of our youth into constructive processes of cultural assimilation and development, even profitable careers for some, away from the guns and other antisocial behaviour…And Nero fiddles while Rome burns.
© 2005 C.H.E. Campbell
Sunday, 20 March 2005
Sunday, 6 March 2005
Stepping With The Times
By: Charles H.E. Campbell
Over the last eight months, the re-emergence of Third World, Toots Hibbert and Jimmy Cliff on the local entertainment circuit is a significant occurrence that many people may not have psycho-analyzed, yet there is a subtle, common strand in this development.
Third World performed at the new national indoor sports complex at the National Stadium on August 10, 2004. The attendees, which featured full family groups, showered such an overwhelming response to their performance, they have done a number of local shows. This appeal is yet to wane.
Jimmy Cliff’s performances at Rebel Salute 2005 (January 12) and at the University of the West Indies’ ‘Evening Of Black Magic’ (February 4, 2005) garnered a reaction that was simply awesome. Yet, the events featured two distinctly disparate audiences, both class-wise and age-wise and each had drawn attendees with varied cultural orientations.
Meanwhile, Toots demonstrated such stage energy and showmanship at the recent Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, that he outshone everyone else that had performed at the festival and had the audience, which included many 20 and 30 somethings who had come mainly to see young jazz/blues sensation, Norah Jones, in a frenzy. Then he won his first Grammy for his most recent effort, True Love.
Could it be that a generation has passed, and we are now seeing the elevation of these artistes to the deserved status of preeminence in our cultural expression? Are their collective works appreciated as much for their creativity as their longevity? Could it be because these musicians continually recreate themselves by keeping current with the various streams of music while remaining true to their own unique styles?
This is exactly the key to the success of Ray Charles in his musical career, which spanned nearly fifty years. Ray was the progenitor of soul music. Essentially, he fused traditional Black gospel music with an R&B sound and composed romantic songs. Later, he used this same ingenuity and with his breakthrough, Georgia (On My Mind) expanded country music to a pop and Black audience.
On a momentary digression, the similarities between our own Dennis Brown and Ray Charles are very striking. From the individuality of their styles, (check Dennis’ Old Man River, Wichita Line Man and Little Green Apples), to their spiritual aura, their sex appeal and drug usage.
Jimmy Cliff came to the fore in 1962 and on a close examination of his catalogue, one discerns the various global influences on his work- R&B, African, Latin/South American, pop, indigenous Afro-Jamaican spirituals. Toots who came along in 1964 and has consistently relied on blues, gospel, soul and country and western influences to create his music, consequently producing and maintaining a sizeable boy of hits. While Third World, who burst on the scene in 1973, throughout their career, have been inspired by jazz, R&B, Latin, African and even classical music.
These artistes all grew up in a time when Jamaican radio broadcasted a wider array of music forms and styles. The local music and entertainment scene itself was more dynamic. In many communities, you could experience the military/uniform band, the church choir, the revivalist /Pocomania gatherings, a Wake (Nine Night), Mento band, as well as a Jonkunno parade. The cross-fertilisation and distillation of these influences was inevitable, as it mirrored our cosmopolitan culture.
As someone who endorsed the idea initially, it now makes me wonder about the straight-jacketing impact of the trend towards an all Jamaican music format on radio, which occurred over the time span of a generation- and whether we should not seek to emphasise music appreciation in our schools as a regular aspect of the curriculum. Currently, VH -1’s ‘Save The Music’ campaign seeks not only to actively promote music and music appreciation in public schools throughout the US, but garners substantial and physical involvement from musicians and corporate entities alike . Pupils are afforded the opportunity of exposure to a wide array of musical instruments, styles and genres and to even meet and play music with some of their very own musical idols. In many ways, this program posits itself as a good model upon which we could develop.
Recently, Dancehall musicians and producers have increasingly used rhythms from Mento, Revival, Nyahbinghi and Folk/work songs in their music. Can you imagine just how much more potent they would be had they been exposed to a similarly diverse musical experience from which Jimmy, Third World, Toots and so many of our other great musicians benefited early in their life?
Jimmy Cliff has been doing collaborations with now-generation Dancehall acts like Capleton and Bounty Killer. Third World featured a song with Bounty Killer and Shaggy on their Grammy- winning Generation Coming (1999). Toots has done a remake of Bam Bam with Shaggy, which is featured on True Love and even featured Gramps of Morgan Heritage in his performance at Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues. These musicians have not only merged two separate musical generations, but bypassed one in between. Might I say that these are profound developments towards a positive trend.
