The old guard

 Jamaica has recently lost so many of the old guard singers who have rocked the world with great reggae music, the latest being Jimmy Cliff, that it's depressing.

And seeing how shaky the great Ernie Smith looked didn't help my feelings of unease.

Steve Higgins greets Ernie Smith 

In fact seeing him needing to sit on a stool to perform, reminded me of the last time I saw the late, great Pluto Shervington. He died about 3 weeks after I saw him perform (around 2years years ago,) while also needing a stool, as he was obviously not well. (JOAN, MY VIEWS.: A.J delivered! 💓)

The good thing about Ernie though is that although he looked very shaky, his voice was still powerful, so let's hope he will be around for many more years.

This event was the annual Christmas Carol service which I look forward to. 

This turned out to be much more than just regular affair though.

Apart from the pleasant surprise of having Ernie Smith appear, the Cuban pastor from a nearby church, also visited, all dressed in Jamaican colors and did a Bob Marley number.

 Not bad at all.

The other surprise appearance was by Father Richard Holung with some members of the 'Brothers of the Poor' and they too did a number.

Father Holung also looks shaky.

Father Holung greets Ernie Smith 

Bwoy, all my contemporaries are looking shaky, so I guess I am too.

Man I hate old age😡.

Well at least our Consul General is still young!😊

He loves to perform and did a decent job as usual.

And of course there was the performance from the regular choir, the South Florida Caribbean Chorale, and the organizer, Steve Higgins.

Steve Higgins always puts on good concerts and it's now a family affair, as his young son Matthew sometimes performs, and last night he brought on another son who plays the drums.

Steve Higgins in front on keyboard and son behind on drums.

I always enjoy his productions and saw many familiar faces, as we start gearing up for the Christmas holidays.🌲⛄☃️🌰

Pretty good start of the season.

Nb. Bernie Smith was buried Saturday 16th May 2026. Link: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/03/reggae-supreme.html?m=1.

Pluto's send off

 I don't think any country in the world has given more good music to the world than little Jamaica.

Unfortunately, most of our greatest artists are either dead or on the way out.

The latest departure (2024) was Pluto Shervington. His send off was wonderful.

This celebration of his life was held at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, a place where Pluto performed often, bringing great entertainment to thousands.

 

Incidentally, there was a musical tribute for the late great Bob Marley on the 6th February 2024, to mark his 79th birthday.

 The link is below.

https://www.youtube.com/live/eWtPgab1i4o?si=Iag-u7Jvb4D-Xg8p

And don't forget, the latest movie in his honor, "One Love", hits theatres worldwide Feb 14, 2024.

A.J delivered! 💓

The reason why I attended the advertised Christmas concert at the Redeeming Word Christian Center, was because the great A. J Brown was advertised as a performer!

And boy did he ever deliver!

                                        

The audience was so overwhelmed, that he had to do an immediate encore.

For the benefit of those who don't know of him, A.J. Brown is Jamaicans greatest tenor.

He started his career from the ninteen eighties as a cabaret singer at a few hotels on Jamaica's north coast. I don't know if he is properly appreciated in Jamaica, but he is so well known in classical music circles, that he spent five years performing on the famous Las Vegas strip.

About ten years ago, he released a classic C.D. with about eight great songs which had been made made famous by the three tenors, Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, and Placido Domingo. He sang in Italian, and If you closed your eyes, you would not have been able to distinguish him from any of them!

He is cooling down a bit now, as he is singing with Third World, a popular reggae/ pop band. 

While on stage with them recently however, he shocked the crowd by doing "Time to Say Goodbye"  from that album and in Italian too! 

He sang it last night and immediately elicited an encore. He obliged and I got goose bumps throughout! 

This was not a well organized affair though as it was advertised as a Christmas Concert when apparently the main purpose was to raise funds to buy sneakers for children in Jamaica who are still walking/ running barefooted in Jamaica in 2023.

 In true Jamaican bad planning style too, it started 45 minutes late😡.

It was a worthwhile fund raiser though but the main goal was in such small print at the bottom that I suspect, only the members of the church where it wasn't held knew what it was about.

