Bank of Jamaica Issues Commemorative Bob Marley Coins in Gold and Silver

Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
* KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -

Bob Marley's records long ago went platinum.

Now the Caribbean island nation's most famous son is being revived in gold and silver, as the Bank of Jamaica released a new round of commemorative coins bearing the late reggae superstar's dreadlocked likeness.

The 1,000 gold and silver coins, which were produced by the British Royal Mint, are being sold for $100 US ($111 Cdn) each, bank spokeswoman Jacqueline Morgan said Wednesday.

"We've received quite a bit of interest already," Morgan said from the Jamaican capital of Kingston.

Though the coins were intended to mark the 60th anniversary of Marley's birth in 2005, the bank is just now offering them for sale, said Morgan, who didn't offer a further explanation.

Born in Jamaica's rural St. Ann parish, Marley rose from the gritty shantytowns of Kingston to global stardom in the 1970s with hits like No Woman, No Cry and I Shot the Sheriff. His lyrics promoting "one love" and social revolution made him an icon in developing countries worldwide.

Marley, who died of cancer in Miami at age 36 in 1981, remains one of Jamaica's most beloved national heroes.

It is the second time the Bank of Jamaica has issued coins bearing Marley's likeness in the reggae icon's homeland.

"The coins to commemorate his 50th birthday have totally sold out," Morgan said.

Ziggy Marley brings message of peace to war-torn Israel

By Jo-Ann Mort
Special to the Tribune
Published July 31, 2006


RA'ANNA, Israel -- Ziggy Marley's bus arrived at a Tel Aviv hotel, but few people recognized the Jamaican reggae star. Scores of people milled around the lobby in the hotel, where practically every guest is an Israeli fleeing the country's north.

Entire families are crammed in rooms for long stays.

Shai and Orit Erera and their 8-month-old daughter, from Haifa's suburbs in northern Israel, are there for 10 days, subsidized by Shai's company, IBM. Unfamiliar with Marley's music, Shai said he is glad nonetheless that night life continues. "When you pass the Haifa line, it's like going abroad."

Marley, whose wife is Israeli, is in the country to perform a weekend concert originally scheduled for Achziv Beach -- within shooting range of the Lebanese border -- and a second concert in a Tel Aviv nightclub. But after the Katushya rockets fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon landed in Israel's northern cities, organizers moved the concert further south, collapsing two nights into one.

They decided on a beach on the Sea of Galilee -- until Katushya rockets hit nearby Tiberias, so they moved even farther south, to Ra'anna, an upscale, suburban-style city of 70,000 about half an hour from Tel Aviv.

A week earlier, Ra'anna saw starkly different gatherings: two large funerals took place in the military cemetery for local soldiers killed in Lebanon.



Crowds are sparse

Last Thursday, 7,000 people filled the park. In Israel, Thursday nights mark the beginning of the weekend, and often, conscript soldiers, most of whom are in their late teens and early 20s, get leave to let off steam. But now, few soldiers are among the crowd of mostly high school and university students, Baby Boomers and young families with children.

Summer is time for outdoor concerts and festivals in Israel. But cultural performances are sparsely attended these days, even in safe spots such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and they are canceled in the north.

Marley's concert appears to be an exception. It's overflowing. Israelis want to encourage foreign talent to appear here, especially during difficult times.

And rock music provides a lifeline and an escape.

"It's important for us to feel part of the bigger agenda of the world. It brings a lot of energy," says Hanan Pomagrin, a 39-year-old architect from Tel Aviv who's not upset by the change of venue or worried by the rocket attacks. "In the Middle East, you can't make plans for maybe more than two hours ahead."

Eldad Elazar, 26, a film student from Sderot, where Qassam rockets, lobbed by Palestinian militants in Gaza, keep falling, says he's ready to fight if Israel calls up more reserve soldiers. Elazar, who wants to be the "Spike Lee of Israel," is of Ethiopian descent. A number of Israeli Jews from Ethiopia are in the crowd.

Amit Dadun is here with two childhood friends. He lives near Afula, where the Katushyas have hit. "It's a little weird being here, but we need to continue." He adds: "We came here to forget about the war and now you come and remind us."

But it's Marley who reminds the crowd, with an extremely political set. He sings about the war in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

In a song called "Shalom, Salaam," he asks, "Who will take the blame for my children dying from tanks and suicide bombers?" referring both to Israeli tanks in Gaza and Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel.

Adina Kruger, a religious university student from Be'er Sheva, is here in spite of the message. "I don't like people from outside making peace for Israel. I came for music, not to talk to him," she says, referring to Marley.



Feelings of guilt

She has several family members and friends serving now in Gaza and Lebanon, including her brother-in-law.

"He planned to come to the concert. I feel guilty by being here because I know so many soldiers who are out there."

But Rotem, who wouldn't give her last name, a female soldier on weekend leave from her duties in a northern bomb shelter, thinks otherwise.

"It sounds like a cliche, but it's nice to be at an event for peace," she says with a sigh.

The colors of the Jamaican flag flash on the stage; Marley comes back for an encore. He introduces the song his father, Bob, made famous by dedicating "something special to Israel and for Lebanon, too," to "all the mothers, women, sisters who lost children in this terrible war."

Thousands of Israelis join in for "No Mother, No Cry," as they leave the war in their region -- at least in song -- for the shantytowns of Jamaica.

----------

ctc-tempo@tribune.com

A Thoughtful Message On World Peace submitted to REGGAE.com

Only when an Israeli mother cries out in pain over the suffering and deaths of Arab children, and an Arab mother cries out in pain over the suffering and deaths of Israeli children, will there be true peace.

Kabbalists are not pro-Israel, pro-Zionist, pro-Arab. Kabbalists are pro-humanity, pro-human soul, pro-God's children. This includes Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists and all people who populate this planet.

Until we learn to cry tears for others only, nothing will change.

The teachings and tools of Kabbalah help us eradicate and destroy the self-centered aspect of our being that only allows us to cry for ourselves, both individually and as a particular people of specific faith. When we remove that destructive selfish part, we will have the ability to cry over the pain of our individual neighbors and other nations. With everyone concerned for one another, the hatred and conflict will cease. Paradise will be ours forever.

But no one gets it. The result? Wars and bloodshed for 2000 years.

Sometimes we win battles. Sometimes we lose battles. In both cases, the blood keeps flowing and the tears keep shedding. The idea is to win the war. And the only war is the war on one's own ego and self-interest.

Please pass this around instead of anything that only serves the interest of one people. Not because of morals. Or ethics. But because that approach has failed for 2000 years.

"Miss Lou's" style and patois have influenced modern rappers and DJs around the world

Louise Bennett-Coverley
September 7, 1919 - July 26, 2006

Poet and broadcaster whose courageous use of patois inspired Jamaicans to take a pride in their language



"Miss Lou's" style and patois have influenced modern rappers and DJs around the world (Esther Anderson/Corbis)

KNOWN fondly on her Caribbean island and throughout the Jamaican diaspora as “Miss Lou”, Louise Bennett-Coverley was a cultural icon on a par, among her own people, with Bob Marley, one of many artists she influenced through her poetry in the island’s patois.
Marley, who initially dreamt of being a soul singer after the style of the American Sam Cooke, credited her with giving him the pride and conviction to include in his songs words in his own dialect — which until then had been considered a marketing liability.

Although she lived in Canada for almost the last two decades of her 86 years, for reasons involving her husband’s health, Bennett-Coverley was considered the mother of Jamaican culture and was granted the Order of Jamaica by the Government in 1974, giving her the official title “the Honourable”. Her return visits in recent years were treated like state occasions.



Bennett-Coverley studied at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Art in London after the war and was one of the first Jamaicans to sing and read poetry on what was then called the BBC’s West Indian Service, now the Caribbean Service.

Perhaps her greatest legacy was turning her island’s creole — a mixture mainly of English and West African tongues brought by slaves — from a thing to be ashamed of in class-conscious and racist colonial Jamaica into a proud vehicle for poetry, song, dance and drama, a new cultural phenomenon in its own right.

Recording some traditional patois songs he had first heard on her 1954 album Jamaican Folk Songs, including Banana Boat Song (“Day-o, Day-o, Daylight come and me want go home”) was what launched the career of Harry Belafonte.

Louise Bennett was born in the island’s capital, Kingston, in 1919, and was brought up by her dressmaker mother. It was not just from her story-telling mother and grandmother, but also from customers from all walks of life, rich and poor, that she picked up the tales she would soon turn into folk songs, poems or often pantomime in the patois.

“Everything that’s important comes from folklore,” she said. “From folklore; from stories and songs that are handed down from one generation to another, I learnt everything about history, manners, geography, philosophy, love, morals and religion from stories my grandmother told me.”

In her late twenties Bennett won a British Council scholarship to RADA, starting in 1945, believed to be the first black student there. She gained her diploma just around the time of the 1948 arrival on board the troopship Empire Windrush of the first batch of almost 500 Jamaicans shipped in to help with Britain’s postwar reconstruction.

As more and more Jamaicans arrived, Bennett found occasional work at the BBC, first reading her poems or singing her songs, later producing or presenting programmes in the patois to make the new immigrants feel at home. Her first performance was on the programme Bal Creole on June 30, 1950.

The Jamaican immigration inspired her to write one of her most famous poems, Colonization in Reverse, which was a light-hearted satire but unwittingly predicted the backlash against immigration from right-wing politicians such as Enoch Powell:


What a joyful news, Miss Mattie
Ah feel like me heart gwine burs’
Jamaica people colonizin’
Englan’ in reverse
By de hundred, by de tousan
From country and from town
By de shipload, by de planeload
Jamaica is Englan’ bound

Bennett returned to her island in her thirties, to seek a career in entertaining and to educate other artists in what she had learnt. She married the local actor and impresario Eric Coverley, known on the island by his nickname Chalk Talk, in 1954.

