( L - R ) Byron Lee, Miriam Makeba
The Bank of Jamaica's (BOJ) lunch-hour concert held, on Friday, was dedicated to Byron Lee, bandleader extraordinaire, and South African folk singer and anti-apartheid activist, Miriam Makeba.
Byron 'Dragon' Lee died on November 4, after a long battle with cancer, while Miriam 'Mama Africa' Makeba died after performing in southern Italy at a concert against organised crime, on November 10.
Errol Lee and the Bare Essentials band entertained the two-thirds full auditorium.
Great man
Original Dragonaire and vocalist Keith Lyn, introduced by MC Errol Lee as a "little Chiney man", serenaded the audience with one of Byron Lee's classics, Empty Chair, to which the audience sang along. Lyn commented that Byron Lee was a great man who "set a precedent for all musicians".
Lyn demonstrated his versatility with a shrilling harmonica while performing Portrait of My Love. His signature sustained note on the word 'portrait' (about one minute), with a soft 'of my love', ended the song to a standing ovation.
With a brief reflection on Byron Lee's involvement in ska, mento and folk music, it was ska time featuring Jamaica Ska, Sammy Dead and Wings of a Dove. A few lovers of "big people music" at the front row danced the ska, much to the delight of the audience.
One man eagerly went down the aisle to the front and showed off his shuffling skills, while students and teachers from Buff Bay Primary School, on a field trip to the Institute of Jamaica, danced and flapped their arms to Wings of a Dove. Lyn received a standing ovation at the end of his presentation.
Guest vocalist Sabrina Williams started her set by singing her recently recorded, slow, sentimental version of Should I, a reggae classic made popular by the late Dennis Brown.
The click
Miriam Makeba's The Click Song, once banned in South Africa, followed with lively audience participation.
Heather 'Brown Sugar' Grant, in what appeared to be an unrehearsed performance by the band, got the right tempo of her song, Worky, on the third attempt.
The band closed the concert with the popular Dancehall Soca rhythm, to which the Buff Bay Primary School students were invited to do the Butterfly.
Others in the audience attempted the 'Nuh Linga' and the 'Gully Creepa' at the request of the band.