September 29, 2025 • 45 mins
This week, we are talking di tings with Grammy Award Winning, legendary Jamaican Saxophonist, Dean Fraser, O.D.
Dean Fraser embodies both excellence and generosity. In an industry shaped by change, he has been both anchor and compass, preserving the integrity of Reggae while allowing it to evolve. Known for his technical mastery and intellectual rigor, he has collaborated with iconic artists like Dennis Brown, Sean Paul, Luciano, Lauryn Hill, and Taurus Riley, to name a few; bridging generations and genres, while maintaining the depth and integrity of his musical identity. His work reminds us that the power of music lies not only in who stands at the microphone, but also in those who give the song its heartbeat, its wind, and its soul.
He was also honoured with the Musgrave Medal in 1993, the Order of Distinction in 2010, and recognized in 2020 by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association for his extraordinary impact as a mentor.
In this episode, he shares his journey from his earliest musical memories in Trenchtown to playing with Sonny Bradshaw Seven and truly learning the genre of Reggae music, to transformative experiences like Bob Marley personally asking him to play on the iconic album “Survival" (“Wake Up and Live and Ambush in the Night), lessons learned, and so much more!
So grab your tea, coffee, or a glass of wine, and let's talk di tings!
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If you enjoyed the episode, leave us a 5 star rating, share this episode, and follow Let’s Talk Di Tings on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Listen to LTDT on:
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/6akOR9kAnsbANiszBDcVOL?si=aa70627937124c3e
APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-talk-di-tings/id1662696625
Dean Fraser embodies both excellence and generosity. In an industry shaped by change, he has been both anchor and compass, preserving the integrity of Reggae while allowing it to evolve. Known for his technical mastery and intellectual rigor, he has collaborated with iconic artists like Dennis Brown, Sean Paul, Luciano, Lauryn Hill, and Taurus Riley, to name a few; bridging generations and genres, while maintaining the depth and integrity of his musical identity. His work reminds us that the power of music lies not only in who stands at the microphone, but also in those who give the song its heartbeat, its wind, and its soul.
He was also honoured with the Musgrave Medal in 1993, the Order of Distinction in 2010, and recognized in 2020 by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association for his extraordinary impact as a mentor.
In this episode, he shares his journey from his earliest musical memories in Trenchtown to playing with Sonny Bradshaw Seven and truly learning the genre of Reggae music, to transformative experiences like Bob Marley personally asking him to play on the iconic album “Survival" (“Wake Up and Live and Ambush in the Night), lessons learned, and so much more!
So grab your tea, coffee, or a glass of wine, and let's talk di tings!
.
.
If you enjoyed the episode, leave us a 5 star rating, share this episode, and follow Let’s Talk Di Tings on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Listen to LTDT on:
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/6akOR9kAnsbANiszBDcVOL?si=aa70627937124c3e
APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-talk-di-tings/id1662696625
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dean Fraser is more than a saxophonist. He is a
living archive of Jamaican music, a vessel through which stories
have been told not only in words, but in breath,
tone and phrasing. His horn has carried the soul of
reggae across generations, offering both lament and celebration, discipline and improvisation.
(00:28):
From his early years in Trench Towne, discovering music as
a child, through his aunt to becoming the saxophone voice
behind icons like Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Luciano, Taurus Riley,
and lending his artistry to the international sound of Schampaul,
(00:48):
Uncle Dean has not only performed, he has defined. His
work reminds us that the power of music lies not
only in whose stands at the microphone, but also in
those who give the song its heartbeat, its wind, and
its wings. What makes Uncle Dean remarkable is not just
(01:12):
his virtuosity, but his humility and consistency. In an industry
shaped by change, he has been both anchor and compass,
preserving the integrity of reggae music while allowing it to evolve.
To listen to the Great Dean Canon Fraser is to
(01:34):
hear Jamaica, speaking their struggles and their triumphs, all distilled
into the voice of the saxophone. As you listen to
this episode, I invite you to think of Uncle Dean's
journey as not only the story of an artist, but
the story of a nation through music. His notes remind
(01:57):
us that legacy is not only one we leave behind,
but what we continue to breathe into the present moment.
If you're listening to the podcast on Apple Podcast, please
remember to rate and leave a comment below. Also, don't
forget to follow us on Instagram at Let's Talk the Tings. Now,
(02:22):
grab your tea, coffee, or a glass of wine and
Let's Talk the Tings. Hello everyone, Welcome back to Let's
Talk the Tings, where we discuss personal growth, travel, music
and wellness while encouraging you to live fearlessly and fabulously.