While “proper” or “BBC” English was still considered the one to respect or master, and the patois was considered “bad English”, Bennett-Coverley, by then widely known as Miss Lou, brought a new sense of pride to poorer homes with a series of radio shows, notably Miss Lou’s Views and Laugh with Louise, in which she told hilarious stories, in the dialect, either learnt as a child, or from her own observations, often bitterly satirical and usually quoting her “Auntie Roachy”.

Even after independence in 1962 some sectors of the Jamaican population considered, and some do to this day, that speaking creole was simply not cultured, a sign of poverty or illiteracy. Bennett-Coverley had been criticised for her poems ever since secondary school, where she was taught to dance the Highland Fling and sing Greensleeves, and she could not find a publisher until the Daily Gleaner took a chance and gave her a regular weekly slot. It became one of the most popular parts of the newspaper.

Several books of poems were eventually published, notably the bestselling Jamaica Labrish (gossip) in 1966, which features one of her best-known poems Noh Lickle Twang (Not even a little accent), berating a friend who has come back from living in the US no better off, without any sign of having captured the American dream, not even a “twang”.


Yuh mean yuh goh dah ’Merica
An spen six whole mont’ deh
An come back not a piece betta

Dan how yuh did goh wey? For many years, her double act with the popular male comedian Ranny Williams in The Lou and Ranny Show topped the radio ratings, in Jamaica, giving her a chance at her own TV programme for children, Ring Ding, which turned her into a serious celebrity, easily recognisable by her ample size and African-style dresses and headwrap. After venturing into comedy and pantomime, she was appointed MBE in 1961, while Jamaica was still a colony, for services to Jamaican art and culture.

Bennett-Coverley recorded several albums of poems or songs, often talking over background music, and, although these were generally folksy, her technique was seen as influencing later artists, rappers and DJs, and won her a reputation as one of the original “toasters”, artists who talk or rap to recorded music.

Ironically, some of the Jamaican patois she spent her life promoting became part of the preferred slang among non- Jamaican gangs in other islands of the Caribbean, as well as in New York, London and elsewhere.

Louise Bennett-Coverley’s lifelong motto, now legendary to Jamaicans at home and abroad, was “Howdy an tenky bruk no square” (roughly translatable as “caring and gratitude create harmony”, a forerunner of Bob Marley’s One Love). There is little doubt that her promotion of Jamaicans, their language and culture was at least as important to what is now known as Brand Jamaica — the marketing of the island as a tourist attraction — as the great reggae singer’s posthumous contribution.

Her death put all Jamaica into mourning and tributes poured in from around the world. Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, described her as “our nationally beloved cultural icon, my role model and mentor”, adding “walk good, Miss Lou”, a traditional, respectful patois farewell to people departing.

Bennett-Coverley’s husband predeceased her in 2002. She is survived by a son and what she called “many adopted children”.




Louise Bennett-Coverley, MBE, folk poet, comedian and entertainer, was born on September 7, 1919. She died on July 26, 2006, aged 86.

'Mother' of Jamaican culture dead at 86

TORONTO, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The Jamaican folklore expert who gave Harry Belefonte his hit song, "Day-O," Louise Simone Bennett-Coverly, has died in Toronto at age 86.

Bennett-Coverly, whose cultural efforts also inspired reggae icon Bob Marley, died last Wednesday at Toronto's Scarborough Hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported Wedesday.

Born in Kingston in 1919, the woman known as Miss Lou fought to maintain the true culture of the island through her poems and activism to help Jamaica's women and impoverished, the newspaper said.

"I say Jamaica is ... and a lot of the Caribbean countries now are culturally emancipated," Bennett-Coverly said in a 1994 interview. "We can sing our songs ... the children can sing the song that they know."

Bennett-Coverly's body will be returned to Jamaica and buried next to her husband, Eric Coverly, during an Aug. 9 state funeral.

She is survived by one son.

Bob Marley ‘Catches Fire’ Early in Life

A new biography examines the inspirations of reggae legend Bob Marley in his youth.
Read an excerpt below - also visit the REGGAE.com Feature Page at: http://www.reggae.com/artists/bob_marley/legend.htm

Bob Marley was a reggae superstar who brought the sound of the Third World to the entire globe. “Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley” brings you the private side of a man few people ever really knew. The author draws from original interviews with the people closest to Marley, including his widow, Rita, his mother, Cedella, his bandmate and childhood friend Bunny Wailer, his producer Chris Blackwell, and many others. Christopher John Farley's new book looks at the early days of this beloved musician and his homeland. Here's an excerpt:

Chapter 1: Stir It Up
In the summer of 2005, I traveled to the town in which Bob Marley was born in order to see the place where he was buried. Marley's hometown is Nine Miles, Jamaica, a small village in the parish of St. Ann that is a three-hour car ride from the capital city of Kingston. Getting there is a hilly, winding drive, and the road, at times, is about one and a half lanes across, forcing drivers to play periodic games of chicken with various vehicles — cars, buses, trucks laden with day laborers — speeding down the slopes in the opposite direction. I was born in Kingston, but I left the island when I was young and I can't do many basic Jamaican-y things. I can't, for example, tell you a single thing about the rules of cricket. I don't speak with a Jamaican accent and I can't fake one convincingly. I can't drive on the left on hilly twisty roads. I pressed on anyway. I had arranged a meeting in Nine Miles with Cedella Marley Booker, Bob's mother. She had grown reclusive in recent years and gave very few interviews. But Chris Blackwell, one of Marley's producers and the founder of Island Records, interceded on my behalf, and Mother Booker agreed to grant me an audience. At this point, I had been working on a book about Marley's life for several years. I had interviewed Marley's family members, friends, and fellow musicians. I had unearthed crumbling old print interviews of Marley and listened to scratchy home recordings he had made but never released. I had visited his old haunts in Trench Town and throughout Kingston. I had been given unreleased recordings of the Wailers conversing in the studio so I could get insight into how they created their music. Now I wanted to finish my book where it had all started, and where it had all ended as well.

This is a book about beginnings. The period before fame arrives is the time when most artists collect the raw life stuff that will form the core of their work. Once a musician starts writing about how hard life is on the road, and the predation of the paparazzi, it's generally over. He has lost touch with the real experiences that connect ordinary listeners to his music. In many if not most cases, an artist's initial years of struggle represent the most interesting period of his or her career. Music legends often end their lives in strikingly similar circumstances — burdened by celebrity, hooked on drugs, haunted by the inability to live up to the greatness of earlier work. Fame can homogenize an artist, blurring parts of his identity so critics can slot him into pop cultural trends or the public can use him to fill national psychic needs. Or fame can caricature a star, exaggerating his original characteristics into something cartoony, grotesque, and sometimes unrecognizable as human. Bob Marley died young, but he managed to avoid many of the most common pitfalls and pratfalls of rock martyrdom.
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Marley once opined: "If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already." He was not a drug addict (unless you count ganja). He did not die broke (though his money was poorly managed during his lifetime). And he was not all that conflicted about success (he used to joke to journalists that he drove a BMW because it stood for Bob Marley and the Wailers). He lived and died for music, but in the end it was not music that killed him.

Marley's struggle started early. His bandmate Peter Tosh made secret autobiographical recordings called the "Red X" tapes. I was given access to parts of those tapes that have never been published. On them, Tosh discusses the obstacles that stood in his way, and in Bob's way, when they were young. "I began to realize that I was coming in close confrontation with devils daily in the flesh," Tosh says. "I realized that hell is not down yonder, but right here among men .... But I never fear the devil."

Bob's early, dry seasons forced him to put down deep roots. "Yeah, mon, let me tell you something 'bout me," Marley said during a visit to Philadelphia in 1979. "You see me — Negro in a sufferin' environment. I don't know how to live good. I only know how to suffer. You unnerstan? So anywhere you see me, I'm sufferin' all the while. Me don't really change ... What is big life to some people, that is not what I call life. What I call life is I wake up and drink a likkle fish tea. Me don't know about the big life."

Blackwell recalls stopping by an upscale store in St. Martin with Marley during a world tour in 1980. It was one of the few times he ever saw Marley become furious. Inside the store, the proprietors questioned whether Marley had the money to buy their goods. When he promptly produced a wad of cash, he was interrogated about whether he had stolen it. Meanwhile, in the street, a crowd of fans had gathered to catch a glimpse of the reggae star. "Inside the store he was a thief," says Blackwell. "Outside, he was a hero."

Marley's mother is black, his father accepted as white. Very little had been known about the "white" side of Marley's family when I started this biography. The "white" part of Marley's family tree had been dismissed as fallen leaves — tattered remnants of another season, and not worth chasing. It is unclear in every book published on the singer whether Marley's father was Jamaican or British or even exactly how old he was. Even Bob's mother was foggy on key facts about her husband. My research, however, led me to relatives on Marley's father's side of the family. Chris Marley, a great-nephew of Bob's father, has served as a kind of family historian over the years. He has spent hundreds of hours researching his ties to Bob and was kind enough to share some of what he had found with me. Bob Marley once told Chris, "My father was a ship's captain," but Chris later learned that tale was untrue. "[Bob's father] was a bit of an adventurer and a rebel," says Chris. Thanks to his research and documentation, I was able to find out where Marley's father was born, his age, and details about his military service.

In previous accounts of Marley's upbringing, half his life is missing. Information about Marley's "white" father is critically important in understanding Marley's expansive cultural viewpoint on the world. Bob Marley once said: "If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong, if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green — God make no rules about color, only society make rules where my people suffer and that why we must have redemption and redemption now."

