Poetry: "Angle Ma Bizniz"

The system, its evident
Deprived them of eloquence
A quartet born in tropical climes
With the Cold War
Long since thawed they stepped
into an arena tainted
by boycott and dope plot
their spikes left an impression

on that Moscow track
No handicap too great
no one could detract
from their sterling exploits
So post-race fluency
Be damned
A far greater statement had already
been made
Fro when all
is done and said
The Luzhniki faithful
Used to names like Vasily, Alexy, Pyotr and Boris
were chanting:   Javere
                         Omar
                         Edino

and Javaughn instead

Brands News: Voice Mail skate on the "Fire Blade"

Jamaican pop-dancehall duo Voice Mail have officially been signed as Fire Blade Energy Drink Brand Ambassadors and will be representing the new beverage in Jamaica and overseas.

Fire Blade Energy Drink is fairly new on the local market but has already gotten great taste test reviews and general feedback since hitting the shelves earlier this year. The Austrian made product is marketed in Jamaica by Indies Pharma Jamaica and distributed by World Brand Services, a subsidiary of the Grace Kennedy Group of companies

As the Energy Drink’s Brand Ambassadors, Kevin and Craig will be involved in the company’s advertising campaign to be launched in a matter of days as well as making numerous public and performance appearances in Jamaica, the Caribbean and The United States.

The Duo sees this as proof that their effort and input in the Jamaican music industry has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

Voicemail has 'upped the ante' this Summer with numerous releases including ‘Gyal Instruction' featuring Skinny Fabulous on the Guacamole & Chips riddim and ‘Fat Pocket’ on the Goosebumps riddim, the Video for the latter has already hit number 1 on Hit List’s local top 10 video chart.

‘Fire Blade is a high energy product and Voicemail has the high energy image, it’s natural that the brands would be a great fit’ Craig mentioned when asked about the synergy. ‘We are grateful for the opportunity to work with a fresh new high energy brand because Voicemail is constantly evolving and we are a constant voice in the local industry.

Burke's Works: Artist Inansi's Arresting Alchemy of Colour, Shape and Emotions

"That man is a success

who has lived well,
Laughed often and loved much;
Who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of
children;
Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
Who leaves the world better than he found it,
Whether by a perfect poem or a rescued soul,
Who never lacked appreciation of the earth's beauty or failed to
express it;
Who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had."

--Robert Louis Stevenson

The above quote was, ironically, not included in a revealing and engaging parlour game of artist/artistic quotations that comprised the centrepiece of the opening of the solo show by artist Nancy Burke (who signs as INANSI) at Kingston's Cafe What's On Friday last, but it may as well have been. It aptly describes the range and impact of her portfolio -  a cornucopia of colour and shape which in its totality represented only a fraction of what Burke has produced over a lifetime of devotion to art and crafts.

"Heartfelt"

led by sister Virginia, herself a mutli-faceted (graphic artist, cookbook author, businesswoman) the exercise called upon guests at the show to read

Usain

select quotes (alphabetically coded) from the likes of Oscar Wilde, Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Scott Adams (the cartoonist of "Dilbert" fame).

After each quote, Virginia, with timely interventions from her sister and other guests, filled in the gathering on "the back story" as it were, of Nancy's artistic life, from naturistic beginnings to sojourns in London and New York, to running -together - the art-based business Art Beat. (The name has survived, but the initial business in NYC was beat back by high costs and dodgy customers), with intervening stints as a flight attendant with the former Air Jamaica.

As stated, the works on display reflect a wide range of fascinations and ideas, from representing the faces  of famous persons, like Usain Bolt and Grace Jones, on smooth stones, to personal catharsis "Heartfelt" and keen, sensitive observations of contemporary urban landscapes. On the latter score, her assemblages of various city scapes, piecing together the flotsam and jetsam of today's convenience-driven world, bring the challenges and the complexities of our present-day life into sharp focus, and with a welcome sprinkle of good humour.

Big Rat

The occasion was in fact a double treat as it also marked the birthday of What's On proprietor Suzanne Couch, herself capable of weaving magic in the culinary and musical spheres. There wraps, wine  and other goodies courtesy of her more-than-capable kitchen, and the obligatory birthday cake in sumptuous chocolate. In between repeated casual and serious viewings of the works, there were conversations on a plethora of subjects, some sparked by a particular piece, others just  issuing forth on their own steam. Its the kind of vibe that one would expect from an artist of Burke's sensibilities - no great airs, no stuffiness, but serious dedication to producing the work that best represents her states of "heart and mind" in the present, and the kind of work  which, like the verbal expressions of the famous quoted subjects, will stand for quite some time.

