Derrick Hinds: Commanding the trombone

He spent over ten years in the military, despite his admission to a problem with authority. "Me always a get inna trouble man, but them still keep me."

Enforced discipline may not have borne fruit, but Derrick Hinds' army stints did leave one very important legacy, or more specifically to polish it: music.
Hinds grew up in Trench Town, and thus was surrounded by music of all types, but the first thing he remembers really having a hold on him was the haunting yet breezy sound of the Skatalites and in particular, troubled trombone genius, Don Drummond.

"Me hear tune like 'Java' and 'Guns of Navarone' and that really get me hook, you know," he reminisces. Though he resolved on a career in music, the demands of survival and the vagaries of life pushed him into the workforce. Hinds worked with Pan Am airways before joining the Defence Force and the Jamaica Military Band. he would later spend time in the UK Royal Military Academy of Music, where he learned composition, scoring and other musical techniques.

But in between those military stints was regular working gigs as a "bandsman." He was part of a band called Conscious Minds, then joined Soul Syndicate, one Jamaica's most storied show bands.

He has the distinction on playing on the classic Jamaican hit " My Jamaican Girl". "From the time we lay down th track everybody know that's a hit," Hinds recalls "From it touch the road, the people latch on to it and never let it go."

That fortune would later repeat itself when Hinds got the call to play on another classic, the Tamlins cover of Randy Newman's "Baltimore" (Newman, for TV fans, is also the composer of the theme for the hit cable series "Monk"). Interestingly, reports are that the group and producers Sly & Robbie were not so much moved by the original, but by a cover version done by no less than Nina Simone (who herself reportedly disdained the version as "filler"). Hinds has also graced the stage of the biggest sporting spectacle, the Super Bowl, having been part of the band that played the famed half Time Show during Super Bowl XXIII in Miami in 1979.

For the last several year, Hinds has been based in the US, but he has a burning desire to resettle in Jamaica and share his knowledge with the present generation of aspiring musicians. He also has a new CD, Message Man, to promote, one which he is proud to say boasts only live instrumentation. "Everything we do is the real organic sound, no drum track, no machine," he says.

If he has his way, Hinds could well find himself at the command of a new generation of Jamaican hornsmen and performers. Its a dream worth fighting for.



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ROYALE: the "Ragga Romantic"

Canadian-born Jamaican Royden "Royale" Lewis long wanted a career in music and even with the pressures of a "day job" has remained steadily in pursuit of that dream.

It took a another great step forward recently with his return engagement at Christopher's Jazz Cafe, where, in tandem with fellow crooner Stephen McHugh, he laid a welcome diversity of classic R& B, contemporary hits and his now trademark deejay repartee.

Royale is now poised to make the big step onto the International Scene. At first glance, one might not assign him the ability to spit roughneck rhymes in the tradition of a Shaggy or Sean Paul, but once he opens up, and that gravelly baritone kicks in, all doubt is removed, and the ladies in particular, begin to perk up. it doesn't hurt that he is a master of extempo rhymes, often laced with sexual innuendo. All of which serves to counter his more romantic side, with selections from Major Harris and the Manhattans in his repertoire

“This brother is so ersatile. He can deejay (MC), ne can sing, je can singjay ... he just entertains,” says Devonte, a fellow Jamaican Artiste of Tanto Metro and Devonte fame. Currently finishing up his debut album tentatively called No Intro, Royale is hard at work in the studio, as well as juggling the increasing demand for live appearances. Production on the album is done by Andrew “Preggs” Thompson, known drummer for Sean Paul, as well as other Jamaican producers. In addiiton to Tanto & Devonte, Royale has collaborated with the likes of Ward 21, Alozade and Danny English. He also previously recorded singles with the now defunct alternative reggae group Mile High - from which sprang Tessanne - and with jazz musician Harold Davis. Aside form Christopher's live music lovers have caught Royale at Weekends Bistro. Overseas, he has performed at the Wild Hare nightclub in Chicago as well as closing a segment of the morning news hour on WGN TV Superstation in Chicago. Performances in Toronto and Ft. Lauderdale were also well received. All of this seems to be just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for Royale as his debut album should be released later this year. Changing the face and the game of mainstream dancehall is what he plans to do and will have a blast doing so. “People want to hear change and a new sound without losing the authenticity of the music. I know my music does that and that is what will be keeping the masses moving for years to come"

