Celebrating Seymour Heron
Published:Friday | October 21, 2022 | 12:05 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
Congratulations to Seymour Heron, saxophonist extraordinaire, who at age 77 was awarded by Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) for his contribution to the entertainment industry in Manchester on Heroes Day. Seymour is the son of the late Daisy Walter Black of St Ann and Harold Heron, son of Major Alexander Heron of Wighton, Manchester.
Harold inherited the 190-acre Glasgow property, situated across the main entrance to the current Wigton Wind farms, which was owned by Seymour’s great-grandfather, Major Heron, who also owned Heron’s Hill, the highest peak of the Carpenters Mountains in Manchester.
Arthur Harold “Seymour” Heron is basically known as a self-taught saxophonist who plays at weddings, funerals and at functions attended by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Governor General Sir Patrick Allen. However, his life story is a struggle against injustice, especially that which was inflicted to him and his sister when they were children.
When Seymour was four years old, his father was fatally poisoned and his inheritance of the 190-acre property stolen from him. The land was sold to a prominent, shrewd Mandeville attorney for £40 per acre, who later resold it to the bauxite company at £100 per acre. Family members who benefited from the illicit sale migrated, leaving Seymour and his sister, who suffers from bipolar disorder resulting from trauma over ‘dead lef.’ In seeking some redress, the lawyer I consulted on the matter said that the case was too cold and the administrator general only addressed matters related to children 18 years and under.
According to the citation read, Mr Heron began as a musician in the 1960s playing the mouth organ with Roy Richards; he also played with Bobby Aiken at the Palm Grove Club and produced the 45s Sax on the Roof and Keep it Rocking.
In the mid-70s, while working with Lance Neita at Alpart, he organised the company’s first music band, Touch of Class. He produced in his home-based studio, the weekly radio programme ‘Time for Singing’ for West Indies College (now Northern Caribbean University). When KLAS FM 89 opened in Mandeville, he assisted with training of voices and was the producer for Michael Anthony Cuffe and DJ for the 6 p.m. –12 midnight slot.
For one whose life’s blows could have led him to ‘ded lef’ violence, he chose a path to be a blessing to others.
DUDLEY MCLEAN II
Mandeville, Manchester