Tour has mix of new, old styles
Pajaronian May 16, 1991
BY STACY VREEKEN, Entertainment Editor
Summer is coming and so comes the annual tour of reggae musicians from Jamaica, starting with the Reggae Sunsplash World Peace Tour '91 Sunday at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.
The tour features Maxi Priest, Shinehead, Carlene Davis, Dennis Brown, Andrew Tosh and Little Lenny - all ably backed by the A Team Band and Burning Brass.
Maxi Priest, a Londoner, headlines the show and is popular for blending reggae's sure and steady beat with more mainstream soul sounds. His "Close To You" single became No. 1 last year on Billboard's pop charts.
Shinehead throws a bit of rapping into his reggae music. A product of Jamaica and the Bronx, his music reflects his savvy upbringing. His version of Bob Marley's "Who The Cap Fit" was also popular on the radio.
Carlene Davis has been singing and winning music-industry awards since she began 23 years ago. Her smooth voice is the trademark for "Stealing Love on the Side", "Burning Up" and "Winnie Mandela", among others.
Newcomer Little Lenny's controversial lyrics kept him off the airwaves until he recorded a clean version of his song about venereal disease called "Healthy Body". He carries the "youth-man vibes" along with Andrew Tosh for the tour.
Andrew Tosh should sound familiar to reggae fans - he carries on where his famous father, Peter Tosh, left off.
Tosh and reggae veteran Dennis Brown took some time from rehearsals in New York to talk about the Sunsplash tour. The musicians were getting ready to begin a worldwide tour and were working out the bugs a show with so many artists can bring.
Tosh, 23, was in a hurry to rehearse and could only give a few minutes of his time over the phone. In a world in which his father still has more fame, it's hard for Tosh to not talk about his dad.
"My first album's title a tribute to my father," said Tosh about "Original Man."
Peter Tosh was murdered in a suspicious robbery in the prime of his musical career. He performed in a trio with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, making the Tosh name historic in the reggae world. Andrew's main goal is to keep his father's name alive.
The younger Tosh came to music as a young man, influenced by Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross and other R&B American singers. His biggest reggae influence, though, has been Bunny Wailer.
"We did two shows; that's my uncle you know," said Tosh.
Andrew Tosh carries the same passion and arrogance as his father, impatient that you might not know all about him and his music already. His father was able to offer his the piano lessons and schooling that the senior Tosh couldn't have when he was young, and Andrew is intent on not forgetting the advantages given to him by his father.
"The work of my father continues in me. You got to make it 100 percent strong," he said. "The music I play comes from the Almighty Creator himself."
To that end,Tosh stays away from drinking and smoking, setting an example for the next wave of reggae listeners so they can "keep away from drugs and be better men and women of tomorrow."
He writes music daily, practicing piano and exercising. Keyboards is his first love, and he fondly recalls playing with his father.
About his future, "They gunned down my father in 1987. With my music . . . (I'm) doing the best of my ability to keep my father's name alive," he said.
Dennis Brown is a completely different kind of artist: He had plenty of time to talk, perhaps a result of his many years of performing and touring.
Brown began playing at age 11, and had his first hit in 1967. His style could be described as lover's rock, with a message.
Now mostly living in London, he has recently released a new recording entitled "Victory Is Mine" on Ras Records, and has been working on a song with Maxi Priest during rehearsals.
"(I'm) putting a song together with Maxi Priest called 'Fever', which we might do on tour," Brown said.
"It was what Maxi wanted. He said I was kind of inspiration . ;. . and he had always wanted it (a collaboration) to be done. It's a great joy for him to consider singing a song with me," he said with a bit of flattered wonder in his voice.
Brown returns the compliment in kind to Priest and the band backing up the whole show - the A Team Band and Burning Brass.
"The band is tremendous. It's a great joy, " said Brown. "When . . . vibes is flowing, everything comes out naturally in music . . . Rehearsal's great, splendid."
The A Team has backed many a musician on many a Sunsplash tour and this time is bringing along the smoking all-female horn trio of Nilda Richards, Jenny Hill and Pamela Fleming to round out the sound.
Brown says the highlight of the show will be when everyone comes back on stage and jams together.
That kind of statement reflects Brown's ethic of "I never stop working . . . To be successful, you have to be a hard worker . . . to accomplish all your tasks," he said.
The singer is eager to play music and is a prolific writer as well, with "about three albums in the kitty. We have enough stuff to keep us going until 1994 or more," he said.
"I wanted to do something different from what was happening on the street . . . A song like 'Should I' -there's a hope there - you can feel it."
"But each song speaks for itself," he said.
When asked if there was anything he wanted his audiences to know he said, " When one man's hope and aspirations are all crumble, the only alternative is to resort to the Bible. Read a chapter a day and it will keep you stronger."
The artists at the Sunsplash tour concert will testify Sunday to their faith, with music.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]