Even when he was singing about revelation and revolution, or vampires sucking the blood of the sufferers, or buffalo soldiers stolen from Africa, there was something redemptive, something sunny, about Marley's outlook. Marley once said: "I don't think of Third World. To me, I am of the First World. I can't put people in classes." He was always seeking to bring people together rather than to divide them. On another occasion he declared: "There is no right or left. We go straight ahead." That's part of why Marley's music is embraced all around the world, by people of disparate economic, political, and social circumstances: rude boys and frat boys, soccer moms and stockbrokers, rebel leaders and captains of industry. Marley was a smiling revolutionary, and the rhythmic and melodic affability of his music made his insurgent message go down easy. There was a charming playfulness about Marley that was always evident in his music and in the way he carried himself in life, and even in how he approached death. "I don't believe in death neither in flesh nor in spirit," Marley once said.

Marley's primary producer told me a haunting story about him. Marley and Blackwell, although they worked together for a decade, were almost never photographed together. They both agreed that if they were pictured in the same frame, there would be those, confronted with their contrasting skin tones, who would falsely assume that the white producer must be the real mastermind behind the black musician's music. So when they were together, they avoided the cameras. But sometime in 1981, Marley, a photographer in tow, stopped by to see Blackwell and announced that he had cancer. As shock registered on Blackwell's face, Marley asked the photographer to take a picture of them. It's the only picture Blackwell says he has of himself with Marley. In the face of death, Marley was looking for a laugh.

Marley's oldest daughter, Cedella, told me that near the end of his life, when his dreadlocks had begun to fall out because of the cancer treatments, he would still summon the strength to play with his kids. He would put on a Frankenstein mask from off the kitchen counter and chase his sons and daughters around their house in Miami. "A lot of people know Dad the musician," Cedella says. "We've always known him as Dad — who could be corny, funny, serious at times, but would never spank. If he saw a tear in your eye, he would look the other way. That's the person that we know."



Excerpted from “Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley,” by Christopher John Farley. Copyright © 2006 by Christopher John Farley. Excerpted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

Reggae Great to Join Marley Sons on Tour

Friday, June 09, 2006
Jake Coyleap
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Bunny Wailer, the reggae great who was one of the original Wailers with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, will tour with a new generation of Marleys.

Wailer will play alongside Marley’s sons, Stephen and Ziggy, for the Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival, a monthlong tour that will open Aug. 6 in Redway, Calif., after a one-year hiatus.

The 59-year-old Wailer, whose real name is Neville O’Riley Livingston, said in a phone interview from Jamaica that he considers it his "responsibility and duty" to tour with the Marley family.

"I’m the foundation of all of this stuff," he said. "And I remain; someway, somehow I’ve been sustained to be here. And there’s a new generation that’s now being established musically that’s coming from the Wailers’ family."

Stephen, 34, and Ziggy Marley, 37, will headline the tour, which will make stops including Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Ozomatli will also perform.

Wailer, who last released the album Communication in 2000, is the lone surviving member of the Wailers. Marley died of cancer in 1981; Tosh was murdered in 1987.

While Stephen and Ziggy Marley have combined new musical styles to fit their father’s reggae, Wailer also fused genres through the 1980s and ’90s and plans to continue to do so.

"A lot of people have been hearing Bunny Wailer singing reggae music, but they’re not aware of other musical cultures that Bunny Wailer is inclined to present," he said. "I have to at least let (the new generation) know that I’ve been listening."

Reggae Vibe Rocks the Holy Land

photo by Emilio Morenatti / Assocaited Press
Israeli reggae fans take part at the second annual Spring Festival at Kibbutz Tseelim in Israel's Negev Desert on April 8, 2006. Kibbutz Tseelim, a tiny community in Israel's Negev Desert, welcomed 1,600 reggae fans to its second annual Spring Festival -- an increase of 25 percent over last year's crowd.

Israeli reggae fans take part at the second annual Spring Festival at Kibbutz Tseelim in Israel's Negev Desert on April 8, 2006.

article by Laura Resnick / Associated Press


TSEELIM, Israel -- Young Israelis sporting dreadlocks and wool Rastafarian caps rocked to the beat of homegrown Hebrew reggae bands at a recent music festival, a sign of reggae's steadily increasing popularity here.

Kibbutz Tseelim, a tiny community in Israel's Negev Desert, welcomed 1,600 reggae fans to its second annual Spring Festival-- an increase of 25 percent over last year.

"In a country like Israel, with all the stress, this music -- the message and the melody -- makes people more relaxed," said disc jockey Tal Grubstein, aka Dr. Reggae, who helped run the sound system at the festival. "When these people all get together at a festival like Tseelim, you can feel the vibe. There's no pushing, no aggression, no violence."

Grubstein became a reggae fan in the late 1970s after hearing some imported records while serving in the Israeli army. He soon made a mission of spreading the sound among Israelis. During his years as an Egged bus driver, he played Bob Marley and other reggae artistes to his passengers. With the help of his children, he founded the Official Israeli Reggae Site on the Web. The site currently hosts the only nonstop all-Jewish reggae online radio show in the world.

While the connection between reggae and Judaism may not seem self-evident, Jewish reggae artists are a growing phenomenon in the United States as well as Israel.

Matisyahu (born Matthew Miller), who has recorded three albums, is an observant Hasidic Jew in New York who sings Hebrew prayers in a reggae style. He divides his time between his yeshiva and the stage, where he plays to sold-out crowds. An American band called Adonai and I performs roots reggae based on Hebrew prayers, melodies, and psalms. King Django is a ska hipster from Brooklyn who combines reggae rhythms with Yiddish lyrics.

"This kind of music is about the message," said Grubstein. "Don't give up, look ahead, stand up, peace, respect your brother. People get the message and they like it."

Kibbutznik Udi Barak is one who got the message. As a teenager, he attended a concert where reggae giants Alpha Blondy -- from the Ivory Coast -- and Ziggy Marley performed. Along with other members of Kibbutz Tseelim, Barak became a fan.

The kibbutzniks discovered that when they played reggae at their communal pub, The Well, more and more people came to listen. So they decided to invite a band from Jamaica to perform there. Since then, their little pub in the middle of the Negev Desert has been a popular reggae spot, known to hipsters, Rastafarians, and bands all over Israel.

Eventually, the kibbutz decided to host a reggae festival.

Barak says that reggae artists came from all over Israel for the first festival and played for free to help make it a success. Eight Israeli bands played this year, including the group Tmimay Deim, which means "Of the Same Mind."

"Our message with our music is mostly about harmony," said Tmimay Deim's co-founder Yoav Ben Yaakov. "We try to make people understand that you don't have to believe in war, and you don't have to fight for peace. You can try to find the middle way, based on a pure, simple understanding that love unites everybody."

As the midday heat rose, Tmimay Deim's lead singer cried out to the dancing crowd, "Shabbat Shalom," wishing them a peaceful Sabbath. Then the band launched into a song that opened with the distinctive strains of klezmer music before transitioning into a familiar reggae beat.

While the easy slide from a klezmer riff to a Caribbean tune may seem startling, reggae is often fueled by traditional Jewish themes, such as the exile in Babylon and the longing for Zion, the homeland -- whether this means Israel or Africa.

Both ultra-Orthodox Jews and Rastafarians observe strict dietary laws and require married women to cover their hair. The men have distinctive hairstyles, whether sidecurls or dreadlocks -- which Rastafarians say come from the Nazarite Vow in the Old Testament (Numbers 6:5), "There shall no razor come upon his head."

However, another disc jockey who worked at Tseelim's festival this year, Ras Kulcha, thinks it's a stretch to relate Judaism to Rastas.

Shirtless in the desert heat, his face and shoulders framed by an impressive set of dreadlocks, he says he embraces Rastafarianism as a philosophy rather than a religion.

"The message I get from reggae as an Israeli is about fighting capitalism, fighting racism, fighting fascism," Ras Kulcha said. "There are so many streams, it's hard to say exactly what 'reggae' means, but it's about delivering a message."

Reggae SumFest Update

Reggae Sumfest takes Manhattan
Observer Reporter
Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Multiple Grammy-winning reggae artist, and Marley family scion, Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley, is one of the major acts announced to perform at the 2006 Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest later this year. Marley has been riding a wave of success for his acclaimed third album, Welcome To Jamrock which in addition to winning two Grammys has been a fixture on music charts and playlists around the world.

Marley's addition to the stellar line-up for the July 16-22 festival was announced by Johnny Gourzong, executive director of Summerfest Productions, at the New York launch of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest on Tuesday, May 23, 2006.

A large crowd of Caribbean and US media, Jamaican entertainment industry professionals and well wishers gathered at the Blue Mahoe on 14th street in Manhattan for an evening of Reggae, good vibes and flowing Red Stripe.

Gourzong disclosed that Marley will perform on the final night of the festival, on July 22. Gourzong urged the more than 100 attendees of the Big Apple kick-off launch at the Blue Mahoe restaurant, to become more involved in the build up to the festival and invited those present to visit Jamaica for a world-class event and a true Jamaican experience.

He added, "The media in the US plays a critical role in the success of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest. Without the music industry press and the travel media embracing Jamaica and its culture, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest would not be the success that it is."

Chairman Robert Russell also extended his thanks to all participants, while Marketing Director Jomo Cato promised a continuation of world-class acts to keep the festival as the world's greatest reggae show.

Marley will perform along with Bajan pop sensation, Rihanna, Beres Hammond and Buju Banton among others. He is set to thrill fans with old and new hits, includingthe Bobby Brown collaboration Beautiful, Road to Zion and of course the title track Welcome To Jamrock.

