Mel Cooke

Melinotep: Let she that hath tongue... hold it!

Published:Monday | February 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

The late journalist Carl Wint wrote a column mainly on Jamaican political matters under the name Leminotep. As the 2016 general election heads to its climax, The Gleaner's Mel Cooke attempts to write in a similar style.Lo, it came to pass in the...

Miller examines Drummond and Margarita

Published:Sunday | February 14, 2016 | 2:23 PMMel Cooke

The story of trombonist Don Drummond and his lover Anita 'Margarita' Mahfood, who he was convicted of murdering, is one of the well-known sad stories of Jamaican popular music. Compounding that tragedy was Drummond's death in the Bellevue asylum....

Tough questions for Don Drummond book author - Heather Augustyn launches ‘The Genius and Tragedy of the World’s Greatest Trombonist’

Published:Friday | February 12, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

The 2016 Grounation series, dedicated to an exploration of trombonist Don Drummond’s life and work, started last Sunday with a book launch by Heather Augustyn, extended ‘reasoning’ by Herbie Miller and music by a cast which...

Tunes Of Politricks

Published:Friday | February 12, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

Elections are in the air once again and Jamaican popular music has a history of commenting on the process. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Ninja Man did, Nah Go Love It, urging peace between supporters of the two major political parties, the...

As a Man: Mosquito withdrawal strategy

Published:Monday | February 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

Gentlemen, let us not let the gift of mosquitoes pass us by. Bob Marley, that greatest of bards who would have been 71 years on February 6, (and with at least 41 more pickney, one for every year more he would have lived...

Hola A4

Published:Friday | February 12, 2016 | 1:18 PMMel Cooke

There was Spanish in the air and a line of Audi A4s on the road between Guadalajara and Mexico City, Mexico, two Thursdays ago as the luxury line's totally redesigned flagship sedan was presented to journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean....

Bob, Buju, redemption and borders

Published:Wednesday | February 10, 2016 | 2:45 PMMel Cooke

Sunday's Redemption Live concert at Sabina Park in Kingston, organised by Digicel, was intended to honour Bob Marley's 71st birthday. And it did, the performers doing songs from Marley's catalogue, including Redemption Song (Ikaya), Heathen (Morgan...

Redemption for Bob and Buju

Published:Monday | February 8, 2016 | 2:02 PMMel Cooke

Sunday's Redemption Live concert, staged by Digicel at Sabina Park, Kingston, was naturally laden with interpretations of Bob Marley songs as it celebrated the reggae legend's 71st birthday, which was actually the previous day.However, several...

As a Man: The False attraction of the False

Published:Tuesday | February 2, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

So last week I wrote about how many women I have observed wearing false hair and are unable to stop touching it, in an action which seems unconscious, involuntary and meaningless.But here is the rub literally. It is...

Diseases, prevention and cure in song cycle

Published:Friday | February 5, 2016 | 2:06 PMMel Cooke

The chikungunya outbreak seems to be hardly over and now Jamaica is bracing for its turn in the inexorable spread of ZikV across Latin America and the Caribbean, with North America not to be left out despite the chill of its climate.Not so long ago...

Fabian Marley, Dexta Daps and Polyandry

Published:Wednesday | February 3, 2016 | 12:48 PMMel Cooke

I doubt that many people took the man calling himself Fabian Marley and claiming to be yet another child of Bob Marley seriously, even before the recent conclusive DNA test that proves that the Gong is not the daddy. His refusal to accept scientific...

As a man: Hair probe

Published:Monday | January 25, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

I have a deep, philosophical question which I have asked many persons - male and female - in my incessant search for deeper understanding of the world I inhabit. But all to no avail. However, I shall not rest until I find an explanation...

The poor economics of badness

Published:Friday | January 29, 2016 | 9:42 AMMel Cooke

There are any number of songs about 'badness' in Jamaican popular music, focusing primarily on the firearm. It happens even when there is no mention of the pistol or rifle of whatever calibre and variety in the song itself and some contextualisation...

Poet on purpose - Linton Kwesi Johnson reflects on writing beginnings

Published:Friday | January 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

Linton Kwesi Johnson (widely known simply as LKJ) worked hard at becoming a poet. Also being a reggae artiste was the result of a confluence of circumstances. LKJ spoke at length about the foundation of his engagement with the page and the stage at...

An accidental reggae artiste

Published:Friday | January 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

At the point where he started making records, LKJ had determined his writing approach and had the support of a number of outstanding writers. However, he had no idea about recording. Still, he had connections that resulted in a series of...

More Support For Marijuana Than Music

Published:Wednesday | January 27, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

The cover art for Peter Tosh's 1976 Legalise It album, with the Stepping Razor smoking a chalice in a marijuana field, was a strong statement of rebellion. Now, the way things are shaping up with the moves to commercialise marijuana in Jamaica, it...

As A Man: A matter of inches

Published:Monday | January 18, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

Don't let anyone fool you. As a man, size matters. That is why there are height requirements for the security forces. Can you imagine having that immediate, innate regard for a man who seems to be shorter than his rifle?Chances are...

Songs of fortitude

Published:Friday | January 22, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

Some of Jamaican popular music, rooted in the lower socio-economic class of the society, is noted for its songs of resistance. At times, it may be against an unspecified but still powerful foe called 'the system', which Beres Hammond sings about in...

Half Pint adds to my collection of ‘forwards’

Published:Wednesday | January 20, 2016 | 11:52 AMMel Cooke

On Sunday morning, starting at about 7:30, Half Pint added to my treasury of dancehall 'forwards'. While I have seen many moments of strong, positive crowd response to a Jamaican popular-music performance, there is a special mental place reserved...

Marijuana matters at Rebel Salute’s Herb Curb

Published:Monday | January 18, 2016 | 2:37 PMMel Cooke

A sign by the Herb Kerb at Rebel Salute 2016, held last Friday and Saturday, designated a smoking lounge and borrowed a line from Bob Marley's Easy Skanking, to advise, "excuse me while I light my spliff".But while there was a noticeable amount of...

90 magical minutes of Mr Hammond - Beres carries Salute 2016 night 2 to pre-dawn

Published:Sunday | January 17, 2016 | 12:00 AMMel Cooke

Beres Hammond came on stage at Grizzly's Plantation Cove, Priory, St Ann, at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning. When he gave thanks to the Almighty in song and the large, adoring audience which he repeatedly called "family", it was just after 6 a.m., the...

Top Menu

Search

Jamaica Gleaner

Secondary Menu

Stories by Mel Cooke