Vintage meets primary

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

If ever 'A Change is Gonna Come' in the society, the expectation is that it will have to start with the young people. Fittingly, then, the Sam Cooke classic was Bunny Brown's choice for a Teachers' Day visit to St Richard's Primary School, Red Hills Road, St Andrew.

Brown was not alone in singing at the school's morning devotion: Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates' (JAVAA) Jackie Dawes and De'on Hardy also performed. Neither was it JAVAA's first visit to the institution: 10 members of the executive attended and conducted a previous devotion and handed over a Certificate of Appreciation to the school.

JAVAA appreciated not only the school band, Tres Dolce's, visit to their family day at the Half-Way Tree Entertainment Centre, but were in awe of the students' skill. Hardy said Dawes had seen the band perform previously and was so impressed that she wanted them to perform at JAVAA's late-February gathering. They did, and "we were blown away ... . They were so confident. They performed well".

Shawn Rhoden, who has been the music teacher at St Richard's for four and a half years, said Tres Dolce was formed about September 2008, and currently has 11 members. Included in the hour-long programme at the JAVAA gathering were renditions of Waiting in Vain, Jammin', Earth a Run Red and Baltimore. They also played for Baggadito (Ras Mandito and Bagga Case) as they sang Dennis Brown's Love Has Found Its Way.

Stickler for standards

There was another Dennis Brown song, How Could I Live, which was written by JAVAA member Dwight Pinkney who was in the audience. Hardy said Pinkney, who is a stickler for standards, was pleased.

Tres Dolce made such an impression, Hardy said, that JAVAA decided they had to make a contribution. This led to school visits, the Certificate of Appreciation presentation and the promise of further support.

"We are trying to get sponsorship so we can support the band," Hardy told The Gleaner.

She remarked that at the Teachers' Day visit they realised "the children know all the songs" and were especially touched by A Change is Gonna Come. JAVAA also plans to connect with other schools, "but this is the first one so far".

Rhoden said this was the last year at St Richard's for most of the Tres Dolce members. While he would like to keep them together, the future is uncertain. He pointed out, though, that there were other students with the interest and talent, so he was confident that once he worked with them and had regular rehearsals they would reach the standard of the current members - or even exceed them.

And Rhoden said that while the required funding was "not quite there yet", he was confident Tres Dolce would be making their Barbados dates this Labour Day weekend, where they have three shows - an hour-long solo performance, a church performance and a date on a cruise.