This year, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest is being presented under the theme, Jamaica's Greatest The World's Best, and will be staged in the Vibes City, Montego Bay, from July 16- 22 this year.

Among the other artistes set to perform at Sumfest 2006 are the Poor People's Governor Bounty Killa and the self-proclaimed King of the Dancehall and Grammy award winner Beenie Man as well as Capleton; Buju Banton; Beres Hammond, Elephant Man, Baby Cham, Macka Diamond, Busy Signal and Wayne Marshall, Sizzla, Richie Spice, Mobb Deep, Chuck Fenda, Mr Vegas, Leftside & Esco, Voice Mail, Gyptian, reggae legends, John Holt, Gregory Isaacs and Pam Hall, Yellowman, Admiral Bailey, General Trees, Pinchers, Frankie Paul, Charlie Chaplin, Peter Metro, Courtney Melody, and Flourgon.

Summerfest Productions has budgeted over $100 million to be spent on Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest this year in addition to the expenditure by the event's major sponsors.

"Our investment in Western Jamaica is quite significant and translates into hundreds of jobs, new business opportunities and several other economic and social spin-offs. As organisers of Jamaica's greatest and the world's best reggae music festival, we are proud to know that Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest is contributing to the development of Montego Bay the Vibes City and the country's overall economic progress," Marketing Director Cato said recently.

Carlo Redwood, marketing manager of Red Stripe, said that he was quite pleased with the signing of Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley, alluding to the fact that the artiste inclusion would be an asset to the show.

Kenya: Reggae Festival to Go Live With Israel Vibration

The Nation (Nairobi)
May 21, 2006
by Fred Orido
Nairobi

Jamaican reggae trio Israel Vibration will be in Nairobi for the annual Reggae Summerfest. The threesome, Skeleton (Cecil Spence), Apple Gabriel (Albert Craig) and Lascelle Bulgin (Wiss), are expected to fly in for the festival, scheduled for September 7.

Members of Israel Vibration group on stage entertaining fans in one of their many live shows. The group will grace this year's Reggae Summerfest in Nairobi. "The event, organised by Showbiz Promotions and Shashamane International, has in the past brought in reggae greats from Jamaica."

The event, organised by Showbiz Promotions and Shashamane International, has in the past brought in reggae greats from Jamaica including Joseph Hill of the Mighty Culture group, Gregory Isaacs and Glen Washington who graced it in 2004.

Speaking exclusively to Lifestyle , events promoter Evans Ombajo promised better organisation and security during the shows. "Insecurity has been a major issue, but this time around, we have invested heavily in ensuring security is tight," he said.

Mr Ombajo said that they settled for Israel Vibration after many reggae fans voted for the trio in a poll conducted by Shashamane International over the past one year.

Members of the group overcame adversity, illness and poverty to become one of the finest roots groups in Jamaica's history. All three had been afflicted by polio and first became acquainted, albeit briefly, at Kingston's Mona Rehabilitation Clinic.

Singing sensation

Of the trio, Bulgin appeared least likely to emerge a singing sensation. He spent much of his childhood at a variety of rehabilitation centres. In his teenage, he began working for a tailor. In contrast, Craig initially did seem destined for a musical career and for a while attended the famed music school - Alpha Cottage School.

However, he found the tough discipline and rigid atmosphere oppressive and ran away at 14 into a life of homelessness and poverty.

After an equally bright start, Spence's life also took a severe down-turn. Before his teenage, he played xylophone in a youth band with whom he appeared on national television. Although physically disabled, he was a gifted athlete. In his teenage, he was selected for the Jamaican Wheelchair Basketball team.

But his conversion to Rastafarianism put an end to all that in 1969. He was dropped from the team and returned to Kingston where bumped into Craig soon after. As fate would have it, the pair established contact with Bulgin.

Before their union, the three teens had all individually converted to Rastafarianism. Their shared faith and childhood experiences helped them forge a strong friendship. Leaving behind their old lives, the trio spent most of their time together, busking for money around Kingston.

They spent the next six years singing for their suppers and by 1975, Israel Vibration was a vocal force to reckon with. However, their initial attempt at recording was abortive as the one track they did, the Ernest Hookim-produced Bad Intention, was never released. The following year, an answer to their prayers came through members of the Rastafarian religious group, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who agreed to finance a single by the trio.

The group recorded the single Why Worry and a new version of Bad Intention for its flip. The group's exquisite dread sound and militant cultural themes made an instant impression and the three found themselves on stage curtain-raising for the likes of Bob Marley and Dennis Brown.

Stunning proportions

In 1977, Israel Vibration began work on their follow-up, The Same Song, with producer Tommy Cowan. By the time they were done, the group had another hit song and a debut album of stunning proportions, which was titled after the single.

The trio's deeply devotional songs, cultural themes, inspirational lyrics, and original take on the roots style had struck a chord with reggae fans around the world. Thus, it was a surprising decision that Israel Vibration recorded their next album, 1981's Why You So Craven, with legendary dancehall producer Junjo Lawes.

After the cross-over success, the three attempted solo careers but only Bulgin made it to a recording studio. His Mr Sunshine album paired him with the Freedom Fighters Band.

In 1987, the three decided they were stronger together than apart. They reunited and approached the RAS label. Although label head Doctor Dread had shown no interest in their solo efforts, he was enthusiastic about their reunion and quickly signed them to RAS.

The trio settled down for the long haul, and although their sound was no longer on the scene's cutting edge, they continued putting out strong sets.

In 1996, the group released their first single in years, the infectious Feeling Irie, taken from their new album Free to Move.

Israel Vibrations' career shows no signs of slowing and the group has firmly carved a secure niche out of what once seemed an impenetrable surface. Their popularity seems assured and they remain a vibrant live act and an all time intriguing studio group.

Original posting location: http://allafrica.com/stories/200605220250.html

The Best Coffee in the World!

Head to Jamaica's Blue Mountains

We seem to be awash with coffee and coffee shops. Has the world gone coffee crazy?

Well, we all seem to be hooked on the brown brew because coffee is now the world's most popular drink and coffee beans are the second most traded commodity.

What's the first?
Petroleum - and compared to the problems they are having in that industry any worries about our growing caffeine consumption seem as mild as a skinny latte.

Coffee
Ian Fleming's favourite: Blue Mountain coffee

Agreed, but how do I find my way through this flood of cappuccinos, frappuccinos and espresso macchiatos? You could start by travelling to taste what some connoisseurs consider to be the world's finest coffee - Jamaican Blue Mountain.

Really, and who are these connoisseurs?

Well, the writer Ian Fleming for one. He may have been biased because he had a house in Jamaica, but Blue Mountain was his favourite coffee and, like so many of his personal preferences, it became James Bond's choice too.

Great, a trip to the Caribbean to try 007's favourite brew. Lead on.
Once in Jamaica the first step is to head for the hills, as it is only the coffee grown above 3,000ft on the steep slopes at the eastern end of the island that is classified as true Blue Mountain.

And where should I stay?

The best place is Strawberry Hill - an elegant, plantation-style hilltop hideaway that makes a perfect base for coffee expeditions.

A hotel I presume?

Yes, 12 Georgian cottages to be exact and a lot more besides. It was once the home of Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records. It's where Bob Marley convalesced after being shot and where U2 relaxed in between recording sessions and saving the planet.

Sounds like a cool place?
In more senses than one, because it is usually 10 degrees cooler than downtown Kingston, which makes it so a great place to ease yourself into tropical Jamaica. You particularly appreciate the setting when you wake up early from your night flight and realise where the name comes from.

What, Strawberry Hill?
No, the Blue Mountains. The low morning sunlight gives the slopes a warm blue hue that's quite a sight from your bedroom veranda. Then, with the hummingbirds darting and the swallowtails swooping, its over to the terrace of the main house for your first taste of the legendary coffee.

Is it as good as Bond promises?
Well, sitting at a table with freshly pressed linen, drinking from white china while listening to warm reggae with the whole of Kingston laid out before you, it is hard not to enjoy a cup.

So what does it taste like?

It's surprisingly mild and sweet with a heavy aroma - perhaps even a little too subtle for modern Europeans, who are used to the mule kick of the Robusta bean (Blue Mountain coffee is pure Arabica). It has been called the tea drinker's coffee and you can see why it appealed to early English settlers.

Indeedy. Now, after my early morning dip in the infinity pool, is there any other coffee business to enjoy?

There are coffee candles on sale in the hotel shop, pork loin with Blue Mountain Coffee glaze to try in the restaurant, and there is even talk of a coffee scrub in the Aveda spa. But your best bet is to arrange a trip to the source of the hotel's fresh morning brew by booking a taxi to take you to Twyman's coffee farm.

The home of our Grail Trail coffee I presume?
Yes, the Twyman family runs a single-estate coffee plantation another thousand feet up into the mountains. A few years ago, after a tough legal battle, the Twyman's Old Tavern Estate won the right to sell its coffee under the Blue Mountain name. It now produces its own high-quality product, which is unashamedly aimed at the gourmet market.

And are visitors encouraged?
Alex and Dorothy Twyman offer good old-fashioned hospitality for all the coffee pilgrims who make the trek to their simple mountain shack. They make a great double act with Mrs Twyman as the roaster and Mr Twyman the raconteur, guiding visitors through the process of coffee production on their estate.

Do you learn anything?
Not half. You come away with a sensory understanding of how the intoxicating scent of the coffee is released from unpromising green beans. Then there is the child-like wonder of actually seeing coffee growing on a bush. With the tremendous views of the valleys below (when mists clear) and Alex's boundless enthusiasm for his land, his product and his family, it's a real treat.

