Daniel T. Neely | Ba uafásach an torann…
Junco Partner
Here’s one from the archives: It came out on a Joe Strummer tribute record released in Italy in 2005(ish). The track was recorded in the studio under Jammyland (60 East 3rd Street, NYC). I think the group – called the Freshmakers – included me (banjo and bamboo sax), Bob Timm (rumba box), Jay Nugent (guitar), [...]
Blue Glaze Mento Band CD Launch!
Tonight, the Blue Glaze Mento Band will be in Kingston to launch its latest album, We Will Wait. The group worked with New Orleans producer Bill Monstead on a really nice mix of mento, reggae and gospel. However, what I think mento fans will find most compelling is that this album not only features some [...]
Jolly Boys on NPR
Banning Eyre (of Afropop Worldwide fame) put together a really nice piece about the Jolly Boys for NPR this week – it’s worth a listen. It talks about the JB’s recently released Great Expectation album yet. If you haven’t bought it yet, what are you waiting for?
Like a Model T with a New CD Player
On Thursday, February 24th, the Jolly Boys came to New York to debut Great Expectation at the Hiro Ballroom. A large and extremely fashionable, culturally engaged crowd came to see the band’s new, more angsty modern mento repertory and sound. Then, on Friday the 25th, the group performed three songs live on WNYC’s Greene Spaces. It [...]
Take Me To Jamaica!
Hey, so mento was featured on BoingBoing today! (If you’ve come here before you probably know that I wrote my dissertation about mento, I’ve worked very closely with many Jamaican mento musicians over the last twelve years or so, and that I love seeing mento get the broad attention it deserves – I’m really happy [...]
Nelson Chambers
On November 14th, my good friend Nelson Chambers passed away. Nelson was born in Thompson Town, Clarendon on October 10, 1944. He came from a musical family–all of his grandparents played instruments (mostly for their church), as did his parents: his mother, Leitira Reid (who is still alive), sings and plays guitar and his father, [...]
Jolly Boys Rolling up the Charts!
The Jolly Boys are featured in an article in today’s Jamaica Observer and while my participation is noted, the most interesting part by far is where they reported on how well the new Jolly Boys album is doing: Great Expectations was No 1 in Austria, No 1 in Belgium, No 1 in Switzerland, No 1 [...]
Hey, I got Interviewed!
Steve Shafer, proprietor of the excellent Duff Guide to Ska blog, has posted an interview he did with me about my research on mento and work with the Jolly Boys! Click here to ch-ch-check it out!
Jolly Boys Press!
As I write the Jolly Boys are out on tour, getting their feet wet in Europe. Although I wish I could be there with them to see how their stage show is developing, I am living vicariously through the press coverage. I would imagine there’s still much more to come, but the stuff I’ve seen [...]
Jolly Boys Video & Website
If you’ve come to the site before, you might remember that last November I became involved in a recording project with the Jolly Boys, an important mento group from Port Antonio, Jamaica. (BTW, I came into the project on Herbie Miller’s recommendation; Herbie’s a good friend and is doing important work as the director of [...]