1 week ago
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Friends and fellow musicians of singer-songwriter Della Manley are banding together in support of her ongoing recovery, following her hospitalisation in March. The singer was critically injured in a car crash in Montego Bay, St James, shortly after a performance at a hotel in the city.
The Music Unites Jamaica Foundation (MUJF), in collaboration with The Jam is Back, will host a special fundraising edition of their weekly jam session on Thursday, at 22 Jerk restaurant, beginning at 7 p.m.
The Jam is Back’s long-running, Thursday night jam session events have, for several years, been a free and open space for musicians and music lovers.
This week’s event will feature performances from a diverse line-up of local singers and musicians, including Charmaine Limonius, Janine Jkuhl, Sandra Morgan Crawford, DiMario McDowell, Marjorie Whylie, Rosina Christina Moder, Peter Ashbourne, Orville Hammond, Wayne McGregor and more.
Other musicians are also invited to attend and join the jam session, in keeping with the spirit of the event.
All proceeds from the night will go toward Manley’s medical expenses and ongoing care.
Folk singer-songwriter Della Manley, moved from Montego Bay to Canada when she was 15 years old. By that time she had extensively studied piano, guitar and singing, regularly appearing in her local Catholic school choir. However, in Canada it was only when she attended York University and “took part in Latin American and Caribbean cultural activities” that she rediscovered her musical gifts.
Her bio states that at 19 she married Joseph Manley, son of late Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley. She returned to Jamaica in 1983 and served a long apprenticeship performing low-key sets in front of small audiences in Kingston. Michael Manley sent a demo of her song Ashes On The Window Sill to a number of music industry contacts, with little success.
Eventually she came to the attention of Lou Adler, who had signed a recording contract with reggae group Native (founded by Manley’s cousins Brian and Wayne Jobson). In the event, Della merely contributed backing vocals to the resultant album. In 1997 she finally completed her debut album, some of it recorded at Nyumbani, Michael Manley’s hillside retreat. As well as the title track, there was a version of Silvio Rodrigues’ Cuban classic, Te Amare, and the forthright, contentious City Lights.
The music fraternity is encouraging the public to show their support by attending. A donation box will be available at the venue throughout the evening.
For those unable to attend, donation details are available upon request at the MUJF email address: musicunites.jamaica@gmail.com.
English (US) ·