An expensive excursion?
You are not charged a penny, because they know that their bespoke retail business relies on word of mouth and the tours are the best form of advertising. Of course, they do sell their coffee at the end of the visit and it would be remiss not to come away with a bag or two. There is a choice of freshly roasted styles that you can buy in half-pound bags for £8.

Isn't that rather steep for coffee?

Alex describes it as "bloody expensive" but feels that the high-quality maintenance that goes into the slow growing, hand-picked and sorted beans demands it. It's certainly cheaper than the bags of ground coffee sold at resorts and tourist shops around the island and considerably less than the Fortnum & Mason price of £20 for half a pound.

So how should I prepare my precious beans?

Everybody has a preferred method and should grind the beans accordingly, says Alex. However he does lay down a few strict rules to get the best from his Blue Mountain coffee:

# Always use the purest of water, even bottled water if necessary. One of the reasons the coffee he serves on his estate tastes so good is because of the fresh mountain water he collects from just outside his door.

# Serve in china rather than paper or plastic cups and make sure it's white so you can see if the coffee's muddy.

# Stale coffee tastes bad no matter where it comes from, so always grind your beans fresh for each new round of drinks. Remember to store your bag of beans away from direct light and heat. Vacuum sealing isn't a good idea because the beans need to breathe - all Twyman's coffee is packed in bags with a one-way valve so that the CO2 can come out and no oxygen can get in.

# Serve the coffee piping hot and don't ever pollute the beautiful brew with that dreadful stuff, cow's milk. Of course, the true Jamaican style is coffee served with condensed milk and perhaps even a splash of the island's other national treasure - overproof rum. Try it, it's a fine combination, just don't let Alex catch you and remember to call Dorothy for a fresh roast when you've drunk your quota.

Going there

A perfect time to visit the Blue Mountains is April, when the air is filled with the delicate perfume of coffee blossom. For a more traditional coffee tour that's within walking distance of Strawberry Hill, try Craighton Estate and Great House. They offer a lecture, coffee tasting and a tour around the gardens that lasts about one hour for £8.50 per person (001 876 929 8490). "It can rain in a heartbeat" in Jamaica, especially up at Twyman's, where the mist can come in the time it takes to stir sugar into your coffee.

Take a waterproof and remember to phone ahead to check on conditions.
ContactsTo arrange a personal tour of Alex Twyman's Old Tavern Blue Mountain Coffee Estate, telephone 001 876 399 1222 (www.exportjamaica.org/oldtavern). Note that the Twymans don't cater for large groups.

For reservations at Strawberry Hill, contact 00800 688 76781, www.islandoutpost.com./strawberry_hill. For more information about the Blue Mountains and trips in and around Jamaica, contact the Jamaica Tourist Board (020 7225 9090), or see www.visitjamaica.com. Air Jamaica (020 8570 7999, www.airjamaica.com) offers daily return flights from London to Kingston and Montego Bay from £450, including taxes.

Ziggy Marley Pledges "Love" on New Album

By Wes Orshoski
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Ziggy Marley has just finished work on his second solo record, "Love Is My Religion," a disc of groove-laden songs touching on the most universal of emotions.

"It's all about love and all aspects of love," the reggae scion told Billboard.com. "The title track is about love between a man and a woman. It just means, 'Hey baby, I'm all love."'

Marley's first album since his marriage about a year ago, "Love is My Religion" is also his second disc apart from longtime backing group the Melody Makers. He plays most of the instruments on the disc, most of which was recorded at his home studio in Jamaica.

As the eldest son of Bob Marley, he has been in the spotlight since he was a toddler, and he says the new album reflects his three decades in music. "It's my best, because I've taken all that experience and I've learned so much, and I kind of understand where I want the music to be," he said.

"Right now, I want to groove more. I want to be onstage and be able to groove throughout the whole album. In the past, I was very artsy, and I did a lot of artistic things, which was just for me. But that should have been just for me," he added, laughing. "Now, I'm grooving for everybody."

Marley says the record will most likely be released in July via his Tuff Gong Worldwide label. He's currently in negotiations for a distributor. "Nobody owns my stuff. I own it," he said. "So what I did was form a new Tuff Gong, which is like Tuff Gong without any attachments to any other labels."

Now 37, one year older than his father at the time of his death from cancer in 1981, Marley is excited to gain new footing in the business world. After recording for Virgin and Elektra with the Melody Makers, and releasing his 2003 solo debut via Private Music, he's now a free agent.

"This is the best time, in terms of owning your own masters," he said. "This was a dream of my father. I'm actually fulfilling what he wanted. Right now, I feel like I'm doing for him what he wanted to do. After 'Uprising,' his last album for Island Records, he was going to do his own thing."

In 2003, the Marley family discovered a box of Bob's previously unreleased recordings and may eventually release them on an album. The first unheard song, "Slogans," featured a guitar overdub from
Eric Clapton, appeared on last year's singles collection "Africa Unite."

Marley says a second tune, "Real Good Time," will boast drumming from the Police's
Stewart Copeland, but he did not reveal a planned release date. "We'll wait for the right time," he said.

Where There's Smoke

Christopher J. Farley

Last weekend, I was invited to speak at the annual Houston International Festival in Texas. This year's Ifest focused on my native country of Jamaica. After a panel that featured my new book, Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley, a teenager in a Johnny Cash t-shirt came up to me and said he very much appreciated my talk.
"I didn't realize how deep Bob Marley was," the teen said. "I thought he was just a stoner."

I don't smoke and I don't drink. But I know from research that I did on my book, and from the conduct of the potheads in my high school shop class (they were particularly bad and dangerous when it came to spot-welding), that it's sometimes tough for folks who smoke lots of marijuana to be taken seriously. That's true whether you're Bob Marley or a medical researcher with an Ivy League degree.

In fact, serious pot-smokers got dealt a serious blow by the U.S. government just a few days ago. On April 20, in a move that was sharply criticized by many researchers and physicians, the U.S Food and Drug Administration issued a statement that read, in part, that the agency did "not support the use of smoked marijuana for medical purposes." The statement also claimed that several Department of Health and Human Services agencies had "concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States."

Marley might have wondered what the FDA had been smoking.

The reggae star was the most famous advocate of medical marijuana use. As a believer in Rastafari, a school of religious thought born in Jamaica, Marley saw marijuana as a sacrament. He also saw it as medicine for the body and the body politic. Time and again he called ganja "the healing of the nation." Marley argued that "Herb is not a drug. Herb is a plant that grow. And God made it so that mankind can take it."

Perry Henzell, the director of the classic film "The Harder They Come," once pointed out that the reggae star's decision to embrace a religious faction that featured ganja as a sacrament may have been the canniest move of his career.

Henzell was right. But Rastas don't just smoke ganja just to get high. Well, of course they like getting high, but there's a lot of thought that goes into it, or at least much more thought than the potheads used to show in my shop class.

Rasta teachings hold that the Bible once read that King Solomon's robes were made from hemp and that the original Hebrews used wisdom weed as incense. Rastas cite several biblical passages to back up their position. For example, Exodus 10:12 declares: "Eat every herb of the land."

It says "eat" and not "smoke" but for Rastas, that's close enough.

Rastas have paid dearly for their choice of sacrament.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Rasta musicians were routinely targeted by Jamaican cops. Bob Marley and his bandmates Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer would all spend time in Jamaican prisons for marijuana offenses. Toots Hibberts of the Maytals spent two years in jail for marijuana possession, nearly derailing his career. He later wrote the hit song "54-46 (That's My Number)" about the experience.

The FDA's recent statement asserted that "there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful."

Marley and his Rasta brethren had their own "sound" evidence that it was not.

Marley was arguably the greatest creative force the music world has ever seen. His songs, decades after they were first written, are anthems in Jamaica, South Africa, Japan -- and Houston, Texas. Ganja didn't seem to have a negative impact on his creativity.

Critics, however, have a powerful counterargument. Marley died of cancer at the age of 36. It's impossible to say with certainty whether his near-constant ganja smoking played any role. But it would be tempting for some to argue that it did.

Marley's life, like all lives, may have faded like smoke from a spliff. But his music lingers. The art that he made was more than a temporary buzz. It is serious stuff. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT "BEFORE THE LEGEND", CLICK THE AMAZON LINK...
Original post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-j-farley/where-theres-smoke_b_19810.html

Vote Bob Marley in 2008!

Article by Christopher J. Farley
New Bob Marley Book: Before the Legend

This week, the New York Times published a story reporting that folk-rocker Neil Young was set to release a new politically-charged album that was "overtly partisan."

Pearl Jam, the Seattle-based rock band, just came out with a single, "World Wide Suicide," that seems to be critical of President Bush's handling of the Iraq War.

In recent years, a number of country singers have released songs praising the president and the troops and the conduct of the war.

Politics has returned to music. It never really left, but the Iraq War has put it on the radio, on the charts and in the mainstream media.

It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a war to raise the voices of political songwriters.

So it's a good time to look back at the greatest political singer-songwriter in music history: Bob Marley. May 11th is the 25th anniversary of the reggae singer's death.

Like a great politician, Marley transcended politics. In many ways he was like Barack Obama with a guitar. And dreadlocks. And a spliff.

Well, maybe he wasn't that much like Obama, but you get what I'm going for here.

Marley could have toured the red states and the blue states. He could have toured the magenta states too, if they had them.

It's hard to find people that hate Bob Marley.

I once did an interview with Bob Dylan and the subject of Marley and his songwriting came up. Dylan told me "Bob Marley's music isn't political. Bob Marley's music is universal."

And, of course, the other Bob was right. Dylan did write "Like a Rolling Stone," after all, so he knows a little something about songcraft.

