Roots of Music

I had no idea what to expect last night when we headed out to attend the second annual  "American Roots of Jamaican Music" at Pompano Beach, but I should have known it would be excellent, since it was my cousin, the outstanding musician Barry Smith (aka Colin,) leader/founder of the great Tallawah mento band who told me about it.

It delivered beyond my wildest dreams however, not only because of the entertaining musical journey we were taken on by the energetic band, dancers and singers as they delivered memorable pieces from mento, ska, rocksteady and reggae, but also the entire night (almost five wonderful hours) were extremely educational.


Reality is that a number of us Jamaican modern-day chauvinists, often boast how American hip-hop evolved from our own dancehall music and the age-old culture of toasting at parties but have never stopped to appreciate how we too picked up so much from American greats. So when the outstanding Musician/ MC/ Arranger/Producer Eugene Grey led his band through some of the pieces from some of the American musicians from the 40's and 50's like Louis Jordan, Fats Domino etc  while simultaneously explaining how they influenced local musicians experimenting with various genres as they sought a unique sound of their own, it was a real eye-opener. ( This was during the "olden days" when  the only music Jamaicans heard came from radio !)

What I  especially appreciated last night too was how many often invisible Jamaica pioneers were recognized. These included old timers like persons like Lord Flea, Harry Belafonte and Count Lasha, for god knows many of us who revel in Jamaican music have never heard of some of these people except maybe Belafonte, who is internationally acclaimed.

There are also many outstanding musicians behind the scenes in small bands and even well-known early bands like Roland Alphonso's, Kes Chin and the Souvenirs, Carlos Malcolm, the Skatallites etc who deserve special recognition, but few of us even knew their names.  So when the  Music Excellence Awards were presented to persons like Lord Creator, Billy Vernon, Bobby Aitken, Fred Campbell, Trevor Lopez, or their representatives,  it was exposing some of us for the first time about their contributions to our great music genres.

Eugene Grey's band and dancers in action

Yes, for years we in Jamaica and the international community have known and regaled super-stars like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Shaggy etc but unfortunately until now, too little has been done to recognize most of the musical pioneers who paved the way and opened the doors for them.

After that presentation, I have nothing but praise for the organizer Eugene Grey, while admitting that he too was one of the greats I had never heard of before last night. For like so many others, he remained buried in the background of bands that brought us great music. I even learned that he played in and composed music for bands touring the world while backing many of my favorites like Toots and the Maytals, Culture, Joseph Hill, Sabrina Williams and he was even part of Jamaica's best dance band, Fab 5!

The outstanding musician Eugene Grey

I now salute him for his contribution over almost fifty years of bringing Jamaican music to the fore and now, with an equally dedicated team, conceptualizing the Amerian Roots of Jamaican music.

Even more commendable, we learned that the proceedings from that most entertaining night were not for profit but to assist underserved youth.

Big up the Rootz of Music for their vision and performance which so enthralled me that I had to exhort my cousin, Barry, to book me a ticket for next year's event!