Labelling concerts as ‘Jazz’ festivals is misleading when Reggae or American R&B acts are the headliners,” according to Herbie Miller, Director/Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum (JaMM).
Miller expressed contempt for the careless branding of concerts in Jamaica (and elsewhere) saying, “Jazz is Jazz, and R&B, Ska, Reggae, Dancehall—they all are specific kinds of music. But when you have a Jazz Festival that is promoted as such, and you get Diana Ross, John Legend, Mariah Carey, and some guys from Australia, it’s not even Jazz; it’s nothing.”
April 30 is designated International Jazz Day by UNESCO, and Miller says the term “jazz” is misleading as he specifically relates to the Jamaica Jazz & Blue Festival in an interview on Nationwide 90 FM.(April 29)
“I remember them booking a horn player for, I think, Kool and the Gang, and he said, ‘Man, I’ve never been booked for a Jazz Festival before,'” Miller said. “How could you do that and mislead people?” he questioned in disdain.
The Air Jamaica Jazz & Blue Festival was started in 1996 by St. Lucian promoter Allen Chastanet, whose mission was to promote Jamaican pop culture. The headliners were reggae artists Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Toots and The Maytals, and guitarist Ernie Ranglin. Guitarists George Benson and Buddy Guy were also on the bill.
St. Lucia will be kickstarting the 2024 The St. Lucian Jazz and Arts Festival on April 30-May 12. Night one features Teejay and Romain Virgo and among the major headliners over the two weeks are Afrobeats star Davido, Beres Hammond, Machel Montano, Air Supply Donnie McClurkin, Babyface and more.
Chastanet, who became Prime Minister of St. Lucia in 2016-2021, told the Jamaica Observer in 2013, “Jamaica has a strong musical lineage, and I consider reggae to be Caribbean blues music. The festival gave us an opportunity to bring in a more diverse line-up.”
Miller regards billing pop acts for Jazz events as pervasive miseducation surrounding music on the island and recalls an encounter with a young lady who equated jazz with the likes of Gladys Knight and the Pips.
“I once called a young lady to perform some Jazz for me,” he recounts. “She said ‘Oh Yes!’ I said, ‘Who are the Jazz people you listen to?’ She said Gladys Knight and the Pips and a whole slew of artist like that. I said, ‘What about Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter?’ She had never heard of them.”
He likened the musical misidentification to getting yams instead of mangoes. “So it’s miseducation that has been created, and every now and again you see things jump up with the title Jazz. It’s like going to a Yam Festival but getting mangoes and ripe bananas—everything but yam. That’s the problem.”
Air Jamaica, which was then owned by Sandals founder Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, spent almost $50,000 to stage the first Jazz and Blues Festival, while Chastanet was the vice-president of marketing and sales at the now-defunct airline. Partners for the show included Paxton Baker of BET and Jamaican show promoter Walter Elmore, according to the Jamaica Observer. Elmore eventually took over the festival in 2004 and increased the audience size to 30,000 patrons. Air Jamaica gave way to the Jamaica Tourist Board in 2009 as the titled sponsor.
The aim was to attract more tourists to the island, although the Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium never received support from the hotels in neighboring Montego Bay, according to Chastanet, whose political career include a stint as St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism.
Among the artists who have performed at Jamaica Jazz and Blues over the years include Beres Hammond, Gramps Morgan, Al Jarreau, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Air Supply, Maroon 5, Celine Dion, and R&B star Babyface. The last staging was a virtual event in 2021.
Babyface is set to headline Reggae Sumfest this year in Montego Bay.
The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sports will be staging their International Jazz Day event on April 30 at the Louis Bennett Garden Theatre, featuring American performer Curtis Lundy Quintet, the JAMM Orchestra, along with other local talents.