Marley's genius is like that of William Faulkner or James Joyce: he made the local into the universal.

Marley is also a lot more fun to dance to than Faulkner or Joyce.

I once saw an interview in which someone referred to Canada as the Bob Marley of countries. In other words, the speaker was using Marley as symbol for something innocuous, inoffensive, and easy-going.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

They have a word they use in Jamaica, "Irie." It means many things, but it also means that things are doing alright. How you doing? Irie, mon.

Marley found the perfect blend of ire and irie.

Many of his songs--"Babylon System," "Get Up Stand Up," "War," "Rat Race"--are filled with incendiary lyrics.

Just Google them, you'll see.

If you're Googling them in China, I'd be careful.

Many of today's partisan singers, on either side of the issues, miss the main point of political songwriting.

Marley's most political songs are so convincing, so charming, and so righteous, they seem to have no politics at all. They draw you in with their warm grooves, and the sweet melodies make the angry lyrics go down easy.

Great political songwriting shouldn't just enrage--it should enchant.

Marley's music continues to cast a spell over partisans of every stripe.

Christopher John Farley is the author of the new biography "Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley."

Plan to provide genuine alternative sources of energy.

Five cornerstones of John Kerry's 2020 Energy Plan to provide genuine alternative sources of energy.

1. 
   INCENTIVIZING RENEWABLE ENERGY
   More than 20 states have implemented market-based Renewable Energy Portfolio programs that require utilities to gradually increase the portion of electricity produced from renewable resources such as wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar energy. We should build on that success at the national level. Tell your Senators to enact a nationwide Renewable Portfolio Standard so that 20% of our energy comes from renewable sources by 2020. A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that implementing this policy would save $26.6 billion and that commercial and industrial customers would be the biggest winners.
   


2. 
   PROMOTING BIO-ENERGY
   We have the ability to transform our transportation sector from one that fuels our addiction to one that drives us toward a sustainable future. The President should build on that demand and fuel new production opportunities by supporting a mandate that agriculture will provide 20% of the total energy consumed in the United States by 2020.
   



3. 
   INVESTING IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY
   In addition to developing new sources of energy, we must make better use of available energy. New technological advances in appliances, energy grid systems, and buildings can boost productivity, create jobs, improve the reliability and safety of the energy infrastructure, and make dramatic inroads in reducing air pollution. Congress should enact energy efficiency measures to decrease energy use by 20% by 2020.
   


4. 
   PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPER-EFFICIENT VEHICLES
   Financial incentives and grants for consumers and for industries that are retooling plants to promote the manufacturing and purchase of hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of gas and electric power to sharply increase efficiency. Twenty percent of all passenger cars and trucks on the road should be high-efficiency, low emissions hybrids by 2020.
   


5. 
   SETTING AMERICA FREE FROM MIDDLE EAST OIL
   Today, America spends more than $500,000 per minute on foreign oil or $30 million per hour. We paid more than $42 billion for Persian Gulf imports alone in 2005. It is bad enough that these dollars will not help grow our domestic economy - - it is even worse when you consider their impact on our national security. Congress should act to eliminate America's oil imports from the Middle East by 2020.
   

Burning Spear takes Reggae to the People

Jamaican-born artist plays Orange Peel
By Carol Mallett-Rifkin
CITIZEN-TIMES CORRESPONDENT
published: April 14, 2006 6:00 am

"I don't mind" is an expression that Grammy-winning reggae star Burning Spear says a lot in his beautiful sing-song Jamaican voice. It doesn't mean he doesn't care - political activism and songs with a message are at the core of his music. Many fans who flock to hear his music and words weren't even born when Spear began taking Jamaican reggae sounds around the world in the early 1970s. Rock to his reggae next Thursday at The Orange Peel as the legendary artist brings his large band and danceable presence to the stage.
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"Everything I do is based upon a social aspect," Spear said. "People can be people amongst people with no jealousy, anger or greed. I see this as a very important thing for people to know."

Originally born Winston Rodney in the parish of St. Anne's in Jamaica, he's from the same region that produced reggae superstars Bob Marley and the Wailers. "I met him (Marley), that was in 1969; he is from the same parts I am, too," said Spear. "He lived in the countryside, and I lived down in the town. I went to his area and bumped into Bob. He directed me to Studio One and I went and recorded there."

On Marley's recommendation, Spear recorded his first two classic albums at Studio One, "Burning Spear" and "Rocking Time" and went on to record "Marcus Garvey," "Man in the Hills" and "Garvey's Ghost" on Island Records in the '70s, establishing himself internationally.

A string of hits followed, including the Grammy-winning "Calling Rastafari", "Rasta Business", "The World Should Know" and more.

He wears his politics in his name and music. Spear is passionate about clearing the name of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican native (also from St. Anne's Parrish) he feels was wrongly treated in both the U.S. and Jamaica.

"He came to America in the '20s and was there for the African-American people and did a lot of good things for them. At some time, it went wrong and people turned on him. He wanted to show African-American people that they could function as a nation. I think the Jamaican government should set his record free and clear his name," Spear said.

The term Burning Spear is a reference to Jomo Kenyatta, a political activist who championed for a free and democratic Kenya and went on to become that country's first president. Spear adopted it as a band name and then his name.

"I don't mind which you call me," he said.

For close to 20 years, Spear has been living in Queens, N.Y., with his wife and partner Sonia Rodney, creating the Burning Spear record label. Their 2003 "Free Man" was Grammy nominated and their newest release, "Our Music", builds on Spear's tradition of promoting peace and harmony to a danceable groove.

"Well, it's nine of us on stage, we have three guitars, drums, keyboard, a horn section and myself. I'm playing a lot of percussion," said Spear, who says lately his favorite instrument is congas. "They are all young people. It is good to have a lot of young people around you. It's like a family on the road, we're rockin'." Every ticket holder to this show will receive a commemorative Burning Spear at The Orange Peel poster.

With more than 35 years on the road behind him, he is not ready to retire any time soon.

"You have to condition your mind and body to keep it going, be serious about it," said Spear. "I want to continue until the time is right. I am working on my documentary telling the true story about Burning Spear. A lot of people haven't gotten it right. I'm Burning Spear, and I'm telling the story."

Jimmy Cliff's Musical Travels the Hard Road from Film to Stage

By Louise Jury, Arts Correspondent
Published: 07 April 2006

The soundtrack to the cult 1972 film The Harder They Come propelled the young Jamaican musician Jimmy Cliff to worldwide fame, and brought reggae to mainstream audiences.

Last night the 61-year-old singer, who helped Bob Marley record his first song, was the guest of honour at the premiere of a new stage version of the film, at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, London.

The show has been adapted by Perry Henzell, the director of the original film, who also attended. Rolan Bell, a young British-born actor of Jamaican descent in only his second professional role, is the new star of a production that has attracted enormous advance bookings, and will play through the summer. It includes many of the best-known songs from the highly influential film soundtrack, including "Many Rivers to Cross" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want", after Cliff and his record label agreed to grant the rights.

Cliff, who played the lead role of Ivanhoe Martin in the original film, said: "I'm pleased to see it happening in London, it's the right place for it."

The story of a country boy who goes to seek his fortune in Kingston, but is exploited and finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the film was a landmark event in Jamaica. On its release in Britain, there was little interest, but a review by the jazz musician George Melly helped it find an audience. It went on to open in America.

"It was the vehicle that propelled me to international stardom. I was known as a singer songwriter before that, but people did not know me as an actor," Cliff said. "It showed the world where the music I contributed to create was coming from. It opened the gates for Jamaican music, internationally."

The soundtrack to the cult 1972 film The Harder They Come propelled the young Jamaican musician Jimmy Cliff to worldwide fame, and brought reggae to mainstream audiences.

Last night the 61-year-old singer, who helped Bob Marley record his first song, was the guest of honour at the premiere of a new stage version of the film, at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, London.

The show has been adapted by Perry Henzell, the director of the original film, who also attended. Rolan Bell, a young British-born actor of Jamaican descent in only his second professional role, is the new star of a production that has attracted enormous advance bookings, and will play through the summer. It includes many of the best-known songs from the highly influential film soundtrack, including "Many Rivers to Cross" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want", after Cliff and his record label agreed to grant the rights.

Cliff, who played the lead role of Ivanhoe Martin in the original film, said: "I'm pleased to see it happening in London, it's the right place for it."

The story of a country boy who goes to seek his fortune in Kingston, but is exploited and finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the film was a landmark event in Jamaica. On its release in Britain, there was little interest, but a review by the jazz musician George Melly helped it find an audience. It went on to open in America.

"It was the vehicle that propelled me to international stardom. I was known as a singer songwriter before that, but people did not know me as an actor," Cliff said. "It showed the world where the music I contributed to create was coming from. It opened the gates for Jamaican music, internationally."

Ras Alan Connects Appalachia, Jamaica

By Jedd Ferris
CITIZEN-TIMES CORRESPONDENT
published: April 7, 2006 6:00 am

Ras Alan’s artistic vision revolves around the simplicity of rural life. That’s why he sees the connection between his native Blue Ridge Mountains and the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. For more than two decades he’s used his appreciation of both cultures to continually cultivate his creation of Appalachian Reggae.

Once a musician devoted to old-time and swing jazz, Alan — who grew up in Burke County and now lives just over the state line in Greene County, Tenn. — traveled to Jamaica in 1985 to attend the famed Reggae Sunsplash Festival. It was that trip and the many thereafter to the far reaches of the island’s hills that solidified his musical future.
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“I was raised a Southern Baptist playing gospel and bluegrass,” Alan said. “When I really started checking out Bob Marley, Burning Spear and the Itals, I noticed the biblical words of the Rastafari were similar to what I was raised on. There was a similar passion in the music, and I was instantly attracted to it.”

