Digital launch of Harry J Live Couch Series pays tribute to Bob Andy

As virtual music concerts continue to attract mass audiences due to the global intermission caused by COVID-19, the Harry J Live Couch Series live music jam session was launched on April 14. Produced by Tara Johnson, daughter of producer Harry J, the launch session featured a unique crop of musicians who gave tribute to the late, great Jamaican vocalist, Bob Andy.

“As I witnessed the unprecedented shutdown of the entertainment industry in Jamaica and, by extension, worldwide, coupled with the death of a great friend of my father, I turned to one of the most reliable healing sources for people during challenging times – music,” said Johnson, managing director of the recently re-equipped Harry J Studio, when asked why she embarked on the Live Couch Series Project.

EASY CHOICE

“It was easy for me to choose to honour Bob Andy because of his impeccable writing skills which seamlessly translates to the core of his listeners, and also because he was one of the prolific artistes to record multiple tracks with my father at the studio,” she continued.

Consideration was taken to select three Bob Andy songs that would resonate with the audience because of the relevance of the lyrics at this time, as well as the popularity of the tracks. In a five-minute-and-thirty-one-second jam, vocalist Keron ‘Kalex’ Alexander with Jevaughn Jones on guitar, Jordan Williams and O’niel Dacres on keyboard, Ramone Smith on drums, Jerome Small on bass vibed to the songs Peace In Your Mind, Life and Young Gifted and Black. All three songs are a part of the Harry J Catalogue recorded at the studio during the 1970s.

The Harry J Live Couch Series is the second live music jam session undertaken by Tara Johnson in recent times as she launched the exclusive monthly musical experience – Set List – in October 2019. Each staging of Set List featured a mixture of emerging and established musicians who would perform songs to a pre-prepared set list. The established musicians aid in sharpening the skills of the emerging musicians (through their performance), as they all showcase their musical prowess and entertain the audience. The most recent staging of Set List was a Reggae Month Special Edition in February.

The Harry J Live Couch Series is powered by Conceptual Lighting and will continue with a Bob Marley Medley, as well as global favourites from the Harry J Catalogue.