To say that Ruth Osman could be the next big thing in jazz for this country would not be wrong. Regrettably, though it has its fans, jazz is not that big here among the younger members of the population. However, Ruth could make a fan out of anyone if they fancy smooth music, and or the kind that sounds so darn good it breaks your heart just listening to it.
When she took to the stage at the Guyana Music Awards on Sunday night last, Ruth looked like she had just stepped out of that great jazz era when music had real passion and she sounded amazing! Drawing from something within, something deep and extremely powerful, Ruth just let herself go.
The raw human emotion that we sometimes feel when our spirits are broken to the point where we have nothing more left inside, is the kind she projected. Ruth Osman basically stood on that stage and gave us art. Her voice floated across the National Cultural Centre (NCC) painting a picture of painful, passionate love; you don’t quite understand, but you feel and long for.
Listening to Ruth makes you understand the need for recognition in the local music industry. Ruth no longer resides here but Guyana is still home and she identifies with the country. To say that the music awards was a flop and a waste of a night, is like saying she does not deserve an audience or the loud and long applause that conveyed just how appreciative some people were.
The music awards show was far from what was expected of it. It could have been so much more had enough planning gone into it; but to focus on the organizing glitches without realizing that the night really was about Guyanese music and the state of it, is unfair.
Already, local singers have to put up with the lack of governmental, corporate and public support. Should they also have put up with the agony of seeing everyone else in the region shift in the direction of music awards without at hoping Guyana can get there someday as well? Some of them do it because they love it, others are merely seeking fame but who determines whether recognition is not deserving either way?
Music can be a superficial business, and just that — a business, but we still love it and follow it. Local singers are in need of some avenue where they are allowed to feel honoured. But there were empty seats in the NCC for the inaugural music awards, perhaps a poor reflection of those organizing the show but also a reflection of how singers are treated here. Notwithstanding that, it was because of the singers that the show was good.
Anyone who got a taste of Young Bill Rogers would understand why the awarding of local artistes was long overdue. Two words: Wine and Lilawattie. Not the Guyanese wine that Big Red sang about and actually won an Accolade for, this is a calypso wine that involves more of the upper body and less of the hips. People — not the 200 or whatever sparse number in attendance at the NCC on Sunday — deserve to hear Rogers sing and see him wine. He was impressive and seriously entertaining.
The calypso was certainly familiar, but nothing in Roger’s performance was recognizable. It was fresh, different and just the sort of wacky item you hope to see at music award shows. Who knew the man had it in him? The Young Bill Rogers we know is often reserved and though he has a good voice, rarely does he move his body. Shake em Rogers, shake em…
Did I mention that chutney singer, Rajesh Dubraj performed “Guyana Baboo” as perfect as the actual recording was, and that he shared the stage with Rogers in what can be considered one of the best performances of the night?
Then there is Miriam Williams, who has such a beautiful voice it is difficult to accept that she did not win an Accolade in any of the categories she was nominated for.
She ministers in such a commanding way through her music it makes local preachers seem unimaginative, well some of them. Somebody give this woman a recording contract!
Miriam shared the stage with two of the best in local gospel circles — Cherilyn Maloney and Eddie Neblett. It was a moment worth witnessing. They exploded on stage with a powerful rendition of ‘The Impossible Dream” stunning the NCC into silence then outspoken appreciation of what they were pulling off on that stage.
“Sing it girl, lift your voice up,” someone in the audience shouted to Maloney as she carried the high notes in the song. What a moment it was. An encore would have been fitting, or another song perhaps but they exited the stage on an incredible high.
Gospel and its messengers are alive and well in the local music industry in case anyone was wondering. Just listen to any of the three singers and watch the doubts fade.
What has not been said about First Born? The reggae group picked up four Accolades and justly so. First Born has been blazing a trail of reggae redemption in Guyana that had gone unnoticed outside of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph sponsorship. Sad, but true, for a quick check at the record stores that sell the group’s original ‘Irits’ album would prove that people are not even willing to part with $1,000 to say a small, thank you.
Adrian Dutchin, who walked with the most awards, started singing publicly when people callously asked whether local R&B could ever have any kind of an audience. Maybe at the time it did not, but he kept on going anyway and grew into a singer whose versatility on the stage continues to amaze. Why not honour him for his years of commitment to Guyanese music?
Timeka Marshall deservingly won also. Pity she did not perform the local hit, “Separate”. She probably did not know when she started that a few years later she would be honoured right here on home soil.
The organizers have tremendous work to do in preparation for next year – if there is going to be a show – and now would be a good time to start. (ianaseales@yahoo.com)
