Arrow was of a special Class

Herbie Miller, Contributor

There are artistes who we adore simply because they are good or even great at what they do. Some among us have the added pleasure of developing a social association with a few, but there are others, who, in spite of their greatness, we have difficulty accepting on the social level.

A handful are of such character that places them in a class by themselves (Toots Hibbert, Sly Dunbar and Freddy McGregor come to mind); Montserrat national, Alphonsus Cassell, better known to the world as Arrow, occupied such a special class.

Arrow was special because he possessed none of the bogus sense of importance, vacuous idiotic ideas and self-centred attitudes too many of those who are held up as models display.

He personified more admirable human and social attributes that even his star status seemed to be secondary to.

Exhibited values

Arrow exhibited so much more values beyond self-importance which made him, in my view, legendary.

The first time I met Arrow was in the New York office of Island Records. I was the manager of Toots Hilbert, a very similar artiste in terms of performance energy and as I would later find out, a sense of fairness.

Both artistes were on the Island roster and shared the same A&R man, Gerry Rappaport. It was Gerry who introduced us and along with Lisa Jackson, encouraged a working relationship, one that resulted in a long friendship between Arrow and myself.

Following the usual preliminaries, and without ever making a formal contract, we both embarked on a close working relationship that lasted for five or so years between 1989 and 1994. During that time, Arrow never accepted a job of any kind, as far as it related to his entertainment career, without consulting with me or passing on the contact for me to make the deal. Such was the integrity of the man.

Our first real test on the road, that is, after arranging a set of shows, was the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, somewhere around 1989. Of course, Arrow gave a dynamic performance, topping it off with both his big hits and crowd pleasers, Tiney Winey and Hot, Hot, Hot.

Back at the hotel I went to his room to reconcile the finances and make arrangements to pay the band. After he was satisfied with the accounting, he said to me: "Pay yourself first. That is what the white managers and booking agents do, so do likewise". That was a most unusual approach, but I learned in the subsequent years that fairness and integrity were second nature to the man.

Always smartly groomed and immaculately dressed, this dynamic performer and super hit maker expanded the growth of soca beyond the commercial reach of anyone else to date. Hot, Hot, Hot has been translated into over a dozen languages and used in so many commercials that served Arrow not only as a source of steady income but, in addition, as a calling card of promotional value beyond that which any booking agent or manager could provide. His income from commercials was so handsome he was able to conserve his energy and accept only the larger and more prestigious engagements.

Gigs were regular

During our working relationship, gigs were regular, almost every weekend we were off to the West Coast, or Boston, the Kilimanjaro in Washington, DC, SOBs in New York, and an unforgettable appearance at the Caribbean Day parade on a float down Eastern Parkway where over one million participants on rooftops, down and up side streets and along the Parkway jammed to Hot, Hot, Hot, as Arrow energetically danced and sang from atop a giant 16-wheeled tractor trailer.

Another time, a New York University performance became a performance lecture when this articulate troubadour, between songs, contextualised each within a Caribbean and diasporic sensibility for the audience.

Arrow made Montserrat home with a secondary residence in Brooklyn. He was like the king on Montserrat and known as someone with a generous disposition, both financially and otherwise. And, he was in addition to an artiste, a successful businessman investing in among other things a clothing store; equipment sales and general needs of the people on the island was part of his entrepreneurial effort. As humanitarian, Arrow helped so many of his fellow Montserratians, friends and associates in Brooklyn and who knows wherever else, in ways beyond the usual financial assistance.

For example, during the days when the danger of being destroyed by the Soufrière volcano explosion that threatened the island, he remained and assisted with the evacuation and safe removal of many islanders, having his speedboat on standby for a fast retreat should he be faced with taking that action at the last moment. Arrow was among the very few artistes I have encountered without any anger towards the industry and like most artistes, as much as he was one of its victims.

However, because of his good sense, inquisitive mind and patience in making decisions he was less wronged than most.

The death of Alphonsus 'Arrow' Cassell, expands the void in Caribbean music and brings home the fact that we have reached a point where our most experienced and accomplished artistes are reaching the mortality point. His passing reiterates the importance for younger artistes to immerse themselves in the classic forms as they forge ahead with new innovations. That is what artistes like Arrow did.

He understood the aesthetic of traditional calypso, observed the dance beat of disco music and tuned in to the viability of well conceived, produced and executed Caribbean music, illustrated by the Wailers (Bob, Bunny and Peter) and Third World.

But above all, a good attitude, treating others, as he wanted to be treated, was a highlight of his personality. Arrow was certainly of a special class.

Herbie Miller, Director/Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum at the Institute of Jamaica, is a cultural historian with specialised interest in slave culture, Caribbean identity, and ethnomusicology.