(02:43):
I'm your host, Ash and this week we are talking
to things with a legendary Jamaican saxophonist whose work exemplifies
technical mastery and the intellectual rigor of musical arrangement. An
icon who has collaboration with foundational figures like Dennis Brown
(03:03):
and several dancehall and reggae artists. Like Sean, Paul Luciano,
and Taras Riley, to name a few. Dean Frasier, Hi,
uncle Dean, how are you.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
I'm fine, Good morning, Good morning. Oh.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
I would like if you wouldn't mind if we could
start with your first memory of music. I always like
to ask persons of your stature, like when they first
discovered music or their earliest memory of music.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah. Well, my earliest memory of music started as just
a little kid playing around my aunt, who is responsible
for my career. She was a micnyan and she is
(03:58):
the only other person in my family that I know
that deals with music. And of course she was She
went to Michael and those early days, she her minor
was music. So she yes, so she had she had
(04:21):
a little acoustic guitar and a melodica which she learned
to play the piano from. So you know, that showed
I showed some kind of interest in that, and so
with that she started to you know, like watch how
(04:44):
I was reacting at the time, and so she decided
to send me to learn to play Ah. Okay, so
that was the early days. Yes, So I actually started
out learning to play again guitar, yes, which I didn't
go I didn't do much. I actually started. I think
(05:09):
after one term I gave it up because she thought that,
you know, she as an educator to ourselves. She thought
that she thought that, you know, going to school would
have been better than you know, learning to play music
at that time.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay, wow, interesting and it's interesting how those like formative
experiences shape your perception of rhythm and melody and really
before even formal training began, because as you said, you
picked up a guitar and I'm sure you just heard
different genres of music. Do you remember what the first
(05:51):
genre of music is that you heard, because I know,
back in those days they played a lot of R
and B and like other types of music aside from reggae.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
They didn't play a lot. That's all they played on
the radio. But fortunately for me, I lived in Johnstone
and I lived at twenty three Penn Street in Johnstone
and that twenty one Penn Street was the major dance
(06:22):
at that time. So that time dance dance hall was
a place and not a genre.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Oh really.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So next door to me, yes, and so at like
age seven, it was I was listening to you, I
as a young DJ and a sound system and that
was next door to my yard. So I had the
opportunity to you know, like you know, we have a
(06:57):
bill a new fence every sunder man in because you know,
some kind of activity and man of a job fence
and long fence, and but it's something we look forward to,
you know, is a process where we didn't think was funny,
you know. So we I used to like climb on
(07:21):
to the fence and you know, look at people enjoying
themselves and listen to the different levels of scare music
and rock steady music. You understand me. And this was
even before you I broke as an individual as artist himself.
(07:43):
So I remember him and his brother, you know, operating
Dickie's I Fight song, and so you know, I had
a lot of you know, actual you know, person to
personal relationship with the music at that time. But to
play music to you know, to be a musician that
(08:05):
was far from from that was far away.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Okay, okay, so right, you were just getting familiar with
the music at that time was.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Just an experience.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, okay, So then how did you come to play
the saxophone?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
So after my aunt sent me to learn guitar and
that I wasn't enjoying that that that class, my teacher
was kind of aggressive, you know, and then time there's
(08:41):
a youth to come from downtown, that kind of aggression
was a turn off, you know. She you know, she
seemed she treated the children from uptown differently from home.
She treated them, and that was a turnofter me. So,
as I said said, I didn't last a term. But
(09:03):
then then I remember I'm going to Norman Many Secondary School.
And the day somewhere in nineteen sixty nine, I think
it was, Yes, the first day I entered that school,
(09:28):
my aunt says to me, and she gave me an
address for Johnstone again on Love Street. Actually she said
I should go to Love Street and there's a man
there and he's going to teach me some kind of music. So, yes,
(09:50):
after school, you know, I lived on I lived down
on Fourth Street in Trenchtone, So I just walk up
the street on the top Umpson Street, then Antelove Street,
and this man introduced himself to me as Alfred Babe O'Brian,
a saxophonist, an alto sax player and a clarinet player.
(10:14):
And so when I went there, know him say, boy,
you look for that boy, you look like Cannon. So
between between Marma bridging number, Robinson number, say yeah, man,
(10:34):
Cannon and then started calling me Cannon. I didn't know what.
I didn't know what canan was at the time.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Right, But wow, Jamaica, there's something else, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
After a couple of weeks, I realized that Canon was
actually a super duper alto saxophone player Canon marl Adelie.
So they called me because of my weight. That didn't
have anything to do with the music. Yeah, my goodness.
(11:07):
But then my teacher he thought that I should learn
to play the clarinet. So oh, that is where my
whole career started. Now, this is when I'm starting to
learn to play, and this is where everything started.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Wow, that's amazing. That's hilarious. That's a hilarious story. How
you got the name, but that's amazing. And for a
lot of people that aren't familiar with the saxophone, the
saxophone is often described as a human instrument because it's
capable of phrasing that mirrors the voice. So what drew
(11:45):
you to it, really, besides the fact that you met
this man and all of that, what drew you to it?
And how did you cultivate a style that is instantly
recognizable as your own.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
All right, So that man altered Babel Brown played in
all most of the big bands in Jamaica. It's not all.
He was also a teacher at Alpha. Oh okay, so
he gave me the climate and said that I should
(12:18):
start there. So after about a year, you know, learning
to play the cliant. It's a very difficult instrument, but
of course, you know, the clanet is the mother of
all the reads, all reads meaning all saxophones and obos
and flute and all these instruments that you know, we
call them read instruments. After a year, you know, I
(12:45):
was you know, finding my way around now. And I
was also interested in crickets. So oh yeah, So I
I would go to would go to school, and they
wanted to put a cricket team together, and you know,
(13:07):
I would say I try out. You know, since after
my try out them say, yeah, mcam be a part
of the cricket team. But mckair' practice even in time
when I have learned to play music at the evening time.
