Remembering Jamaican legend Bob Andy on his birthday

Raising a glass to singer/songwriter Bob Andy with a few interviews and his Song Book album for Studio One.

LINKS
Bob Andy's Trojan Records Playlist

Jay Douglas featured in Play It Loud! doc on Toronto's Jamaican connection

Jamaican-born, Toronto-based soul great Jay Douglas stars in Graeme Mathieson's forthcoming film Play It Loud! Check the trailer.

Here's the scoop...

Early 1960’s Toronto was a mostly white, Anglo-centric city. Beneath this veneer of Conservative respectability, an exciting underground music scene emerged, created by a Jamaican diaspora including newcomers like Jackie Mittoo, Wayne McGhie and a teenageJay Douglas. Battling racism and indifference, they made an indelible, but little appreciated mark on Canadian music and culture. Six decades later, Jay Douglas is still carrying the torch for Jamaican music, and enjoying the recognition and respect he has long craved.

Play it Loud! (set for release via TVO Docs in February, 2025) is a feature documentary that tells the little known story of how Jamaican music became a critical and unlikely part of Canadian culture. The film reveals a social and cultural migration that made Canada a  mecca for Jamaican music, recognized around the world, but little heralded at home. This story is told through the life, music, struggles and triumphs of beloved Jamaican Canadian singer Jay Douglas. Born as Clive Pinnock, in rural Jamaica to a single mother, Douglas began performing professionally at 17 and has never stopped. Today, nearly 60 years later, he’s more popular than ever. 

For more info, clips and theatre screening dates, check the site: https://www.playitlouddoc.com/ 

Watch the Play It Loud! trailer below. 

The Sound of Rhythms & Resistance w/ Jay Douglas, Nana McLean @ TD Music Hall, Nov 4

Jay Douglas highlights a salute to Toronto's Caribbean music legacy at TD Music Hall (178 Victoria) on Saturday at 8 pm.

THE SOUND OF RHYTHMS & RESISTANCE

featuring: JAY DOUGLAS, NANA McLEAN, AMMOYE & KAiRO McLEAN

house band: THE HUMAN RIGHTS

with Rayzalution & DJ Chocolate

MC Carrie Mullings

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4

at TD MUSIC HALL 

178 Victoria Street, Toronto

8pm doors

$30 (plus charges) advance. Get tickets from TD Music Hall here. 

The Sound of Rhythms and Resistance builds on the Toronto Music Experience’s acclaimed exhibition at Friars Music Museum (which was produced in association with the Downtown Yonge BIA) in celebrating the rich legacy of reggae in Toronto. Audiences will hear music from the originators who came here from Jamaica in the 1960s and 70s through to today's innovators. The evening will feature much-loved veteran artists Jay Douglas and Nana McLean and contemporary stars Ammoye (7-time JUNO nominee) and 2-time JUNO winner Kairo McLean, all backed by our house band, The Human Rights. The opening set will be by all-female band Rayzalution, with DJ Chocolate and MC Carrie Mullings.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jay Douglas

Jay Douglas is a 3-time JUNO award nominee, music producer and bandleader of the Jay Douglas All-Star Band and performed in the first Caribana parade in 1967 as a member of The Cougars. He has performed at various festivals worldwide, including Rastafest in Toronto and the 4 Seasons Reggae Cruise in Atlanta, Georgia. He has worked with international reggae stars such as Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Luciano, Ken Boothe, Leroy Sibbles, Sly Dunbar, General Trees, Ziggy Marley, Lynn Taitt and guitar great Ernest Ranglin. Jay played a crucial role in Light In The Attic's important Jamaica To Toronto anthology and their 2004 reissue of the classic Wayne McGhie & The Sounds Of Joy album. Jay has been involved in a great deal of community work including working with Councillor Josh Colle to establish Reggae Lane in Toronto. Listen to Jay's new Sly Dunbar-produced single, "The World Is Troubled" featuring Tasha T (below).

Nana McLean

Nana McLean recorded her debut single in 1977 at Studio One for legendary producer Clement Coxsone Dodd, with a rendition of the Everly Brothers' classic ‘Till I Kissed You’ (listen below). After four decades, she is still one of reggae music’s premier artists and proudly wears the crown as the Queen of Reggae in Canada. On any given day, you can find Nana still busy in the studio recording songs as she has been doing for many years. She still receives calls from many notable producers who want to capture her unique and sweet vocals and potent lyrics on their latest riddims. Popular music selectors still reach out for dubplates of some of her biggest hits.