"Winter Reflections"

"Paper Goddess"

Inansi

Movie review

All's Fair In Love and Crime: Get Lucky

Thieves who steal from thieves. Love and romance - of a fashion - amongst the gritty London underworld. Car chases, boat chases, beat-ups, close calls and shodowns in abandoned lots. They're familiar calling cards but in this plucky, if somewhat demanding little thriller, they don't lose much for all their familiarity.

Lucky is a small time criminal and he's happy just getting by until he agrees to look after some counterfeit money for a friend who is in a bit of trouble with the law Two months go by without a word from him so Lucky burns the 'funny money' to avoid problems for himself. The resulting fire means a trip to the emergency room where he meets Bridget and his charm has her agreeing to go out with him. Their date goes well until the end when two hoods bundle him into the back of their car. It appea
rs that they had bought the 'funny money' from Lucky's friend and they want it back - all £150,000 or Lucky will end up like his friend. Lucky needs to score big so he teams up with an old mate who is planning a big casino heist with a couple of other gangsters who's day job is collecting protection money for 'Mr Big'. The are looking to earn a bit of money 'on the side'. The heist goes almost according to plan but with one small problem - there's minimal cash and the rest is in bonds. It all starts to go wrong immediately. A prostitute who they have hired steals the bonds and the getaway car is stolen. Worse is yet to come. The two gangsters have not done their homework and they've actually just robbed 'Mr Big's casino. Their only chance to avoid their boss's severe retribution is to get the stuff back.

Director Sacha Bennett works the script (by the accomplished TJ Ramini and Walter Taylaur) with appreciable gusto, and whilst the acting is decidedly uneven, diminutive lead Luke Treadway as Lucky and a several of the "bit players" stand out in their respective spaces in the plot.

If you're not that used to the dialogue, this film may take a second screening to get used to but, its worth it if you like fast-paced action, spiced with a little sex (including a humourous incident involving a prostitute and one of the robbers).

In other words, its the perfect candidate for Testosterone Theatre. Sit back and dig in.

Magris x three: the latest offerings

Even by jazz standards (no pun intended), piano man Roberto Magris' creativity knows almost no bounds judging from his prolific output to date. Scarcely had I digested the last two, the consummately excellent "Alien on a BeBop Planet"
, and "One Night in With Hope and More, Vol.1", when Magris and his varied, ever-changing list of collaborators has sprung forth not two, but three new discs. The discs continue thematically in veins similar to that which he has previously mined; there is, instead of the Lee Morgan Tribute (which has so far taken up two full-lengths) a Cannonball Adderly tribute disc, and instead of Kansas City (though that storied jazz locale still features indirectly) there's a Philly exploration, aided by the Philly alto master (and Odean Pope Saxophone Choir alum) Sam Reed.

Of the trio, my favourite is in fact the Reed disc, titled  "Ready for Reed". For fans of straight-up post-bop with appropriate and finely balanced twists, this is an essential addition to your collection. Reed is in great form, and the simpatico between himself, the leader and the band as a whole shines through - almost to the point where it seems, only seems, mind you, that there is no leader. But of course, this is a Magris disc.

There's also - wait for it! - a follow-up

 to the One Night in with Hope project. Through out all these musical explorations, Magris not only keeps it fresh with the compositions and expositions, but manages, as always, to get maximum commitment and verve out of his musical cohorts. It begins in bouncy style with Herbie Nichols' "Third World" and runs through selections from Mal Waldron, Elmo Hope, of course, and -as to be expected - a couple of originals from Magris himself.


Music aficionados can continue in gratitude to the Italian-born instrumentalist as he mines the great troves of bop and post-bop tradition and takes them out for some fresh spins. Hail Magris!

Movie Review

This Is NOT A Dancehall Movie

One of the interesting and thought provoking entrants to this year's Reggae Film Festival set for August 1-5 at the Island Village in Ocho Rios, Jamaica is LOSING PARADISE & MUSIC, documentary film directed and produced by the multi-talented Jamaican-born singer, stage and screen actress, Claudja Barry.

Barry, who is greatly anticipation the showing of her documentary at the festival, says she'll also looking forward to joining the likes of leading female dub poetess, Cherry Natural and Reggae/Dancehall aficionado, Dr. Carolyn Cooper, in panel discussion of her creation, "Losing Paradise & Music".

According to Barry, "Losing Paradise & Music documents the negative impact Reggae/Dancehall music is having on society. However, Barry is of the view the language of Dancehall and the attitude of its performers send a negative voice to Jamaican youth and to the rest of the world.

Many of the persons appearing in the documentary echo a similar sentiment, and do feel Jamaica has become a culture of violence and that sending this message through its music, doesn’t help.

