Coleman

When jazz guitarist Deborah Coleman performs at Blues on the Green at Hope Gardens tonight, it will be the first time she'll be performing in Kingston. She has been to Jamaica before, performing on the western side of the island, and while those memories are vague, they are pleasant.

"Everybody was having a great time, we were relaxed. There were no 'stiffy' people, not a 'critique-y' type of thing, just having a good time and just jamming. The people were crazy, I do remember that, and it's been a while since I've been here, but I do remember that," she said.

Now that she is back, she relishes having another good jam to remember. She will be sharing a stage with local jazz vocalist Myrna Hague and the Maurice Gordon group, people whom she has never worked with before or even have heard of. Not that it matters. "I am looking forward to that, for sure. I am always up for playing with other musicians," she said.

Military family

Playing with other musicians has been a way of life for the 53-year-old Coleman.

She said it would be easier to tell who she hasn't played with in her relatively short career that has been highlighted by performances at the legendary B.B. King's 80th birthday party a few years back, and performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about a decade ago.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Coleman was raised in a military family. She was a 'brat' whose siblings all play instruments. Her two brothers played the guitar and a sister, the guitar and keyboards. Her father, she said, was a classically trained pianist who joined the military because her mother wouldn't have it. 'It' being any thought of pursuing a career in music.

Her father introduced her to the guitar after she had expressed an interest in playing, even though back then in the early 1960s there weren't many women playing the instrument. She began learning, teaching herself to play when she was only eight and began playing professionally at 15.

Connection

"I listened to a lot of records, just tried to copy it all but eventually I finally had to get fired out of a couple of bands to really get serious," she said. But mastery didn't come overnight. I think I was about 25 when I was just sitting there one day playing when I felt this connection with the instrument and it made sense. I wasn't just hitting it, all of a sudden there was life in the guitar and from that time I thought 'I can do this'."

Her influences were some of the best in the business, including the legendary Jimmy Hendrix, James Brown, The Beatles and The Monkees. Hendrix, she said, was a heavy influence because "he brought a new style that even today there aren't many people who have even come close".

These days she makes most of her living in Europe, Scandinavia mainly, where she has a growing audience.

She hopes Jamaicans will become a part of her audience, too, after they see her perform and take something positive away from the experience. She wants them to remember "that I was able to come here and perform for the people of Jamaica and show them a good time".