Alan also saw similarities in rhythm, noticing the chop on the mandolin reminded him of the Stratocaster’s role in island music’s steady pulse.

“I discovered listening to fiddle tunes with a pumping upright bass on someone’s front porch had the same effect as a reggae show.”

As a result, Alan’s been able to blend vintage country and Appalachian folk with the steady grooves of Jamaican ska and roots reggae. Despite seemingly obvious culture clashes, the songwriter’s personal ability to correlate the two genres makes the music breathe with authenticity.

With his homemade acoustic guitar and steady percussive foot box, he revives the dusty mountain ancestry of the Carter Family while bringing a modern context to the soulful social outcry of the Marley message.

“The main connection between Appalachia and Jamaica is the people,” Alan said. “It’s large families that help each other and have had to be creative to sustain and entertain themselves.”

Alan’s work has resonated at home as well. In 2003, he was a breakout performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., playing in front of a crowd of tens of thousands. He recorded all of his 10 sets at the event and recently combed through tracks for the live album “Folklife,” which is set for a May release.

The self-proclaimed “Dreadneck” tunesmith also received national attention recently by appearing on a spot of Country Music Television’s “Small Town Secrets” with fellow songwriters Jim Lauderdale and Wayne Henderson.

Jedd Ferris writes about music for the Citizen-Times. E-mail him at jeddferris@gmail.com.

BEFORE THE LEGEND: The Rise of Bob Marley

Bob Marley was a superstar, a musical prophet who brought the unique sounds of reggae, of Jamaica, to the entire globe—to hear his music was to experience the heartbeat, the very breath of a people. His musical style helped to obscure the color line in the music industry at a time when music was often classified within the strict confines of race. BEFORE THE LEGEND: The Rise of Bob Marley (Amistad/HarperCollins; ISBN: 0-06-053991-7; May 2006; $21.95), by acclaimed journalist Christopher John Farley goes beyond the myth to reveal Marley’s private side drawing on interviews from those closest to Marley and information that has not been previously published.

Farley takes the reader on a journey from Bob Marley’s birth in the impoverished town of Nine Miles to his early days as a struggling, talented, determined, and spiritually gifted artist, to the making of his debut album Catch a Fire. BEFORE THE LEGEND features new interviews with bandmate Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley's close family members, including his wife Rita, his mother Cedella, and his children. The book also contains the first-ever published interviews with some of Marley's "white" family members and uncovers fresh information about the reggae great's family history, including the revelation that Marley's father, believed to be white, was actually a person of color. In this first major biography of Bob Marley in more than 20 years, we see Marley as never before: in music, in love, in life, and finally on his wild ride to worldwide acceptance and adoration.

Christopher John Farley, an editor at The Wall Street Journal, is a former Time magazine senior editor and chief music critic who has interviewed a host of major recording stars over his award-winning career, including Bob Dylan, U2, REM, Aretha Franklin, Jay-Z, Joni Mitchell, Lauryn Hill, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Ziggy Marley, Shakira, Beyonce, Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Mary J. Blige and many others. He is the author of several music books, including the national bestseller Aaliyah: More Than a Woman. He is the co-author, along with Peter Guralnick and Robert Santelli, of Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues.

Blackwell's Palm Pics collars Jamaican 'Dogs'

By Gregg Goldstein Tue Mar 7, 5:27 AM ET

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Reggae music kingpin Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures has chased down all worldwide rights to "Sun Dogs," a documentary following the Jamaican Dogsled Team, sponsored by singer
Jimmy Buffett and his company Margaritaville.

The feature follows the canine crew from their native country to the 2006 U.K. championships in Scotland. Currently in production, the film paints a portrait of the human support team that champions the dogs, from Buffett to Devon Anderson, known as Jamaica's "Dr. Dolittle." It also chronicles the trials of stray dogs whose only chance at survival is getting off the country's tough streets and onto the team.

"We saw the footage and thought it was an incredible story that has a lot of humor," Blackwell said in a statement with David Koh, the firm's head of acquisitions and production. "It's the ultimate underdog story with a fierce Jamaican attitude -- a mix of 'Cool Runnings,' 'The Bad News Bears' and 'Dr. Dolittle."'

Palm Pictures, which is financing the project, plans a theatrical release late this year, followed by a DVD and CD soundtrack release on the company's Palm label. Blackwell founded Island Records, which introduced the world to Bob Marley.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Court Trial Underway in Britain

I am owed £60 million in royalties, wails Bob Marley's bassistBy Hugh Davies
(Filed for Daily Telegraph: 17/03/2006)

A musician in Bob Marley's band, the Wailers, launched a £60 million royalties lawsuit in the High Court yesterday claiming that, had he lived, the reggae star would have taken care of him financially as he had always done when they toured the world together.

Aston Barrett, known as "family man" because of his penchant for domesticity (he has 52 children), gave a broad smile in the witness box, telling Mr Justice Lewison: "Bob took care of the business; I took care of the music."

Barrett, a former member of the Jamaican band the Upsetters, who had a British hit the late 1960s with Return of Django, was hired by Marley for his distinctive bass sound and his expertise in obtaining international success.

Sitting in a court chair, he demonstrated how he handled the music with a technique called "shuffle bubble", playing an imaginary organ, and singing "eeh, oh, eeh".

With his dreadlocks twisted into a pony tail and his hearing impaired - "Too much music" - Barrett told of his years with Marley in concerts with acts such as James Brown, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Taj Mahal in London, San Francisco and Jamaica before the singer died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36.

Listening intently was Marley's elegant widow, Rita, who with seven of her children and five record companies are resisting the lawsuit.

Barrett, now in his 60s, insisted that Marley had promised members of the band equal shares of the royalties from hit albums, including Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration and Babylon by Bus.

He said he so trusted Marley that he urged him in a telephone call between Jamaica and America to sign a contract on his behalf.

The case is set against the murky background of Jamaican reggae, where its rastafarian performers, with their unintelligible patois and belief in the divinity of Haile Selassie, the late Ethiopian emperor, face murder, dubious contracts and drug disputes, with fortunes being made from their work.

Stephen Bate, counsel for Barrett, recalled tension in Kingston in 1976, when the music was identified with politics, and Marley, his wife and manager Don Taylor had been shot and wounded during political unrest in Jamaica.

He said that Barrett's father disappeared in 1985. He was found "with his body dismembered - he had been decapitated". Two years later, Barrett's brother, Carlton, the Wailers' original drummer, was "shot and killed".

Mr Bate said: "Aston Barrett and his brother literally created the sound of the Wailers, though not for a minute to detract from the extraordinary songwriting ability of Mr Marley. It was the Barretts' unique sound which brought the Wailers international success. The Barretts were the bedrock of the music."

Universal-Island Records Ltd and the Marley family say that Barrett surrendered his right to further royalties in 1994, giving up all claims in return for a payment of several hundred thousand dollars.

"He said he would always take care of us," Barrett told the court.

Mr Bate said that, when Marley died, his client and brother were left "desperately short of money" but, he added, the brothers' financial problems began after Rita Marley became the administrator of the estate. They felt they had been paid only a proportion of what they were owed, but they had no option but to sign an agreement."

The case continues.

Court Move for Bob Marley Royalties

The Press Association Thursday March 16, 08:34 AM

Bob Marley's bass player Aston Barrett is beginning a High Court battle for a multi-million pound slice of the late Reggae legend's royalties.

Aston is one of several musicians who worked with the Jamaican star and who have been involved in courtroom claims since Marley died without making a will in 1981.

There was a settlement in 1994 between various members of Marley's backing band, the Wailers, and record companies after years of litigation in Jamaica, America and Britain.

But now Aston, on behalf of himself and his drummer brother Carlton, who was murdered in 1986, is claiming a partnership agreement with Marley, copyright in six songs and royalties from recording contracts in 1974 and 1975.

These were the years when singer-songwriter Marley recorded some of his greatest albums which still have worldwide appeal.

Aston went ahead with the action after the High Court refused an application by Universal-Island Records and UMG Recordings in 2003 to have the claim struck out as an abuse of process of the courts or because the musician had already accepted a settlement.

The bass player, now in his 60s and father to 52 children, could receive a payment of up to £60 million if successful.

Jammin' away winter in Jamaica

This Caribbean island offers visitors a blend of the familiar and exotic
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/26/06
BY SUSAN REIGLER
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

While it looks relatively small on a global map, the Caribbean is a richly diverse area, culturally and geographically.

From tiny islands to the coastal countries of Central America, escapes there can be urban or ecological.

If you must choose just one Caribbean destination for a quick winter getaway, the 4,400-square-mile island country of Jamaica could be just the place.

Thanks to such exports as jerk chicken, Blue Mountain coffee and reggae music, U.S. visitors will find a few familiar features in this otherwise exotic destination.

Because of Jamaica's history as a British colony (the Brits captured it from Spain in 1654 and were in charge until autonomy was granted in 1947), the official language of the country is English, peppered with patois catch phrases such as "No problem, mon."

But be prepared for the rough-and-tumble of the cities. Hustlers and drug dealers often approach tourists. Therefore, many first-time visitors opt for resort stays.

Kingston
Jamaica's capital is a city of about 700,000. It's a good base of operation if your stay is limited and you want to experience the country's history, cuisine and night life, with a sprinkling of beach activities.

Reggae fans should check out the Bob Marley Museum, situated in a red brick house that served as the Tuff Gong recording studio. It's Kingston's most visited tourist attraction.

