JAZZ QUARTET OPENS SERIES
SPICE GRAMMY ‘HIGH’ Morgan Heritage’s stunning single
Caribbean Life, F 48 ebruary 18-24, 2022
hall’s top young guns, like
Rytikal (aka Purytikal), Jahshii
and more seasoned artist
I Octane.
“This stunning new single
is a groovy mix between the
rootsy reggae, which Morgan
Heritage is known for and
some vibrant contemporary
dancehall, hip hop style fused,”
Jamaican Ronnie Tomlinson,
the Brooklyn-based entertainment
publicist, told Caribbean
Life on Monday.
She said Morgan Heritage is
known for its award-winning
music, and massive singles
including “Don’t Haffi Dread,”
“Down By The River,” “Tell
Me How Come” and “Sunday
Morning.”
Stellar albums like Grammy
nominated Avrakadebra,
Strictly Roots, which won
the Grammys for best Reggae
album in 2016 and most
recently released Legacy, have
helped to cement their space
in Jamaican music history,”
said Tomlinson, chief executive
officer of New York-based
Destine Media.
Originally made up by five
of Denroy Morgan’s very talented
children, Morgan Heritage
the band now comprises
Roy “Gramps” Morgan, Peter
“Peetah” Morgan and Memmalatel
“Mr. Mojo” Morgan.
“The musical fabric of the
group remains intact, and
their latest single is proof,”
Tomlinson said.
She said “Headline Fi Front
Page” invites young artist
Rytikal, who recently underwent
a transition of his own,
with a more positive moniker,
Purytikal, to give his take on
the impact and responsibility
media have on the information
shared.
“He manages a skilled report
on the social atmosphere, following
in the footsteps of Morgan
Heritage’s signature tone
of keen social commentary,”
Tomlionson said.
“I-Octane, as the more
experienced of the younger
acts featured, brings his distinctive
brand of disapproval
for the flawed society that
continues to fail the youth,”
she added. “ahshii, gives his
perspective on the misdirection
news entities perpetrate
with a passionate verse of his
own.
“Morgan Heritage provides
a much-needed space to reflect
on the state of our society but
also the state of the media
that is charged with reporting
on these conditions,” Tomlinson
continued. “They bring
up several issues that have
been the subject of debate in
Jamaica over the last year or
two, including the unfortunate
shaving of a young Rastafarian
by the police.”
whether I walk away the winner
or not, I feel like I’m already a
winner just to be nominated.
“In the words of Fat Joe,
‘Yesterday’s price is not today’s
price,’” she added. “This is
Spice, is Grammy-nominated
and Obama is listening to my
music.”
The 64th annual GRAMMY
Awards will now take place on
April 3 at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas.
The GRAMMYs, the music
industry’s most high-profile
media moment, had been scheduled
for Jan. 31 in Los Angeles,
but was postponed amid a
surge in COVID-19 cases, while
organizers searched for a venue
that could accommodate the
show, “which often requires
more than a week of rehearsals
and other setup,” according to
the New York Times.
Continued from Page 47
Continued from Page 47
Smey said Douglas is one
of the most in-demand young
bassists in jazz today.
He has performed and recorded
with jazz luminaries such as
Pharoah Sanders, Cyrus Chestnut,
George Cables, Keyon Harrold,
and Makaya McCraven.
The New York-based composer,
bandleader, and sideman
was featured in “Miller’s Live
from Columbia” digital series
over the pandemic, and now
returns with his new quartet.
“Bassist, composer, bandleader,
and educator Dezron
Douglas has established himself
as a major force in contemporary
creative music,” Smey
said.
A protégé of the great Jackie
McLean, the Downbeat 2019
“Rising Star” is known for
Douglas’s work with Pharoah
Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Cyrus
Chestnut, David Murray, Louis
Hayes, Enrico Rava, and with
piano legends George Cables,
Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, and
Benny Green.
In 2021, he joined the Trey
Anastasio Band.
Smey said Douglas has
recorded on more than 100
albums, “contributing to the
artistry of numerous bandleaders
and maintaining an integral
presence in the sounds of his
peers, including Keyon Harrold,
Jonathan Blake, Melanie
Charles, and Makaya McCraven.”
Smey said Douglas has
released six albums as a lead
artist and maintains a variety
of projects that he uses as platforms
for his compositions.
In 2020, Force Majeure, the
collaborative duo record with
harpist Brandee Younger, was
released on the International
Anthem record label.
Douglas’s solo bass improvisation,
Meditations on Faith,
was released in 2021. He is
currently on the Jazz Studies
faculty at NYU Steinhardt.
Other members of the quartet
comprise pianist George
Burt, drummer Joe Dyson and
saxophonist Emilio Modeste.
Smey said pianist, composer,
and bandleader George Burton
has been on the radar of everyone
who follows innovations
in jazz.
Born and raised in Philadelphia,
Burton grew up playing
classical violin and viola while
absorbing gospel and blues at
home.
In high school, he went on
to play with Philly hard-bop
legend Bootsie Barnes, while
learning the subtleties of the
genre from veteran pianists Sid
Simmons and Shirley Scott.
“He had a long tenure as the
pianist for Odean Pope’s saxophone
choir, and from there
he earned a place on the world
stage performing with some of
the most significant practitioners
of post-bop and the avantgarde—
from Eddie Henderson
and James Carter to the Sun Ra
Arkestra,” Smey said.
She said Burton has performed
to sold-out crowds at
the Newport Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s
at Lincoln Center, Kennedy
Center’s Millennium Stage,
Duc des Lombards in Paris,
and a number of jazz festivals
in Europe.
Currently, Burton leads five
ensembles: GB Quintet, GB
Group, Brew Trio, Torn Trio,
and Yule Log. Burton’s debut
album, The Truth of What I Am
> The Narcissist (2016), was “a
fantastic statement of modern
jazz” by Downbeat and voted
#4 top debut album in the NPR
jazz critics’ poll, Smey said.
She said Burton’s most recent
recording is Rec·i·proc·i·ty
(2020).
New Orleans-native Joe
Dyson started playing music in
his family’s church at 2, Smey
said.
She said he went on to perform
in the Louis “Satchmo”
Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp,
where he was shadowed by the
“late, great clarinetist” Alvin
Batiste, and his longtime bandleader
and mentor, alto saxophonist
Donald Harrison.
A graduate of the New Orleans
Center for Creative Arts
(NOCCA), Dyson earned a presidential
scholarship to attend
Berklee College of Music.
Continued from Page 47
Dancehall artiste Spice. PlaybookMG
Dezron Douglas. Miller Theatre/Deneka Peniston