© 2005 CHE Campbell.
Over the last eight months, the re-emergence of Third World, Toots Hibbert and Jimmy Cliff on the local entertainment circuit is a significant occurrence that many people may not have psycho-analyzed, yet there is a subtle, common strand in this development.
Third World performed at the new national indoor sports complex at the National Stadium on August 10, 2004. The attendees, which featured full family groups, showered such an overwhelming response to their performance, they have done a number of local shows. This appeal is yet to wane.
Jimmy Cliff’s performances at Rebel Salute 2005 (January 12) and at the University of the West Indies’ ‘Evening Of Black Magic’ (February 4, 2005) garnered a reaction that was simply awesome. Yet, the events featured two distinctly disparate audiences, both class-wise and age-wise and each had drawn attendees with varied cultural orientations.
Meanwhile, Toots demonstrated such stage energy and showmanship at the recent Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, that he outshone everyone else that had performed at the festival and had the audience, which included many 20 and 30 somethings who had come mainly to see young jazz/blues sensation, Norah Jones, in a frenzy. Then he won his first Grammy for his most recent effort, True Love.
Could it be that a generation has passed, and we are now seeing the elevation of these artistes to the deserved status of preeminence in our cultural expression? Are their collective works appreciated as much for their creativity as their longevity? Could it be because these musicians continually recreate themselves by keeping current with the various streams of music while remaining true to their own unique styles?
This is exactly the key to the success of Ray Charles in his musical career, which spanned nearly fifty years. Ray was the progenitor of soul music. Essentially, he fused traditional Black gospel music with an R&B sound and composed romantic songs. Later, he used this same ingenuity and with his breakthrough, Georgia (On My Mind) expanded country music to a pop and Black audience.
On a momentary digression, the similarities between our own Dennis Brown and Ray Charles are very striking. From the individuality of their styles, (check Dennis’ Old Man River, Wichita Line Man and Little Green Apples), to their spiritual aura, their sex appeal and drug usage.
Jimmy Cliff came to the fore in 1962 and on a close examination of his catalogue, one discerns the various global influences on his work- R&B, African, Latin/South American, pop, indigenous Afro-Jamaican spirituals. Toots who came along in 1964 and has consistently relied on blues, gospel, soul and country and western influences to create his music, consequently producing and maintaining a sizeable boy of hits. While Third World, who burst on the scene in 1973, throughout their career, have been inspired by jazz, R&B, Latin, African and even classical music.
These artistes all grew up in a time when Jamaican radio broadcasted a wider array of music forms and styles. The local music and entertainment scene itself was more dynamic. In many communities, you could experience the military/uniform band, the church choir, the revivalist /Pocomania gatherings, a Wake (Nine Night), Mento band, as well as a Jonkunno parade. The cross-fertilisation and distillation of these influences was inevitable, as it mirrored our cosmopolitan culture.
As someone who endorsed the idea initially, it now makes me wonder about the straight-jacketing impact of the trend towards an all Jamaican music format on radio, which occurred over the time span of a generation- and whether we should not seek to emphasise music appreciation in our schools as a regular aspect of the curriculum. Currently, VH -1’s ‘Save The Music’ campaign seeks not only to actively promote music and music appreciation in public schools throughout the US, but garners substantial and physical involvement from musicians and corporate entities alike . Pupils are afforded the opportunity of exposure to a wide array of musical instruments, styles and genres and to even meet and play music with some of their very own musical idols. In many ways, this program posits itself as a good model upon which we could develop.
Recently, Dancehall musicians and producers have increasingly used rhythms from Mento, Revival, Nyahbinghi and Folk/work songs in their music. Can you imagine just how much more potent they would be had they been exposed to a similarly diverse musical experience from which Jimmy, Third World, Toots and so many of our other great musicians benefited early in their life?
Jimmy Cliff has been doing collaborations with now-generation Dancehall acts like Capleton and Bounty Killer. Third World featured a song with Bounty Killer and Shaggy on their Grammy- winning Generation Coming (1999). Toots has done a remake of Bam Bam with Shaggy, which is featured on True Love and even featured Gramps of Morgan Heritage in his performance at Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues. These musicians have not only merged two separate musical generations, but bypassed one in between. Might I say that these are profound developments towards a positive trend.
© 2005 CHE Campbell.
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