Kevin 'Nana Moses' Calvert ...Contributed
'Tis the season to be merry and Kevin 'Nana Moses' Calvert brings the holiday spirit on his album The Love Of Christmas.
Calvert said he decided to do this project because he wanted to produce something fresh and exciting.
"I wanted to create an opportunity to blend different kinds of music and bring a fresh sense of creativity to the whole Christmas season without changing the meaning," said Calvert, who is a storyteller, poet, writer, producer and gospel artiste.
He also noted that in some sense, it seemed people had lost the true meaning of the season and were more preoccupied with the festivities.
"Christmas has become a cliché thing for many people. They are caught up in the festivities of the season and not in fulfilling their deepest purpose, which is to serve God, and the love of labour and the world, and not just being focused on self," he told The Gleaner.
The album, which was launched recently, features Dorothy Cunningham as 'Miss Zella' and Silton Townsend as 'Mas Gussie', who were both part of the once popular TV series Lime Tree Lane. It also features singers, such as Lester Lewis, Noreta Lewis and Mark Bradford.
With this cast, Calvert said, drama is included and there is also a diversity of talent.
"It's old school meets new school. It's humorous, refreshing, cultural, Jamaican. It is not trying to fit into somebody else's box. The rhythm, feel and language are Jamaican; the Jamaican people's perspective of who God is in their own context," said the Portland-born Calvert.
He said Cunningham and Townsend were chosen because they are well known from Lime Tree Lane and he thought it would have been fitting to bring them back on his project. The other artistes were people he always wanted to work with.
The crew, Calvert said, "was tremendous. The laughter, the sharing of each other's input to make the project. I learnt a lot and it has certainly helped to sharpen me to make me a better artiste."
But as someone who majored in theology at the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) and the University of the West Indies, Calvert said he wanted to find a different way to reach people. Hence, the nature of the album.
"I wanted to find a way to make the gospel relevant, practical and interesting to people, and the arts provide the perfect medium to make it a possibility. I am always searching for creative ways to make this happen," Calvert told The Gleaner.
He said he also wanted to do the project because Christmas is an important time on the Christian calendar and it demomstrates to the whole of humanity that God is with us.
The Love of Christmas, he said, is intended to bridge the gap between the young and the old, especially because both his great-grandmothers are still alive.
"I like to represent them. The wisdom they imparted to me is still with me. They have given me a rich heritage of the generations that have passed," Calvert said, while disclosing that they told him of their Christmas experiences when they were children.
The Reverend Dr Marjorie Lewis, lecturer at the UTCWI, lauded Calvert's effort.
"Nana Moses, in what we have come to recognise as his distinctive style, combines music and rhythm with drama and speech to bring back the spirit of the real old-time Jamaican Christmas," she said.
"We are invited in this album to celebrate the best within us and our world at Christmas, and to tell again the good news that the reign of God has broken into human history."
While the album is filled with singing, Calvert explained that it was also a visual experience. He said the launch took the form of a stage production. This production is currently being shown at various churches across Jamaica. And, he said, the cast had been invited to various places to perform.
'ARTICAL WORSHIP'
Calvert described what he does as "artical worship", as he blends poetry, drama, music, painting and sculpture in his ministry.
"You are never certain about what you are gonna see until you come to the show. Poetry is the hub that holds everything together."
In 'artical' worship, "It's not God coming at you with pointing fingers but that God is coming out of you, affirming you as a person and the gifts that he has embedded in you, using a language that all the participants can understand."
Calvert is not a typical minister either. His hair appears locked, he sometimes wears a tam, and dresses very laid-back. He said he was often described as a radical and many people thought he was a Rastafarian.
"I am a very controversial person, not because I choose to be, because of my image, ideologies and Christian thoughts. Even the medium that I use to reach people, I have become a bone of contention for some," Calvert said.
"It's OK to create a little discomfort to comfort those that need to be comforted the most."
In addition to his ministry, Calvert owns his own company, Kairos Creations, which includes a record label, artiste management, production company, the Kairos Band and a rehearsal studio.