Party time at Leroy Sibbles ‘crowning’

Although there were no crowns, thrones, golden microphones, plaques, fancy speeches, nor any other kind of officialdom normally associated with an event titled ‘The Crowning ...’, that certainly didn’t prevent the man of the moment Leroy Sibbles, and his musical friends from having a party and fully entertaining the small crowd inside the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

Sibbles was celebrating 60 years in the music industry and also his massive achievement as the creator of some of the most enduring basslines in reggae music, hence the self-proclaimed ‘King of Reggae Basslines’ title. Celebrating with him were Dean Fraser, Duane Stephenson, Etana, Singing Melody, Andrew Cassanova, and an on-the-spot arrival, Bongo Herman, who was called on to close the show after Sibbles made his exit.

Apologies were made for the 55-minute late start due to technical difficulties, but the musical selections from Mikey Barnett kept patrons comfortable and when saxophonist extraordinaire Dean Fraser took to the stage, he simply blew the crowd away. Fraser was masterful. He and the sax became one and he created full blown ‘saxy’ drama with a blend of reggae, R&B and jazz. The people loved it, especially when Fraser did his signature pause, look at the audience, smile briefly and then segue into some kind of extended, edgy, soulful phrases that are guaranteed to take their collective breaths away. His rendition of the Carpenters’ Superstar was fitting and his 27 minutes onstage seemed way too short, but his presence was felt throughout the night, as he also played with the band onstage.

The community of August Town was well represented by Etana from Wrong Address and Duane Stephenson . Not wasting any time, Stephenson paid tribute to Sibbles, as he performed a tight set, earning big forwards for Little Cottage in Negril, Equal Rights, Real Ghetto Pain and, of course, his massive hit, August Town.

Introduced by emcee Kamila McDonald, as ‘Queen Etana’, the songstress was in her element. Making her appearance at 10:12 pm, Etana handled the show properly, interacting with the audience, sharing the story of one of her songs, introducing a new song, and giving respect to Sibbles for his contributions to the music. Exuding quiet sexiness in form-fitting pants and top, Etana chose Free Like a Bird as her opening song, received shouts of appreciation and kept her performance on a constant high throughout.

BLOCKBUSTER HIT

She told her fans, who seemed to be everyone present, that she wrote Wrong Address after her aunt, who was more than qualified, was denied a job simply because of where she lived. The queen also asked the musicians to “play it low” as she introduced a song from her new album, Nectar of the Gods. That song was Grateful, and it speaks gratitude into life. The Strong One was also vocal about her desire to see that “no more youths locked up in jail for ganja” and injected a line from Richie Spice’s smoking hot ganja tune – Plane Land – into her blockbuster hit I am not Afraid.

“My grandmother used to say when you know God you have no fear,” she told her receptive audience and even took time to delightfully pop a little style during the introduction to People Talk. “People talk but we keep on walking. And we walk wid style yuh nuh,” Etana said, laughing as she gave them the carefree, queen walk.

The audience wanted more of Etana, but she had to exit to make way for Singing Melody, although she continued holding court backstage.

Singing Melody, during his performance, took fans through the stages of his career as a newcomer, “when me and mi brother Wayne Wonder a trod dancehall”, as a solo artiste, and as a member of the successful, all-male quartet, LUST. He acknowledged, however, that “tonight is about basslines”, and made sure to select some of the songs which had basslines created by Sibbles. His set included a piece of Terror Fabulous’ Jah Works, tunes such as Swing Low, Love Me Just As I Am, Stand up For Love and the hugely popular, Say What.

Immediately following Singing Melody was Leroy Sibbles, who beamed with pride as he was serenaded by his 16-year-old granddaughter, Empress States, and made the point that his legacy is intact. He got his segment started with songs such as Party Time, Feel Like Jumping, 54/46, Why Must I, Gonna Fight, before bringing his bass onstage at 11:55 p.m. because “di people dem waan wine up dem waist”.

Singer Andrew Cassanova did an excellent job on the Abyssinians’ Satta Massagana, Luciano’s Sweep Over My Soul, Beres Hammond’s Tempted to Touch and Can You Play Some More, Tony Rebel’s Fresh Vegetable, Freddie McGregor’s I see it in you, Wailing Souls’ Things and Time Will Tell, Beware by Tarrus Riley, and Sanchez’s Brown Eyes. The songs all have one thing in common, the bassline was created by Leroy Sibbles.

Upon Cassanova’s exit, the fans shouted “Gwaan Leroy!”, which wasn’t a dismissal; instead it was a cry for more. He obliged and later gave way to Bongo Herman after midnight to pull the curtains down.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com