The missing link band5/1/2023 ![]() ![]() Hilderbrand, who was an elder among the Rhythm Mix band, used to be around MOSS during rehearsals and playouts. That link was Hilderbrand James whose father Gellineau James was a trumpet player in MOSS as well as saxophonist Ulric Simon, who was married to Hilderbrand’s aunt. There was a link from MOSS studio to PHAT TRAXX studio. The influence of MOSS International on these young pretenders was not just through listening to MOSS music. Frederick – the Don Charles of Rhythm Mix, if you please. The founding members were Hilderbrand James (vocals), now deceased Rowan Alexander (vocals) Mikey Berkeley (bass) Alison Williams (keyboard, then vocals) Rondolf Christopher (keyboards) and Nordley Frederick (guitar, then bass, then keyboards) and musical director. Rhythm Mix was founded in 1990 in Birchgrove, St Andrew. However, I submit that the shell is not a mandatory instrument in the Jab Jab rhythm. The shell was an unbelievable innovation by MOSS, which was followed by WCK that also included the shell in their hit song, “Conch Shell’’. He further argued that, “everybody feeling the music must have shell I don’t think so.” Dr Friday, in response to the same question, said simply, “the drum”. The congas, bongos and iron are what we try to re-create from the traditional Jab bands on the road”. He said, “the drums, especially the percussion. ![]() I asked Nordley what are the ingredients to this Jab Jab beat. However, there is no other person or group of persons that was more consistent in creating and playing Jab Jab Music. Dr Trevor Friday, a prominent musical arranger during that period, must be credited for his significant contribution. This is not to say that no one else did Jab rhythms. I am of the respectful view that Nordley Frederick – aka “Phat Traxx’’ and Rhythm Mix band – were the essential bridge from MOSS to Tallpree and, as such, constituted the missing link. MOSS, no doubt was the pioneer, in achieving that recreation. The challenge was to recreate that beat with more conventional instruments. Traditionally, Jab Jab masqueraders used goatskin drums, biscuit tins, plastic buckets and the like, to provide musical accompaniment to their singing or – as some would describe it – their chants. It is this distinctive drum beat which distinguishes Jab Jab Music from other soca sounds. This was explained by Ricky Charles, the MOSS International drummer, in the aforementioned “Jambalassie Rule” documentary. The drumbeat was then re-created using conventional musical instruments or music aids in a music studio. What is this Jab Music, though? Jab Jab Music, in its origin, is the rhythmic drum beat created by Jab Jab masqueraders. It is this period that I refer to as the “missing link’’. I submit that the music did not move from MOSS International to Tallpree or, should we say from St Mary’s Street, Grand Bras, to Vendome, or from 1991 to 2006. What happened to the music between the release of those two songs – “Jambalassie Rule’’ and “Ole Woman Alone’’? Who or what is the bridge? So, what happened with Jab Jab Music in the ensuing years following the release of “Jambalassie Rule”? To many commentators Tallpree’s “Ole Woman Alone’’ was the other “big’’ Jab Jab song, and it is “Ole Woman Alone’’ that propelled Tallpree to regional and international recognition and gave the music significant notoriety. Essentially, it also was a “lamppost’’ of Grenadian culture a signature point and a bright light. “Jambalassie Rule” was not only the creation of a Road March or the first Grenadian song to be nominated for a Caribbean music award in 1992. The result of which, was the birth of a unique and distinctive sound, essentially a derivative or branch of Soca music. It memorialises the creativity and genius of a group of young Grenadians embarking on a musical adventure. ![]() In short, the documentary is the story of Grenadianism of the consciousness to conventionalise, formalise and promote what is Grenadian. The making of the song is brilliantly captured in the “Jambalassie Rule” documentary, a must-see for every cultural enthusiast. It is well established that MOSS International’s “Jambalassie Rule” the winning Road March song of 1991, remains the watershed moment for the creation and breakout of Jab Jab Music. And ably assisting in this regard was “Tombstone” sung by Mandella Linkz. The victory by Hollice Mapp, aka Mr Killa, at the 2019 International Soca Monarch in Trinidad in some ways has been a crowning moment for the music and the Jab Jab culture. There is no doubt that Grenada’s Jab Jab culture – the masquerade and Jab Music – is gaining regional and international recognition and approval. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |