Reggae at 50

Groundins
by Charles H.E. Campbell

OLD time people used to say: "Cow don't know di use a him tail till him lose it."

Outside of formal sessions, I have been having a series of discussions with delegates attending the University of the West Indies' Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) 50/50 conference. The most popular issue that these delegates have raised with me time and again is the current raging debate about whether Jamaica is the headquarters of reggae.
Using any objective measuring stick, be it size, and frequency of festivals and shows, volume of music products sold, or successful artists/musicians, sadly we are no longer in pole position.

Those readers that follow my columns already know that as painful as it is for me, personally, to admit, on the issue of whether Jamaica is still the headquarters of reggae, I stand squarely with Lloyd Stanbury. While a lot of revisionists have been attempting to distort the accurate genesis and history of reggae music, and we have not taken decisive steps to protect our musical legacy, it is beyond dispute that Jamaica is the birthplace of reggae. For me, to find it necessary to even state that fact, is a symptom of our dismal failure, as a country and an industry, to ensure that Jamaica is given due recognition for the creation of this internationally popular musical genre.

The more profound issue at the moment however, is whether or not Jamaica is entirely missing the boat, in terms of not exploiting the true potential to make substantial foreign exchange earnings from marketing this unique national resource. European countries like Germany and France, which I accept are larger economies than ours, are generating more annual revenue from the production and distribution of reggae related products as well as the staging of live shows. For example, between those two countries alone, there are more than 500 ska bands, yet Jamaica struggles to sustain only two. YARD Beat was formed in 1995 and released their first album 'Strait from Yard', in North America, over 10 years ago. Currently, they are in studio putting the final touches to an impending release called Ska Magic. This group includes a roster of stellar musicians such as Barry Bailey - trombone, Everton Gayle - sax, Vivian Scott - trumpet, Keith Francis - bass, Patrick Anderson - drums, Joy Fairclough and Anthony Johnson on keyboard and Portland White on guitar.

Yard Beat

The second aggregation, appropriately called Ska Rebirth, is lead by the legendary Sparrow Martin, master drummer and director of the Alpha Boys School music programme. The group essentially consists of past students from that institution. They have made the Skatalites' foundation catalogue a major part of their repertoire. Ska Rebirth did a scintillating performance at the Jubilee village during our recent independence celebrations which achieved worldwide media coverage. One German media house in particular, in reporting stated: "Sparrow Martin, Ska Rebirth... Ska God... terrible among men."

Ska Rebirth

The reality is that because of our failure to sustain ska's popularity locally, Jamaica has never had more than two locally based active ska bands at any point in our history. While a lot of artistes and musicians include ska songs and or tunes, as a part of their repertoire, we have had very few successful Jamaican bands devoted exclusively to the genre.

This is just the tip of the iceberg... more anon.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Reggae-at-50_12346397#ixzz24gZYXp9Z

Jamaica Land We Love

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

Having the opportunity to travel around the country three times in the last three weeks, while assisting the Jamaica 50 Parish Committees, with the planning and execution of Jamaica’s Golden Jubilee commemorative events on the 5th and 6th of August, reinforced my love and admiration for the Jamaican people and our cultural identity.

These Committees in the outlying parishes are mostly drawn from the JCDC, professional classes, civil servants, the political directorate and Custodes. They give of their time voluntarily in developing and managing various aspects of the celebratory activities in each parish. What I experienced with each and every committee was their strong sense of pride in Jamaica and commitment to the task at hand, fully recognizing that Jamaica was the centre of attraction for the rest of the world during this special period. They all went about their tasks in a very civil collaborative and dignified manner, which made the hard work and long hours necessary for implementing this ambitious project more worth it.

‘Man plan an God wipe out. ‘... (Jamaican Proverb) With their strong faith in God and convinced that He would not rob us the opportunity to celebrate this unique, once in a lifetime occasion, even when Tropical Storm Ernesto threatened to derail all our careful planning, these patriotic Jamaicans doggedly persevered in carrying forward the execution of their tasks, sometimes under extremely adverse weather conditions. Their efforts were richly rewarded by the throngs of ordinary Jamaicans, dressed in our national colours, in such an array of styles and fashions that one could not escape being caught up in the intense patriotic spirit and fervour on display in each parish capitol.

A large section of the crowd, at the Jamaica 50 Grand Gala

The decision of the Jamaica 50 secretariat to place screens in all the parishes broadcasting the Olympic races in which our athletes participated was an insightful decision in hindsight. Just before each race, the park in Mandeville for instance would suddenly and almost mysteriously swell with people wanting to watch and cheer our athletes on. When they excelled, the jubilation was contagious and uniquely Jamaican in its character. While the National Anthem was being played at the Grand Gala all the Jamaicans in the Mandeville Park properly stood at attention and most sang along with utmost respect, pride and dignity in being Jamaican.

Half Way Tree Square during the female 100M race at the 2012 London Olympics

These events have established a higher uniform national standard in most parishes, with the exception of Montego Bay, where for many years they have traditionally staged an event of this stature. One of the legacies of the Jamaica 50 Secretariat, if the blueprint is closely followed in ensuing years, will be a significant upgrade in the physical layout and technical equipment used in the staging of national events around the country. Given Jamaica’s reputation for the staging of world famous events and a national objective to convert this into increased tourism earnings, these events, were transformed, to meet the minimum international standards in one fell swoop.

EMAIL: che.campbell@gmail.com