Studio at Edna Manley College to be named in honour of Ibo Cooper
The recording studio atEdna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts will be refurbished and named in honour of “musician par excellence, the quintessential reggae ambassador”, the late Kingsley Michael ‘Ibo’ Cooper.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange made the announcement as part of the tribute she paid to Cooper at his service of thanksgiving at the University Chapel, Mona, last Thursday.
Norman Dunn, state minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, delivered the tribute on behalf of Grange who was not able to attend the service.
Cooper, the co-founder of internationally acclaimed reggae band, Third World, and a lecturer at the college for more than two decades, was lauded for being “a constant and reliable presence in the service of the Jamaican music industry”, who was always around and “approached almost everything he did with a keen sense of purpose”.
A member of the Entertainment Advisory Board, Cooper, was hailed as someone who “would enrich the debates with his awesome knowledge of the technical and commercial imperatives involved in the music industry”.
“The growth of Reggae Month into the multifaceted cultural experience it has become is due in large part to Ibo and his band of faithful allies who worked tirelessly with me and a number of organisations to secure the resources to expand the scope of the celebration which has now become an annual tourist attraction,” Grange said.
She noted that Cooper’s roles at national events included event organiser, musical director, orchestra conductor, composer, arranger, lyricist, and much more.
“Ibo loved music and worked very hard at it. He would always find ways to help aspiring talent to find their way on their musical journey. Ibo was a believer in the enormous possibility training provided for self-development and would advocate for those he thought deserving with every fibre of his being,” Grange said.
In closing, she stated, “Ibo – storyteller, musician, father, brother, husband, teacher, musician extraordinaire and Rasta Messenger, you have left so many empty spaces. We will miss your passion and will always cherish the ways in which you impacted the lives of those of us who held you dear and with such high regard.”