Incidentally, the organizer who was introduced as Mr. Grange, said he is the brother of Jamaica's current Minister of Culture, the accomplished Olivia Gange, fondly called, Babsy.

At this concert, they also launched a go fund me  and took up contributions for a young man who was shot, while walking on the street.

These are really worthwhile projects, but not properly advertised. 

You can still donate to both by contacting  the organizers featured on the flyer above, though.

But back to the concert itself.

Consul General Mair with backup singers!

 It was held under the aegis of the Consul General of Jamaica. 

The incumbent, Oliver Mair is an outstanding thespian in his own right. 

He on several occasions last night, when we were getting a bit bored, took the stage and woke up the audience with his excellent comedy and general performance.

Consul General Oliver Mair, joins a performer on stage

Another star performer who was advertised was the once-great Pluto Shervington. I had no idea he was not well and had virtually lost his voice.   

Pluto had to sit on a stool

They played his hits in the background while he courageously attempted to recapture his luster.

My heart goes to him as he was once among the most prominent entertainers that Jamaica produced.

Listen to his monster hit, " Ram Goat Liver" here on You tube:

https://youtu.be/92etuOM3QrI?si=A1xg95W4xcadSmTn.

Incidentally, Ernie Smith, another great performer was there, but he was not asked to perform, so I suspect he may not be well either.

                                      

       The Cross family had good vibes.

Such a pity, as most as what is being produced as music in Jamaica these days, is not up to any standard!

With my friends Carol and Judy

Snippets from other performances.

An amusing skit was performed by Maxine Osborne and  her nephew Elijah.

Empress  Unique was excellent 

It’s Christmas 😊

I don’t normally go to church, unless its Christmas or if a very special person passes. 

Then I go to be with their family.

This is not because I am an atheist, but because I hate religion. For in my book, religion is the root of all the evils in the world, having caused most of the bloodshed over the centuries.

In my search for a civilized, non-violent religion, I had even looked into Buddhism one time. Then chaos reigned in Myanmar, and we saw the terrible images of Buddhist Monks, chasing out Rohingya Muslims, killing them and burning their villages.😡

That cured me instantly.

Obviously, the common thread among most religions seems to be vicious dogmatism which dictates that only my religion is the true one, so no one must enjoy this planet unless they subscribe to MY particular religious beliefs!

However I make the exception about avoiding religion and go to churches during Christmas, because I love Christmas music.

 In fact, not just Christmas music but Gospel music in general…….a hangover from the days when I was dragged into boring church services and the music was the only respite.😏

So, when in Jamaica, I even caroling with my friends in Lauristan, Spanish Town, on  Christmas mornings. 

This despite the community’s terrible reputation for violence. However, that problem only applies to small section on the banks of the Rio Cobre River, where squatters have settled.

The rest of the community has solid citizens and my friend Audley Nain, formerly of the Jamaica Folk Singers who is also president of the Citizens Association, started a Christmas ritual years ago whereby we would start at 5 am on Christmas morning,  knocking on peoples’ gates and singing carols loudly.

Then we all converge at the Community Centre where everyone would bring a dish, curried goat, jerk pork, turned cornmeal, hot chocolate, roast breadfruit and on and on😊.

After a sumptuous meal, the kids have their entertainment and we our dominoes, whatever.

How I miss those sessions, although I had the pleasure of joining them to celebrate Jamaica 60 this year. Joan, my views: Memories of Jamaica's 60th Anniversary celebrations. (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

But I am rambling aren’t I?

This was just a preamble to say how much I enjoyed the Christmas Concert at United Methodist Church in Plantation, Florida, which kicked off the season for me.

This was a Steve Higgins Production, in conjunction with the Consul General of Jamaica, featuring the South Florida Caribbean Chorale.

Steve Higgins as you probably know, is an excellent Jamaican tenor and cultural ambassador.

I enjoyed the entire concert, the interaction between the MC and audience, the music, and even the bits that the Jamaican Consul General to Miami performed.

He seems to be quite charismatic and talented.

I loved too how the choir and other performers switched from traditional Christmas Carols to Jamaican Christmas Carols written by the late, great, Noel Dexter and even one perforemd by Jamaican performer Pluto Shervington.

So, I have saved quite a few clips below for posterity. 

For posterity