The celebrations of 50 years of Jamaican independence continue this October with a spectacular series of concerts by a heavily expanded version of Jazz Jamaica paying tribute to Bob Marley and The Wailers’ Catch A Fire, the album that turned Marley into an international superstar in 1973.
On stage the Jazz Jamaica All Stars and Urban Soul Orchestra will combine into a 30-piece orchestra featuring former Aswad singer Brinsley Forde on lead vocals.
Jazz Jamaica is led by Gary Crosby OBE, the Artistic Director of Tomorrow’s Warriors and nephew of the great Jamaican guitarist, Ernest Ranglin OD. In the past 20 years Jazz Jamaica have released a number of exquisite albums, inventing and defining the musical genre of Jamaican Jazz in the process. Their line-up has often featured legendary Jamaican performers like Rico Rodriguez, Michael “Bammie” Rose, Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton and Tony Uter.
Apart from fronting Aswad from 1975 to 2008, legendary singer Brinsley Forde has also tried his hand at acting. He appeared in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever and played the character Blue in the cult Reggae movie Babylon.
To get an idea of what to expect, take a look at a clip from the opening night in Nottingham. Or watch the trailer for the tour.
We will be in London for the show on 24th October to find out if it is really as good as it sounds. Watch this space…
Be quick, if you want to go, for some of the dates there are not many tickets left:
Fri 28 Sep NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall 0115 989 5555
Fri 12 Oct SOUTHAMPTON Guildhall 023 8059 5151
Sat 13 Oct BIRMINGHAM Birmingham Town Hall 0121 345 0600
Wed 24 Oct LONDON Queen Elizabeth Hall 0844 875 0073
Fri 26 Oct LEEDS Leeds Town Hall 0113 224 3801
Wed 31 Oct LEICESTER De Montfort Hall 0116 233 3111
Fri 02 Nov EDINBURGH Usher Hall 0131 228 1155