Another popular attraction is Devon House, an 1881 mansion furnished with period antiques that provides a glimpse into the island's colonial history. Two of the city's better restaurants, the Grog Shoppe and Norma's on the Terrace, are inside a former carriage house and in the courtyard.

Venture across Kingston Harbor to Port Royal for a tour of a now-sleepy backwater that was once the pirate capital and later the center of British naval authority in the Caribbean.

Montego Bay

MoBay, as it's known locally, is Jamaica's second-largest city (population 120,000) and its resort capital. From budget-conscious tourist hotels to private, upscale resorts, there are accommodations for all size bank accounts.

Downtown has a collection of late-18th- and early 19th-century stone and timber buildings, with the cobblestone-paved Sam Sharpe Square as a focal point.

For recreation, there are several beaches, including Doctor's Cave Beach and Walter Fletcher Beach. Both are home to food courts, cafes, changing areas and facilities for water sports. Reggae parties are regularly scheduled. Three championship golf courses — Half Moon Golf Club, SuperClubs Golf Club and Tryall Club — are just east of Montego Bay near Ironshore.

Guided tours of Montego Bay Marine Park, which stretches along the coast for almost six miles, include coral reefs and mangrove islands. Waterfowl residents include pelicans, egrets and herons, while the tea-colored water is home to barracuda and tarpon.

Restaurants tend to stay open into the wee hours, with music blaring and drinks flowing. The famous Pork Pit features open-air munching on jerk chicken and pork on picnic tables.

Negril
Negril, with a population of 4,000, is at the western tip of Jamaica. It has the reputation of being the most laid-back city on the island. There are nude beaches here. But in recent years, it also has developed a notable ecotourism industry.

This is due, in large part, to the Great Morass, a dense mangrove swamp that is a refuge for rare animals and plants including crocodiles.

Negril also is famous for its nightly reggae concerts. Big-name bands perform at MXIII and Roots Bamboo.

Family of reggae legend marks 13th Marley Fest in Miami

Marley's family: 'We celebrate our lives through him'
BY EVELYN McDONNELL
emcdonnell@MiamiHerald.com

For 13 years, the family of the late music legend Bob Marley has been the defining feature of Miami's annual funky reggae party, the Marley Fest. But beyond their formidable legacy, the mother and sons of the Third World's first superstar hadn't necessarily earned their headlining status. Until now.

Saturday's Marley Fest at Bayfront Park has been named Jam Rock after the breakthrough success of Damian ''Jr. Gong'' Marley's second album, the Grammy-winning, gold-certified Welcome to Jamrock. Robert Nesta's youngest son set a record for most first-week sales by a reggae album (86,000) when Jamrock debuted on Billboard's Top 10 in September. Those sales were propelled by the success of the title track, a gritty anthem about poverty and violence in Jamaica.

Brother Stephen ''Ragga'' Marley, who coproduced the crossover hit, says it was just a matter of time before the Marley name reentered the charts.

''If the people get the music, it will have that success,'' he said over the phone from the Lion's Den, the Marleys' studio in South Miami. ``That was the problem: getting music to people in that mainstream. We make the music good.''

The Marleys have become a growing cooperative cottage industry over the last decade. Damian, Stephen, Julian and Ky-Mani -- all of whom perform Saturday -- have steadily released albums and toured, often working together through their Ghetto Youth label. Damian's '01 release Halfway Tree won a Grammy for best reggae album. Two weeks ago, Jamrock won two Grammys: for best reggae and best urban/alternative performance.

''It has a lot to do with momentum,'' Stephen says. ``His last record never do so well, but in streets it gain a lot of respect. Through that, everyone was looking for this record. The song was perfect for that. It's important in the lyrics, yet the beat was heavy, a hard beat. The people in the club appreciate that.''

Jamrock broke through in part because it fit in with the thundering sounds of hip-hop and reggaeton (both of which genres have their roots in reggae). But in a sense, the sons were following the mix-it-up spirit of their father, who brought the message music of Jamaica to a rock audience in the '70s.

''You still have people who just want to have a good time, who don't want to hear something too serious,'' Stephen says. ``Then you have people who love brain food. If you can, give them the best of both.''

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

The other siblings are hoping to build on their brother's success. Stephen is finishing up his own CD, which he describes as ''the next page of the book.'' Albums by Julian and Ky-Mani are in the works.

The clan, including Marley matriarch Cedella Marley Booker, will share the stage at Bayfront Park, as they do at every Marley Fest. 'These festive things that have to do with our father, they're more in a celebrating vibe. We don't say we're going to do a concert. We do it together, more than, `This is Damian, this is Steve.' We celebrate our life through him.''

Earlier this month, the Marley siblings and others performed in Ghana for the second annual Africa Unite concert. Last year's, in Ethiopia, marked the 60th anniversary of Bob's birth. Bob's widow, Rita, plans to make them an annual event in different African countries.

This year sees a more somber marker: the 25th anniversary of Bob Marley's death from cancer at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami (the artist stopped here after falling too ill to fly on his way from treatment in Germany to Jamaica). He was 36. Stephen says there are no plans to commemorate his passing: ``We're addressing the life.''

The festival is an important date in the Marleys' calendar, their chance to give back to a city that has been the family's base in the United States since Cedella moved here in '78.

''This city is our second home, after Jamaica,'' Stephen says. ``This is one of the only places we come. Miami is our family. People love our father here. We give back to them.''

`WE ALL ARE ONE'

The third son of Bob Marley says the family is not letting the success of one sibling disrupt the harmony of a clan who do not all share the same blood lines, yet have banded together. (Bob had 10 children by eight women, and adopted two children of Rita's as his own). Damian is not letting fame go to his head, Stephen says.

``We're getting treated properly. We talk about these things. We make sure we know.''

But thanks to Jamrock, this year's Marley Fest, which as usual includes a food drive, should be a bigger celebration than ever.

Reggae's Universal Groove

RAGGA MUFFINS FESTIVAL DEMONSTRATES MUSIC'S GLOBAL SCOPE
By Andrew Gilbert
Special to the Mercury News

At a concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last month, Gilberto Gil decided to tap into a universal groove.

The Tropicalia hero has written literally dozens of hits; now he serves as Brazil's minister of culture. But instead of focusing on homegrown songs, Gil played a set of Bob Marley classics. Within minutes, the audience packed into the Morro da Urca theater was moving to ``Positive Vibration,'' and then we all joined in on the refrain of ``No Woman, No Cry.''

The concert was a powerful reminder that reggae is a global force, and more than a quarter-century after his death at the age of 36, Marley is the music's international icon. That's exactly the point of the annual Ragga Muffins Festival, which rolls into the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium tonight, and up to San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Saturday afternoon.

While the headliner at tonight's show is Jamaica's ``Cool Ruler'' star Gregory Isaacs, the program includes an array of reggae talent, such as the United Kingdom's Misty in Roots, German-born roots-reggae vocalist Gentleman and Santa Cruz's Soul Majestic.

``Bob Marley may be the most internationally recognized person and musician in the world,'' says Moss Jacobs, producer of the four-city Ragga Muffins tour. ``It's not a surprise that across Europe, Africa and Japan, reggae is homegrown music. Gentleman is huge in Europe. Misty in Roots are legendary in the U.K. For us, it's fun to be able to expose Americans to the music's international scope.''

No Ragga Muffins artist better captures the infinitely malleable nature of reggae than 26-year-old Matisyahu, a Hasidic Jew from West Chester, Pa., whose hit ``King Without a Crown'' has crossed over from alternative radio stations to mainstream outlets such as Live 105. Blending phrases of Yiddish and Hebrew with his English lyrics, Matisyahu delivers his verses in a sing-song rasta roots style that often gives way to dexterous beat-boxing and an Ashkenazi cantorial wail.

As unlikely as Matisyahu might seem, he brings a spiritual consciousness to his music that's ``completely harmonious with the essential nature of reggae,'' Jacobs says. ``That's one reason why reggae appeals to all shapes and colors. It's a stimulating, spiritually charged form of music that reaches across age, color and economic strata.''

Another element in reggae's widespread appeal can be found in Marley's enduring, defiant call for social justice. That's the message that first caught the attention of Michael Franti, who performs with his group Spearhead on Saturday at the Bill Graham Civic. The San Francisco program also features Matisyahu, Gregory Isaacs, Gentleman, Misty in Roots, Dezarie and Marley's former band the Wailers.

Franti vividly recalls the first time he heard Marley's music on the radio, as a 13-year-old in 1980. The song was ``Coming in From the Cold'' from the classic album ``Uprising,'' and the anti-war message imprinted itself deeply on his consciousness.

`` `Would you let the system/ Make you kill your brother man?' '' Franti says, quoting from the lyric. ``I was so moved by that.''

While Franti (who also headlines the ``Santa Cruz Dayz'' show Friday at that city's Civic Auditorium, on a triple bill with guitarist Keller Williams and the female percussion ensemble Goddess Funk) has been a leader among politically engaged progressive musicians since he co-founded the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy in the early 1990s, he has also found inspiration in Marley's romantic side.

``He wasn't afraid to write songs about how much he loved his girlfriend and put them next to songs about standing up and fighting,'' Franti says. ``I think that's the single most important thing I've taken from Marley. I want to write about the full rainbow of human emotions, not just anger and politics.''

Like Jacobs, Franti sees Marley as the era's transcendent musical figure, an artist whose message has reached every corner of the globe. More than charisma, love and justice, he credits Marley's irresistibly loping groove as the ultimate source of his appeal.

``In America we're taught that Elvis is the king of rock, and the Beatles are the princes,'' Franti says. ``But as you travel the world, it's Bob Marley who's the icon of popular music. You can dance to every song; that's the thing that made his music so universal.''