Trivialities And Banalities

UNFORTUNATELY, this is what our political culture has been reduced to. It's the silly season and the politicians are certainly living up to that label. In the current general elections campaign, our lives have been disrupted – bombarded by politicians on all sides, especially through the media, selling us trinkets. It sometimes leaves one to lament the waste of our freedom which the two generations that have led the country since Independence have engineered through glorious promises for the future and a litany of pedantic achievements each election cycle.

Meanwhile, as usual, it has slowed down the economic, commercial and cultural life of the country. Unless the elections are called in July (and even then), it will also impact negatively on our summer tourism season. I have so many overseas-based Jamaicans telling me they are not coming until after the elections. The country has literally been put on election watch, for two long years, since the ruthless, acrimonious removal and replacement of the JLP leader followed by t h e protracted, deleterious presidential election campaign in the PNP. Our third generation of leadership is now at the helm of both parties, and one would have thought that by now we would have learnt from the experiences of others in our post-independence history.

The worst aspect of this chapter of our political life is the dismal lack of long-term vision for the nation gleaned from the speeches and promises from both sides. What we have been fed with daily are merely trivialities and banalities, examples of which I do not need to repeat ad nauseam, because they are doing such a good job of it themselves.

Not since the days of Marcus Garvey's UNIA movement in Jamaica have the majority of people been given a vision of themselves and their future potential based on our African ancestry and glorious history, including the significant achievements and contributions to civilised mankind the world over. This started in the Nile Valley and along the banks of the Niger River from about 2500 BC and diffused throughout Asia, America and Europe over time.

Although Garvey was made our first national hero in 1965, so far this has been but a formal gesture. I am convinced that there is a deliberate attempt to resist the dissemination of his teachings, principles and philosophies throughout the educational system. Thereby keeping the masses ignorant of their proud heritage and persisting the perpetuation of their mendicant mentality which plays right into the hands of the politicians.

To a large extent what the average Jamaican knows about Marcus Garvey and where they glimpse snippets of their unadulterated cultural essence is from songs written and performed by reggae artistes like Burning Spear, Bob Marley, Culture and others, who were inspired by Rastafari. Marley popularised Garvey's mandate to us to "emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but our selves can free our minds". It is good to be reminded of that lesson during these times. All elements within the entertainment sector should unite in calling for a comprehensive statement on cultural policy and objectives, as a central plank in the manifestos of all competing parties. I suggest this with some amount of cynicism, having read the Honourable Edward Seaga's piece, detailing empirical data which demonstrate that manifestos in the past have not been worth the paper they were written on because without exception, in practice they were mostly defaulted on. Old time people have a saying: "man have nuttin fi do go seaside go plait sand throw inna breeze".

On the entertainment circuit, I wish to add my commendations to the operators of Christopher's at the Quad in New Kingston and Village Café in Liguanea for their ongoing series of live shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They have certainly added quality and diversity to the live entertainment circuit in the corporate area and provided a launching pad for the careers of people like Rootz Underground. I have been attending some of these since January and had the opportunity to casually observe a new generation of acts honing their craft just under the radar of inevitable public acclaim. Both the Tuesday Nite Live series at Village as well as the live shows at Christopher's on Tuesday and Thursday are excellently produced technically and organisationally. This allows the budding talent on display a sophisticated environment in which to further develop their entertaining skills.

In this context, the high commitment and contribution of Dean Fraser to the creative development of this new generation of artistes continues to impress me. Throughout his three decades-plus of involvement in the Jamaican music industry, this gentleman (by nature) has gained such a high personal standard and knowledge while sustaining throughout an enormous level of energy and participation in developing, arranging and grooming other artistes that the entire entertainment sector owes him a massive debt of gratitude. For instance, in both series referred to above, Dean is presently working with some of the best young artistes who have appeared. In recent times I have seen two of these which I single out for mention.

Some weeks ago Christopher's had the group HUSH performing on one of their Thursday editions. The group demonstrated that individually they had good voices which through training, practice and continuous rehearsal they have honed to harmonise exquisitely. While their personal repertoire is still evolving, they showed a mastery of current and past popular songs which had the crowd raving for more. They even went into folk and Negro spiritual renditions and displayed the results of good training from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts through their stage craft, dancing skills, audience rapport and eloquent introductions of their songs. On top of all of this, the influence of Dean was not only obvious, but seemed to have been well learnt. This group has a bright future if they continue in the same vein.

In the summer of 2004, I first saw Tarrus Riley perform at Weekenz on their Improv series. It was clear from then that this artiste had inherited the sonorous voice of father Jimmy Riley and further possessed that kind of quiet charm and charisma which enhanced Dennis Brown's singing skills and helped to pivot him to stardom. Although his onstage projection was somewhat tentative that night (a trait that he has obviously overcome), the empress predicted correctly that the future was his to grasp because his music was already making waves in influential concentric circles. Of course, since then, his career has blossomed and I might add thanks in no small part to Dean for the quality of the arrangements and music behind Tarrus Riley's lyrics and singing. It is clear that his work with Dean has polished the diamond in the rough, as his performances nowadays are dynamic, intense and inspiring affairs. In my view Riley and Richie Spice are head of the next wave of acts that the world will soon be clamouring for. Let's continue to nurture them. 'The higher monkey climb, the more him expose.'