Pat Blythe – A Few Summer Songs and…Celtic Reggae?

Three Tuesdays in a row!!!! Me, my laptop and “the” column. It’s gonna be another late night…..again.

It’s been one of those days when constant “interruptus” was part and parcel of the day today, beginning at 6:30am.  The highlight of the day? The snow tires came off today!!!! So….. as I was trolling FB, I found this video I just had to share. It’s absolutely wonderful. A great rendition. Happy Wednesday everyone! ….and ya gotta watch it to the end.

The Koi Boys – It’s All About the Bass

Jason Wilson….Celtic Reggae

On the whole it’s been a much quieter week. Less clubbing, more recuperating and focusing on the launch of Cashbox Magazine Television (CMTV) However, my weekly foray to check out the lay of the land at Taste of Colombia El Salon on Sunday night to see Jason Wilson and The Perennials  was awesome. Wilson brought three of his five “perennials” and they all just blew the top off the house. They have just released their newest album, aptly titled….you guessed it…. Perennials.  (and you thought this was all about flowers)  Zaynab Wilson (percussion/vocals), Marcus Ali (sax, clarinet, penny whistles/vocals), Perry Joseph (guitar/vocals) and Jason Wilson (keyboards/vocals), performed, what I called, Celtic Reggae. Two additional members of the band who unfortunately were not there are Andrew Stewart (bass) and Patrice Barbachon (trumpet/vocals).  The weather was perfect and the evening air was warm enough to allow us to open the doors which immediately attracted a sidewalk audience. Wilson performs the majority of the lead vocals. However, Zaynab (no relation to Jason although they share the same last name) sang a beautiful rendition of xxxxxx with a pure, sweet, honest voice.

L- R – Jason Wilson, Zaynab Wilson, Perry Joseph, Marcus Ali

Wilson, a child of Scottish immigrants, is famous for incorporating jazz and Scottish influences with a strong reggae foundation. The music of his heritage is woven throughout his songs and infused with his captivating stories. First performing at the age of 14 with reggae band Messenjah, he is an accomplished  singer/songwriter and master of many instruments. Wilson, best known for his keyboarding skills was the protégé of Studio One keyboardist the late Jackie Mittoo and is the cousin of UB40’s Michael Virtue. Wilson has performed and/or recorded with a slew of artists over the years including UB40, Alanis Morissette, Ron Sexsmith, Percy Sledge and Dave Swarbrick. An award winning author, he has written or co-written five books including Soldiers of Song and Lord Stanley: The Man Behind The Cup. He is also an Adjunct-Professor in the Department of History at the University of Guelph.

L-R – Jason Wilson, Michael Williams, Perry Joseph, Zaynab Wilson, Marcus Ali

According to Wilson’s website “his music has been described as “reggae-impressionism”, “jazzy-reggae” or even “post-reggae”…Wilson combines reggae with the improvisational sensibility of jazz and then layers it with the storytelling quality of the Scottish folk tradition”.  It was indeed a fabulous way to segue into a holiday Monday.

Rummlegumption – The Perennials

Side note — Trying to come up with a name for the evening’s event wasn’t easy. What do you call two entire different genres of music that are blended together  to form something incredibly unique? Celtic Reggae seemed apt. So, for this article I thought I’d search for a pic that would match the name. I appears I was not the first to come up with this “genre” name.  Jason….nice to know I’m on the right track.

As Roxanne wrestled her garden into submission, I was doing the same. My front lawn grass was almost two feet tall in some parts. The dandelions and other sundry weeds were taking control. It took three attempts (the first one with my garden shears) over two days to trim the lawn before I could finally get the lawnmower to make its way through the grass. The rosebush needs trimming and the backyard….well nobody can see that yet… I need to borrow my two sons for about a week.

This is a “quick and dirty” column as I’m running out of time….seriously late. I leave you with a couple more of my “summer” dance songs. Yep…..I do love to dance.

Old 45’s – Chromeo

Your Body’s Hot – LMT

Cheers!

All photos by Pat Blythe, A Girl With A Camer a “The Picture Taker”

=PB=

Pat’s column appears every Wednesday.

Contact us at: dbawis@rogers.com

In “real” life Pat Blythe has spent the past 32 years as a consultant and design specialist in the telecommunications industry. After an extended absence Pat is now heading back to the GTA clubs, immersing herself in the local music scene, tasting what’s on offer, talking to people and writing once again — sharing her passions and her deep love of music. Together for 34 years, Pat also workedalongside her late husband Christopher Blythe, The PictureTaker©, who shot much  of the local talent (think Goddo, Frank Soda and the Imps, Plateau, Buzzsaw, Hellfield….) as well as national and international acts,  Currently making her way through 40 years of Chris’s archives, Pat is currently compiling a photographic history of the local GTA music scene from 1975 to 1985. It continues to be a work in progress. Oh…..and she LOVES to dance!