“You playin’ too fast,” a recurring line heard by the young and recently inducted members of Eddie and the Movements, “You got to play slow like the Trinidadians.” “But we kept that tempo,” explains Nick “Daddy” Friday in a 2002 interview with TV2. “Jam Band kept that speed and changed the way Calypso is being played throughout the entire Caribbean,” he furthers. The foundation of Jam Band’s style of Calypso is the repetitive and deeply African rhythm, plus the powerful and flowing lead voice. That distinct Jam Band style is based heavily in the percussion section. Back in the days of the Movements, the percussion section included (but definitely not limited to) drum set, cow bells, congas, shakas, a washboard, tire drums, and pretty much anything that would make a nice sound. Since the early nineties the electronic rhythm box started to be utilized in addition to the drum set (a crucial evolution in present day Calypso music, introduced by the Imaginations Brass). Jam Band style is a consistent inoculation of musical adrenaline that inclines the body to move regardless of age, race, or gender. That distinctive style has migrated and has been copied throughout the Caribbean; you can see it in what Trinidad artists now call ‘Power Soca.’ “Those African rhythms mixed with the local Island flavor of Calypso jumps out at you,” Friday states, and “as you turn your radio on, you say, that’s Jam Band.”
The Jam Band as an entity has been at the summit of Virgin Islands Calypso for more than twenty years. Within the band, there has been an ebb and flow of membership; all have had an impact on what the band is today. The most recent roster is a virtual all-star cast. Apart from the original members, the resumes of the recent additions are littered with experience. Roll Call: Ambrose “Boots” Smith (Trumpet, Established Member), Lenny Monsanto (Drums, Imaginations Brass), Henry “Junie” Wilock (Bass, the Violators), Halvor Hart III (Lead Vocals, Sax, Established Member), Alwyn “Daddy Jones” Baptise Jr. (Keyboard, the Violators), Aubain Chinnery (Trombone), Sean Stevens (Guitar, the Violators), Kwane “Bosco” Bartlett (Sound Engineer) and the Moving Staff. Other members of Jam Band are the two new lead vocalists; Sasso and Panta. As described by Daddy Jones, “Jevon Sasso is a great singer and is perfect for the integration of R&B, Pop, or Dancehall songs into the Jam Band Style. Panta has the image and focus of the people, which you need and I believe the two of them will be a perfect combination.”
After the passing of Daddy Friday, skeptics thought the band would drop off and potential competitors saw an even playing fi eld. As Halvor spoke in an interview with CORE he explained, “Jam Band will always have the heart of the people, we have a style of our own that no one can duplicate. In the past the image was that if Friday did not come to the jam, people would not come out. After his passing, the reality hit the masses, which he is not going to be there anymore. If you wanted to hear that authentic Jam Band style, you had to come out, and the promoters have been there for us and fans at home and abroad pulled behind us and supported.” When asked about the local government’s attitude towards the band Halvor said, “Jam Band has been criticized for years by the government because of the violence we were “supposedly” creating. But when we stopped playing for a while after Nick’s passing, people saw that it is a basic social problem, not just here in the VI, but worldwide.
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I feel the government should look at Jam Band in a different light, though. If we take a look at the way bands downisland are being pushed by their own, like Burning Flames (Antigua & Barbuda), Krosfyah (Barbados), WCK (Dominica), Machel and Xtatic (Trinidad & Tobago), and so on, you will see that the Tourism department of each respective country uses their local stars and their music to market t h e m s e l v e s abroad. To m e ; what better way to market your country than to have the bands as ambassadors musically; we go to all the places they are marketing to such as Florida, New York, Atlanta, multiple times a year. It would just make sense to follow suit, at the very least it would be something tangible and authentic.” When speaking on the issue of exposure for local artists, Sean Stevens relates, “It basically boils down to population. Here in the Virgin Islands we have quality artists that can compete on any level in any genre of music; jazz, reggae, dancehall, R&B, and especially Calypso. The thing is where a guy can have a good album in a country of three million people; if he gets 30% of those people he can go platinum, opposed to the market here of only ten thousand. Another factor is the movement and imitation of that Jam Band style down the Caribbean. Years ago, the band was criticized for the tempo and style they had, presently we see that it has been copied and is now the popular way of playing Calypso. This has made it a little difficult on our end, especially when you are competing against something you created and no credit has been given. It is up to us to keep that original Jam Band style going, with fresh ideas to keep it alive.” Jam Band has been paving the way for Virgin Islands artists since the days of Eddie and the Jam Band movements by playing in different islands of the Caribbean and in cities in the U.S. with large populations of Caribbean people. Places like Miami; for the Miami Carnival, Atlanta, Houston, and New York; for the Labor Day Festival.
Travel is an important part of the routine in the Jam Band camp. Henry “Junie” Wilock describes it as the “Jam Band Boot- Camp, it is hard work,” he goes on, “especially during Carnival, when you are playing every night and still have to go to work for eight o’clock. Carnival week is a week of hell; red bull and coffee, become your best friends. It is also tough during the rest of the year,” he goes on, “a lot of demands are placed on the band in regards to bookings. That is part of the burden of being the best, if we leave it up to the promoters we would be playing every weekend, and we would never get any mastered work or albums completed. So that extra dedication is what the band thrives on to be successful.” That success, that light at the end of the tunnel can be seen in two variations. The fi rst one undoubtedly would be the rise of the Jam Band to stellar heights. To see our local musicians traverse the full gambit of popular music; MTV, BET, Tempo, VH1, and playing for thousands, like the musicians of Jamaica and more recently Trinidad & Tobago. The second shade of that success is something we as Virgin
Islanders can experience now and regrettably should have taken more advantage of when Daddy Friday was in his mass and splendor. It is the fact that these gentlemen, this ‘Jam Band’; those who have come and gone with the band, and those who are still with them, have through hard work and diligence, weaved themselves into the very fabric of Virgin Islands culture. With a past that has been fi lled with hills and valleys; much like the islands themselves, their history has also been a timeline for which Virgin
Islanders can remember various events and states of being. This shade of success is measured in the love and recognition in the hearts and minds of Virgin Islanders, at home and abroad, on U.S. and British soil. This success is one that we can show without hesitation, they are us and we are them. Take advantage of this wonderful source and spring of Virgin Islands culture, and in time the rest of the world will experience a part of us, our Jam Band, our Awesome Jam Band.
Jam Band will always have the Heart of the People
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