Grange announces music museum developments

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

While the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates' (JAVAA) first 12 inductees into the Jamaica Music Hall of Fame, stared down, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, was announcing developments in the Jamaica Music Museum.

Headed by Herbie Miller, a mini-display is now housed at the Institute of Jamaica, East Street, Kingston.

Commending JAVAA on its initiative, Grange termed music as "the centre of brand Jamaica. It is good that we have chosen this important place to place plaques in honour of our great Jamaican music pioneers". With young people passing through the centre daily, Grange expressed the hope that "they will understand that they are from good stock and will be inspired".

"We are moving ahead with the establishment of the Jamaica Music Museum," Grange said, announcing that the Grammy Foundation was assisting with the digitalisation process. In addition, there were ongoing discussions with a Canadian university about collaborating to collate and digitalise Grange's collection.

Recent donors

Among the recent donors to the Jamaica Music Museum are Dermott Hussey and Cecil Gutzmore, those collections to be added to those handed over by Winston Barnes and Jeff Barnes. Plus, there is Sonny Bradshaw's Hammond B3 organ along with the preferred instruments of other musicians.

Grange said "there is no other suitable place than downtown" for the museum, and there are developments in that direction.

Grange said all this activity is a prelude to building up the best collection possible for the 50th anniversary celebration of Jamaica's independence in 2012.

"The mini-exhibition went up on International Reggae Day, July 1, 2009, with the stated understanding that it is an indication of what can be - and maybe an implicit acknowledgement that what is mounted is not visually overwhelming. Under the headline "The Music of Jamaica: People, Voice, Song', the exhibition statement reads, in part, "the primary purpose of the mini-exhibition is to illustrate that - with adequate space, staff, budgetary support and minimal bureaucracy - the Jamaica Music Museum will fulfil its mandate to gather, disseminate, educate and entertain visitors from home and abroad."