A warm welcome for "Sir Coxsone": Jamaica Gleaner



A warm welcome for 'Sir Coxsone'
published: Monday | September 29, 2003


Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd

JUDGING BY numbers, Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd had a small homecoming session on Saturday night.
The turnout was very small and the night quite chilly, but the session had everything else going for it in terms of quality music, quality artistes and good old-fashioned community vibes.

Held at the Saffu Yard at Charles Town in Portland, the event took the dedicated few who had attended to the roots of reggae, and brought them up close to a few of the pioneers of the Studio One era.

Under a star-filled Portland sky, the lawns of Saffu Yard were fresh and were gently touched by dew. Outside the lawns, a few booths offered boiled corn, soup, freshly-cut cane, other fruits and cooked food.

Inside, the Vintage Rounded sound system from St. Thomas juggled old hits while children ran around freely and their parents sang along to the tunes. The adults seemed content with just singing or just rocking slowly.

The Maroon atmosphere was created when the Nayamka Drummers from Port Antonio took the stage. All decked out in African garb, the six men and three women who performed put a spell on the small crowd. They drummed and danced for half an hour without pause, sending a few patrons twirling and spinning with delight.

OVERWHELMED PATRON

Apparently impressed, one exuberant patron who seemed 'under his rum' went to the edge of the stage and started his own form of drumming. With his bare hands he passionately beat the wooden floor of the stage for a good 10 minutes. He beat the stage with such force that were he sober, he would have stopped in pain long before.

At showtime, ace selector King Stit did emcee duties, describing each performer before they took the stage. A frisky Jim Nastic was first. He walked and danced around the small stage constantly, and did some quick knee lifts from time to time. For the small crowd, just to hear the songs live seemed enough because they applauded Nastic almost at his every word. He went through his catalogue and did Calypso Calypso ,Reggae Galore and two more, before ending it with Chanting .

Junior Murvin was cool and easy as he breezed through Bad Man Posse ,Police and Tief and Cool Out Son . While performing, Murvin urged the young ones who were present to listen to his lyrics and take heed.

Jennifer Lara took the stage in a warm and mellow mood. Accompanied by Nathan Sawyers, she urged the few inside to congregate at the stage, which they did, and she looked in their eyes as she sang the all-time favourite Consider Me .

Teaming up with Sawyers they went close to each other, looked lovingly into each other's eyes and did a romantic performance of Sugar Candy , stopping it and starting it three times due to the crowd response.

The Lone Ranger also teased the crowd in his full blue suit. He engaged the crowd asking them to clap, sing along or wave as he performed. He capped it off however when he did Love Bump , cutting through the chill of the night and warming up the venue with his hits.

Posted: Thu - October 9, 2003 at 05:31 PM      

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