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Nambo Robinson: Heavy Beat, Freedom Sound

A veteran musician/vocalist and recording artist, Ronald “Nambo” Robinson has been singing and playing trombone for almost forty years. He was born and raised in East Kingston, the 'musical incubator' that also brought forth lauded trombonists Don Drummond and Rico Rodriques.

“I have been termed a late comer in the business because I started playing the trombone when I was almost 18 years old. And I had to borrow an old trombone from a friend, Calvin “Bubbles Cameron who used to play in the Army band. I used to watch my neighbor, Babe O’Bryan practice his sax and I was thrilled by it. My first studio recording was with Babe, the maestro who was also my music teacher. He wrote the trombone part for a recording session he was employed to do and said to me, ‘Go and practice this part because you are reading well and I am taking you to the studio’. That piece was for a mento song.

After leaving Babe O’Bryan’s school I was invited by Cedrick Brooks to play with Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari. And the first album I played on was their “Groundation”.

Then Melba Liston (the great American trombonist and arranger) came to Jamaica. We heard that they were opening up the African American Music Studies at the University of the West Indies - around 1974 - and we went and checked her and she said ‘Yes! Come to class’, that’s where we studied Jazz chords, progressions and scales. At that time Dean Fraser and I would hang out at Joe Gibbs’ studio trying to get recording sessions so that we could earn some bread. And that’s where we started doing regular sessions.” “I later became a member of The Light Of Saba band, sticking close to my mentor Cedric Brooks.

“After that foundation of Jazz and African music, I got the urge to venture out into more commercial stuff, to play more dance music and popular numbers. So I started doing jams with groups like Lloyd Parks & We The People, Tony Dacosta Affairs and The Boris Gardner Happening. Then I started to get busy playing pop music while learning to appreciate the different genres of music. So over the years, I man listen to everything, from classic to…everything. There have been times I get a chance to play light classic, nothing heavy, and I find that there is enjoyment in every music form.

After a one-year stint in Atlanta, playing virtually every night, Nambo decided to return home. He regrouped with We The People Band and began touring extensively with Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, The Mighty Diamonds and Sugar Minott. Subsequently he became a founding member of The 809 Band, which went on to be the foremost backing band in the industry, comprising a set of leading musicians. They spanned the globe - Japan, Europe, North and South America, The Caribbean and Africa - supporting artists from Shaggy to Beres Hammond.

Eventually, 809 disbanded and Nambo became a freelancer, still lighting stages and filling demand for studio sessions. In addition to touring with the likes of Max Romeo, he also performed with Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and The Four Tops.

Anxious to share his knowledge & experience with the 'Now' generation, Nambo has begun his own series of shows featuring himself and other musicians, titled "Nambo Robinson Presents… Freedom Sounds" “I am going to present myself playing all genres, but mainly the Jamaican experience, from mento to dancehall. Because I find that a lot of our Jamaican musicians don’t play some of this music any more. So my program will consist of mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae and dancehall. And of course there will be some Latin stuff and Jazz, whatever appeals to me. It will be under the caption of ‘A Presentation Of Fine Music’, whatever genre it comes from, once it is nice music and people can be entertained by it.

Today, Nambo is constantly in demand for studio sessions. He has also been working on his solo projects and it is safe to say he is on a guided course destined to arrive at the highest standard. He has recorded with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown, Lauryn Hill, Buju Banton, Toots Hibbert aims to continue in the tradition of these powerful musical contributors who have inspired people all over the world.

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