Jamaica Music Museum a treasure trove of musical objects

THE JAMAICA Music Museum (JaMM) is now hosting an exhibition called ‘African to Jamaican – Music & Creolised Black Cultureat’ its Tower Street gallery in downtown Kingston. It has been accessible to the public since February but was only officially opened on August 31.

“Jamaica culture, influenced by the circumstances of the European labour enterprise that brought Africans to the island, features artistic expression that are simultaneously resilient and adaptable. From the cadence of speech to the style of dress, from spiritual fervour to the rhythm of dance, the richness of food and the depth of folklore, intoxicating music, vibrant art and infectious religious rituals, African retentions have not just been preserved, but have become an integral part of our national cultural identity,” the JaMM says about the showcase.

A great majority of the exhibits were donated by some musicians themselves, or by their loved ones or their associates. They include Sonny Bradshaw, Headley Jones, Augustus Pablo, Sugar Belly, Ernie Rangling, Adina Edwards, Lloyd Knibb, Chino Smith, Count Bassie, Larry McDonald, Peter Tosh, Rico Rodriquez, Ossie Scott, Dean Fraser, Sly Dunbar, Desi Jones, Carrot Jarrett, Robbie Shakespeare, The Skatalites, etc.

There are also television sets of yesteryear, a jonkunnu ‘pitchy-patchy’ costume, artwork by renowned Jamaican artists, a framed collage of photos taken at the One Love Peace Concert in April 1978 when Bob Marley brought Edward Seaga and Michael Manley onstage, and a replica of the shirt Marley wore to the event.

A tour guide is available to tell stories of some of these objects and the people who used them, and, today, we give you a sneak peek at the treasures in the space curated by Herbie Miller, the director of the Jamaica Music Museum.