Still doing it for Sonny

• Myrna Hague plans a slightly different Ocho Rios Jazz Festival

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

While she cries about her deceased husband, Sonny Bradshaw, every night, Myrna Hague said she will be carrying on his legacy through the Sonny Bradshaw Foundation.

Speaking with The Gleaner after the official launch of the 21st Annual International Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, Hague said she was motivated to continue his legacy based on the love she still has for him.

"[I have been coping] with difficulty, with serious difficulty, I tell you no lie. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't cry. Every single day for a portion of the day, because I lived with him for 21 years and we were married for 15 years up to the point when he died," she said in a sombre tone. Sonny Bradshow passed away in October 2009.

"His presence and how I feel about him, we were together all the time. We were together 24-7. We worked together, we produced the festival together, weperformed together. We did everything together, so it is a hard thing, but thinking about him motivates me to do things he would have wanted done. I feel very good about this, because it is a way for us to sustain Bradshaw's legacy."

She explained that the festival will provide a substantial amount of the funding for the foundation, which will be located at East Kings House Road, St Andrew, which is also the home of her office and music studio. But the festival will not be the only means by which funds are raised.

"There are a number of things that we want to do. We want to also commodify and commercialise Bradshaw's recordings. He has a lot of live recordings. He has a lot of original compositions and arrangements, and we want to be able to commercialise those things and use some of that money to fund the foundation as well. The foundation is very keen to be able to do all of those things under an official kind of banner, so that people can see that we are serious about what we are doing," Hague said.

She said there are also plans to open a Sonny Bradshaw museum at the same location, "as soon as we have the money". She added that she hopes this will be achieved in another two years.

During the launch, Majorie Whylie, who is also an organiser of the event, explained that the foundation was set up to keep Bradshaw's legacy alive.

"Mr Bradshaw's shoes are hard to fill, but we are working assiduously to keep the heritage, the legacy, alive, and expose youngsters to the genre of jazz. We want to develop arrangers and composers. There are plans to have training workshops with teachers, leaders and instrumentalists," she said.

labour of love

Describing the festival as a labour of love over the years, Hague explained that she will also be making changes to the event in order to earn more money for the foundation.

"My mandate is to fund the Sonny Bradshaw Foundation. It takes cash to care," she laughingly said. "I have tightened up the programme and cut away some stuff that were not financially viable."

She said the week-long festival will start on June 11 with an event called Jazz Concert for 'The Year of People of African Descent' that will be held at Courtleigh Auditorium.

Throughout the week, there will be a Jazz brunch at Hotel Four Seasons, nightly jam sessions at Hotel Four Seasons and Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, free public concerts in Ocho Rios, Jazz Treasures at Two Seasons Guest House in St Elizabeth; and the festival will close with Father's Day Jazz at Turtle River Park in St Ann.

Throughout the week, some of the performers will be Mynta, N'faly Kouyate, Dean Fraser, Kiralina, Whylie Wrythms, Karen Smith, Ginetta's Vendetta, Fab 5 and Dr Kathy Brown.

Unlike previous years, Hague said Father's Day Jazz will be a free event.

"This is not an expensive concert, it is a concert to bring music to the people. We want people to come into the place and just enjoy the music. We want to spread the word that jazz is good music," she told those in attendance.

But she also said this new approach is merely an experiment.

"It is an experiment, but we think that if we have enough vendors and booth buyers we will earn enough money to be able to pay for the park and pay for our artistes. We have always had a free element because we have always done our free public concerts, but it is the first time we are turning a main event into a free event," she told The Gleaner.

"It is an experiment, so if it doesn't work we will have to go back to the drawing board. But we are crossing our fingers and we are hoping that because it is free, lots of people will come into the park, and if we have the vendors that will create the balance."

Although a free element will be included, Hague said most of the funding received thus far has been in kind.

"We have not received any financial funding, but we have received a lot of major support and we have received a lot of support in kind. That goes a long way because that is money. It is in kind, but when you calculate it, it's a lot of money that we would have to find otherwise. I think we have done very well, we are not complaining," she said.

"I expect it to be a whopping success," said Hague.