Ammoye

Singing songs of love, life and justice, 7-time JUNO nomine Ammoye delivers a wholly unique future forward reggae sound that incorporates old-school rocksteady dancehall and dubstep, with gospel, soul and R&B. With her infectious voice and messages of empowerment, Jamaican-born Ammoye is a lightworker and self declared soul rebel. Ammoye’s newest 13-track album Water features a who’s who of the contemporary international reggae scene with production from Jamaica’s Tandra Lytes Jhagroo and Natural High, Toronto’s own DJ Agile and Danny Maestro, The Senior Allstars from Germany, Thomas Blondet from Brooklyn, Adian Hanson Donsome of NYC’s Donsome Records and the legendary Lord SassaFras.

Kairo McLean

Winner of two consecutive JUNO Awards at the age of 14, Kairo McLean was two years old he began to show an interest in music and by the time he was 3 he was already playing drums. At 5 he picked up the acoustic guitar and by 6 he was already singing and performing at festivals. To call this child a natural would be an understatement. Kairo is a true scholar of reggae music. He is deeply familiar with all the artists in the genre, past records, musicians, producers and sound systems, details that only the most studied connoisseur of reggae would know. When it comes to his own compositions, Kairo is as “old school” as it gets, drawing influence from Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs.

The Human Rights

Since they came together in 2007 around one of the Toronto reggae scene’s true lions, Friendlyness (Big Sugar, Culture Shock, Truth And Rights), The Human Rights have become one of the most beloved and respected Canadian independent reggae bands. In 2014, our longtime bredren Tréson joined the band to give them a uniquely powerful two-man vocal front line that delivers roots reggae, soul, R&B and dancehall vibes. They have played over 200 club and festival shows across Canada, and earlier this year toured the United States for the first time; and will be playing at the New Orleans Reggae Festival this October.

Rayzalution

This all-female reggae band draws influences from greats such as Bob Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Third World, Morgan Heritage, Chronixx & Zinc Fence Band, Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Destiny’s Child, and En Vouge. With powerful vocals they combine heavenly harmonies with exceptional musicianship and dynamic performances, the band promotes positivity and spreads a conscious message while still having a good time entertaining the audience. The band has shared the stage with international reggae acts such as: Maxi Priest, Freddie McGregor, Baby Cham, Shanchez, Romain Virgo, Dexta Daps, Mikey Spice, Beenie-Man, I-Wayne, Razor B, Marcia Griffiths, Lady G, Sister Nancy and the Mighty Diamonds to name a few.

DJ Chocolate

Whether it’s playing music, working as a lawyer, furthering this business of music with her two

companies or at the controls and decks of her radio show, DJ Chocolate never sleeps! Chocolate has been sharing the vibes on stage and on radio and at parties and concerts across North America for over thirty years alongside greats from the reggae and jungle world, including Burning Spear, Luciano, the second-generation Marleys, Sly & Robbie, Meta and the Cornerstones, Exco Levi and countless others. Most recently, she joined a well-known sound crew based in the US. Jamaica and Barbados called Hardcore International Music.

MC Carrie Mullings

Born into a musical family, Carrie Mullings was surrounded by the sounds of reggae music from an early age. Her father, the late Karl Winston Mullings, was a pioneer of the Jamaica to Toronto musical explosion and shared his gift with Carrie and her younger sister, Tanya. For over two decades, Carrie Mullings has been a force to be reckoned with in the Canadian music and media industries. She has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the Canadian reggae music infrastructure, bringing the genre into the forefront of worldwide recognition and reception. Celebrating her 20th year in radio broadcasting, Carrie continues to empower the community by sharing and uplifting through the airwaves.

 

Happy Birthday Wayne Wade!

Celebrating Wayne Wade's birthday with the Yabby You-produced "Lord Of Lords" single from 1976. 

Rare early ska footage from Jamaica uncovered

Check out the amazing vintage clips featuring the Blues Busters, Byron Lee & The Dragonaires and others.

Making Ital Stew with Sazi aka Rasta Tony

It's much easier to follow Sazi's recipe if you happen to live near Port Antonio on Jamaica's northeast coast.

Lego replay: Usain Bolt wins gold!