Barry, who is greatly anticipation the showing of her documentary at the festival, says she'll also looking forward to joining the likes of leading female dub poetess, Cherry Natural and Reggae/Dancehall aficionado, Dr. Carolyn Cooper, in panel discussion of her creation, "Losing Paradise & Music".

According to Barry, "Losing Paradise & Music documents the negative impact Reggae/Dancehall music is having on society. However, Barry is of the view the language of Dancehall and the attitude of its performers send a negative voice to Jamaican youth and to the rest of the world.

Many of the persons appearing in the documentary echo a similar sentiment, and do feel Jamaica has become a culture of violence and that sending this message through its music, doesn’t help.

Barry, who set out to hear the views of a wide group of Jamaicans on why Dancehall music has taken on such a dark image, admitted the documentary was a result of a personal quest to know if there were any redeeming qualities about Dancehall, which has taken on some sort of mystic persona by become the dominant sound emanating out of bowels of the Jamaica people over the past 20 odd years.

"I wanted to find out if Bob Marley's message of love, respect and caring were prominent in the music of today, which is dancehall, and if the current artistes are holding up the standards set by Marley and those of his era," says Barry, who interviewed psychologists, family life specialists, doctors and musicians for the project.

Losing Paradise & Music, which curiously zoomed in on dancehall's dark side, debuted on OMNI 1 TV in Canada earlier this year (February 17). And having chosen to look on the darker side of the music, one can't help but wanting to know whether Barry was about censorship.

"As an artiste, I don't believe in censoring others' creative output, but where I draw the line is when society fails to realize that without exposure to other forms of music, some people limit themselves emotionally, which will limit how the whole person develops," says Barry, a Jamaica who grew up in Canada.

According to Barry, she understands there are a generation of listeners who have heard only dancehall reggae and obviously enjoy that form of music.

I'm in no way trying to change anyone's preference, but, there should be music appreciation in schools, so that from an early age all children would have knowledge of all types of music," says Barry, who studied acting at the world-famous Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City, then studied voice in Berlin and Vienna. She has also recorded several albums and appeared in the 1985 movie, Rappin', and was inducted into the Canadian Black Music Hall of Fame in 2003.

Wellness Fest (Black As Cole) Pt II: I-Frica, the Unrepentant Queen

Those thinking that the public outcry against her mini-invective against gays and pro-cannabis at the recent Independence Grand Gala would have chastened Queen I-frica were stopped in their tracks at Devon House on Saturday evening when the roots reggae artiste performed in the waning moments of the Reve Wellness fest.

Queen I-frica

After her usual admonishments to the sound crew in relation to getting her tracks in order ,the "Queen" issued a call-out to all the "straight" people in the house and got a fervent response in the affirmative that gave her all the juice she needed to go into "Keep It To Yuself" which in turn received the inevitable massive forwards. Neither did she restrain herself in her spoken pronouncements, though she did humourously acknowledge that "certain quarters" would rather she hadn't said what she said.

Her brief but lively stint offered yet another performance highlight following on the stellar earlier displays by reggae bands Black As Cole and Jewelz

Still Black As Cole....and better than ever

Anyone still questioning the future and potential of our indigenous reggae idiom [it means you haven't closely followed this blog :-) ] ought to have found themselves at the North (?) lawn of Devon House on Saturday. On that occasion, not only did female-led sextet Black As Cole reaffirm their status as the pre-eminent new reggae outfit in the land, but there was an added treat.

As the summer afternoon sun warmed up to critical mass (a strong hint of rain), the growing and enthusiastic crowd were treated to a similarly robust showing from

all-woman band Jewelz

an all-female outfit, dubbed Jewelz. Their repertoire on the day was, to my ears, limited to covers, but they were well executed, and spanned the gamut from Bob Marley and Lauren Hill to Chronixx.

That then set the stage for Black As Cole frontwoman Cecile, pleasantly reminiscent of the DapKings leader Sharon Jones and, if anything, even more soulful.With the supporting cast throwing down some irresistible grooves (especially bass player and partner Craig Cole who dished up bass lines that were both thick as mud and yet refined as glass), they took the crowd throu

Black As Cole band from Wellness fest 2012

gh a diverse collection of tunes, from the funky "Lovesick" to the mid-tempo "Maybe" and the socially conscious "Woman". Live music from both groups that well and truly lives up to the tag. A musical prescription that delivered wellness.

The performance was among several features of this year's renewal of the Reve Wellness festival, presented by jewellry and accessories designers Reve jewellery (Teasea and Duane Bennett. A wide range of quality and innovative art and craft items was also available