Gift Drummond

Don Drummond was born between 1932 and 1935 with Kingston, Jamaica, in the district of Trenchtown. He dies in 1969 with Kingston. There is a trombonist and type-setter jamaïcain resulting from the Jazz, he will remain one of the greatest legends of the Ska and the music jamaïcaine for its individual work like for its career within the Skatalites, mythical group formed in 1963.

Biography

Don Drummond was among the figures most representative of the ska and one of the founding members of Skatalites. He was the most prolific type-setter in his kind, with nearly 300 titles under his name. Even before the birth of the ska, Drummond was already regarded as a legend jamaïcaine for its prowesses in jazz and as a professor of the young orphans of the Alpha Servant boys School of Kingston. It is initially as a pupil that he attends this establishment under the direction of Rupert Anderson. The tradition wants that the former boarders become professors thereafter. He teaches then with Rico Rodriguez, Vernon Muller, Joe Harriott and Vincent Gordon.

Don Drummond integrates thereafter the local orchestras such as Colony Club Orchestrated Eric Dean or the Tony Brown Orchestra . Liking the jazz, it forms a group, the Don Drummond Four and is elected better trombonist of the year 1954. Clement Dodd the reference mark at the time of one of its shows and the recruiting in its groups of studio (the Blues Blasters , The City Slickers or the Studio One Orchestra ), where several Skatalites futures officiate. Its career of studio starts in 1956, it mainly recorded specials (master originals and exclusively for Sound system). In 1959, however, these specials started to be marketed for Jamaica then the England. Drummond also records for the producers Leslie Kong ( Spitfire ), Vincent Chin ( Don' T Bury Me , Dandy Gift D.), Prince Buster ( That Man Is Back , Dewdrops , Corner Stone ), Justin Yap ( Ringo , Confucious , Ska-Ra-Van ) and Duke Reid ( Eastern Standart Time , Occupation , Let Georges Do It ).

Its first influences come from large jazzmen American such Jay Jay Johnson or Kai Winding. The genius of Gift Drummond did not come without price, it was a manifestly eccentric man who suffered from schyzophrénie, his erratic behavior having been worth the nickname of " to him; Gift Cosmic" on behalf of Dodd. It was frequent that at the time of concerts, there stops playing and remaining motionless on the scene in front of a stirring up public. It is one of the first musicians Rasta and attends the groundations of Count Ossie. Its titles King Solomon , Happy African , Mesopotamia or Addis Ababa pay homage to Africa and as for Marcus Junior and Garvey Burial , they testify to its faith.

Drummond became thereafter one of the creative and spiritual chiefs of the Skatalites . In 1964, Ska floods the Hertzian waves jamaïcaines throughout the year, and it takes part in tens of meetings of recording. Skatalites will accompany the stars jamaïcaine by the time such as Joe Higgs or Jackie Opel but also a new generation, where one finds, Delroy Wilson, The Wailers, Lee “Scratch” Perry and Ken Boothe.

Man in the Street , composition of Drummond, returns in Signal 10 to the United Kingdom in 1964, and a year after, its adaptation of the topic of the film " Guns off Navarone" the same exploit in England succeeds.

The new year 1965, it goes to the police station for the Meurtre of his wife, a named dancer Anita “Margarita” Mahfood (whom one can hear on the title Woman has Like ), stabbed. Its body was found in its house, the victim had multiple wounds caused by blows violent one. Drummond was regarded as not-person in charge of its acts by the court and internee in Bellevue Hospital.

He dies the May 6th 1969 at the 37 years age. Although officially explained like a suicide, its death causes strange rumors still to date (in particular a revenge on the family of its concubine), without an official autopsy being able to confirm or not the suicide.

External bonds

a biography

Random links: