{"id":5635,"date":"2023-03-10T19:40:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T19:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/?p=5635"},"modified":"2023-03-10T19:45:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T19:45:37","slug":"musician-dean-fraser-hails-late-singer-bob-andy-says-tribute-album-was-deserving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/?p=5635","title":{"rendered":"Musician Dean Fraser Hails Late Singer Bob Andy, Says Tribute Album Was Deserving"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHe was not just a normal, ordinary guy who wrote a couple rhymes,\u201d saxophonist Dean Fraser said\u00a0<\/strong>about late singer-songwriter Bob Andy. \u201cHe was really prolific; him a di best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

His sentiments manifest on\u00a0We Remember Bob Andy<\/em>, a tribute album featuring 15 artists covering Andy\u2019s catalog which he curated and produced for VP Records. He envisioned the project following the singer\u2019s passing in March 2020 and galvanized a cross-generation of vocalists and musicians for the set, which debuted on February 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cBob Andy is one of the best singer-songwriters to ever emerge from Jamaica, and he was a great entertainer also,\u201d Fraser said. \u201cFor the times that I have worked with him, I\u2019ve always been impressed. The first time I went to the UK and did a concert with him (1984), I was super impressed at that time because the songs that were big in England, I never knew them, so, here was a guy who was making sure that I had to go do my homework. He was really the boss and I think it was worthy to make a tribute album to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a nonpareil repertoire that has provided the foundation for some of reggae\u2019s finest rhythms and samples (cue Andy\u2019s \u2018Too Experienced\u2019 <\/em><\/strong>covered by Barrington Levy and the rhythmic framework of \u2018Feeling Soul\u2019<\/em><\/strong> paving the way for Buju Banton\u2019s \u2018Love Mi Browning\u2019<\/em><\/strong>), one could imagine the task of selecting songs for this project. Yet, Fraser wasn\u2019t daunted by the challenge made easy by Andy\u2019s celebrated 1972 Songbook album, nine songs from which are reimagined on We Remember Bob Andy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got to England and heard songs like\u00a0\u2018Life\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, \u2018Life Could Be a Symphony\u2019<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0\u2018You Don\u2019t Know\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, these are songs that I don\u2019t think nobody in Jamaica knows, but these are huge songs and we\u2019re not talking about\u00a0\u2018Young, Gifted and Black\u2019<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(with Marcia Griffiths) that was a super duper hit or\u00a0\u2018Check It Out<\/em>\u2019<\/strong>\u2013 we didn\u2019t have space for them. I just placed a nice package of what I thought were his greatest accomplishments musically and put that together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The creative process grew technical when it came to choosing the artists, which Fraser executed based on voices that complement Andy\u2019s, but most important, artists he felt could bring a certain kind of magic to the songs.<\/p>\n

This is delineated, for instance, on Andy\u2019s delightful\u00a0\u2018Sun Shines for Me\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, which couldn\u2019t be more of a perfect fit for Richie Spice\u2019s melodious tonalities and groovy insertions, or Sherieta\u2019s cloud-perched falsettos and playful jazz vocals on\u00a0Honey.<\/em>\u00a0It continues with Olaf Blackwood\u2019s haunting yet empathetic tremolos on\u00a0\u2018You Don\u2019t Know\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, a journal entry of the ecstatic highs and debilitating lows in a dark period of Andy\u2019s life. Singers Alaine and Lukie D capture the nostalgia and chemistry of the iconic Bob and Marcia duo in\u00a0\u2018Really Together\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, and Quor\u2019s crisp and velvety vocals paired with the ethereal and orchestral feels of\u00a0\u2018Life\u2019<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>must have Andy smiling somewhere.<\/p>\n

Also contributing to this voyage through Andy\u2019s musical masterpieces were Tarrus Riley, Duane Stephenson, Luciano, Beres Hammond, Kumar, Bitty McLean, Romain Virgo, Nadine Sutherland, and Sanchez.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know when you\u2019re doing an album, especially a compilation, and people want to sing dem favourite song?\u201d Fraser asked. \u201cThe artists just worked with me, and they made the thing so much different. It was so much easier, and I really appreciated that. This was really a fun gig, so, we just want to big up these artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further commended the musicians involved, adding, \u201cThe man dem just come and mek we music easy. They were impeccable.\u201d So much so that the album accompanies ten instrumental versions including trumpeting prodigy Okiel Mcintyre on\u00a0\u2018Let Them Say\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, Robbie Lyn\u2019s soul-stirring keys on\u00a0\u2018Unchained\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, Jon Williams\u2019 classical and jazz composition on\u00a0\u2018Honey\u2019<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>and Fraser\u2019s groovy sax on\u00a0\u2018Fire Burning\u2019<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Not motivated to create for industry accolades like a Grammy award, Fraser\u2019s hope for the album is that it makes more people aware of the brilliance, expansiveness, and influence of Andy\u2019s catalogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of things that we did for this music is to forward it to another three generations because its our responsibility. When you play certain tunes and I can say, \u2018yeah man, that was originally done by so and so\u2019, that is what we want this to do to Bob Andy and the Jamaican people and the Jamaican music. We proud fi know seh we pass on Bob Andy\u2019s music to good hands, and it will continue forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy, whose given name was Keith Anderson, is being honoured in a reggae month special on TVJ tomorrow, February 26, at 9 p.m. Artists from the album are slated to perform his songs which viewers can experience on VP Records\u2019\u00a0YouTube channel<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHe was not just a normal, ordinary guy who wrote a couple rhymes,\u201d saxophonist Dean Fraser said\u00a0about late singer-songwriter Bob Andy. \u201cHe was really prolific; him a di best thing.\u201d His sentiments manifest on\u00a0We Remember Bob Andy, a tribute album featuring 15 artists covering Andy\u2019s catalog which he curated and produced for VP Records. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":5634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-5635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-breakingnews"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5636,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635\/revisions\/5636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}