So right on my own, I tried to to see
if I could you know, deal with both. In doing so,
(13:31):
I lean towards playing cricket more than lean towards playing music.
Oh interesting, yes, and my aunt never find that funny
at all. Between she and my mother then does plan
(13:54):
and deal with mckeas properly. Okay, I forgot to mention
that the institution that I was learning to play at,
it's called the National Volunteers Youth Organization. So you know,
this was an some American organization that you know, came
(14:16):
to Jamaica. Yes, and so they dealt with old people,
you know, and old age you know. So all of
these old age homes were visited by these people and
run by it. So this particular part of the institution
(14:38):
was where they provided funding nuantings so that we could
learn music. So right, so my aunt has a social
worker at that time because she had stepdaughter teaching a
little and became a social worker. So she was one
of those officers that drove around and you know, make
(14:58):
sure everything was okay. So she had the power to
look in the register and see how many days I
went to music class. So when when when she come in,
she said, when last up you've been to music class?
And I'm like last two days ago, she said, she said,
you have been there in two weeks and things. So
(15:21):
she she she would help my matter. They tore them
fix me up, and okay, when them don't fix me up?
No when I but I've tried to work or not
with me and cricket because a load of crickets. Yeah,
just leave that alone. And decided, you know what, let
(15:47):
me go on to music class. Is he right? Right?
So in another in another six months or so, I
was moving from like zero to a hundred. Oh wow. Yeah.
So in nineteen seventy two, I was like fourteen. My
(16:08):
teacher said look here, because he was also a past
saxophonies Sony Bradshaw seven. So he said to me, look here,
I am going to send you to Sony Bradshaw seven band.
So you're going to playing that band. So I'm saying
to my teacher, are you crazy? He's like, nope, I'm
(16:35):
saying to you. So I'm saying to him, I am
fourteen years of age. I don't know anything about music
enough to take to go to this this place. And
I'm a Norman. I'm saying, one thing I know about you,
you will learn fast. So you know, I went to
(16:56):
mister Bradshaw, you know, the musical kid. Nobody knows me.
And even when the rest of musicians came to rehearsal
and Sam, who's the acon boy auntings? So you know,
Sonny never answered first, you know, but then Sonny said,
(17:17):
he's a saxophone player, and everybody drop a grown a laugh.
That boy went in playing, and you know, yeah, so
so so in in that band we had I remember
Tony Ramsey playing bass, Ox Brown great and yes late
(17:39):
Ox Brown playing guitar, Yes, Winston grennand playing drums, oh
yeah right, and and trombone player Joe mccarmol playing trombone. Okay,
Sonny Bradshaw, and I remember Winston Clark and Errol all
(18:01):
of you know. That was the Sun Branch. So but
then I never got off the wrong way. The minute
my start got on the runway, Oxbrown de reeled me.
You know, Ox Brown was like, look here, little boy,
(18:25):
begger about never I never made it the runway. I
was extremely afraid of oxcuse I could not please him.
But then the challenge that the challenge that he gave me,
(18:48):
it just seemed to keep me in m M so
I just started doubling up and everything. And you know,
I remember, I remember when him said hey, because you
play the song and and the people I'm club you
think you're rich, you need still need to go because
(19:09):
he was always telling me to go. You know, yeah, man,
but that that really you know I remember him coming
to Jamiica three years ago and we don't go talk
quite the four minute. I even get forgot check him guys.
You know afterwards you know him, well, show people him
(19:31):
I bring him, man, you know that kind of way.
So you know, he became one of my favorite musicians
and you know, beg him up, you know, and and
you know we don't same guy, no, but you know
we respect and show the respect that you know, he
gave me so much. He just sending the challenges to me.
(19:53):
And you know, I really have something, really had something
to work. And you know I love that musician. You know,
so with that Dino right, and you know every day
year of Star War, yes, yes, you know, the whole
(20:17):
thing does started to fall in place.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Oh wow wow. And from a music musicological perspective, you're playing,
I think demonstrates an understanding of both harmonic structure and narrative,
and the saxophone in reggae functions not only as melody
but kind of like commentary, like an instrument that meditates
(20:40):
between rhythm, lyrical content, and emotional storytelling.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
So how do you.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Like when you get on certain tracks, like, for example,
your work with Dennis Brown right like was formative in
establishing that emotional architecture of reggae, and in many of
those tracks, You're warne seems to function almost as a
second voice. So how do you approach like these different
collaborations and what do you learn maybe from working so
(21:10):
closely with a vocalist of that caliber like a Dennis Brown.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah, well, Dennis Brown was my age. It's my age,
you know, we are the same age. And so as
I you remember, I'm still going to school, you know,
even though I'm that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Yeah, yeah, that's so funny.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah. Man. So during during that period, the Celebrate period
was like a great it was a great school, you know,
better than any university. And as I said to you,
I was able to meet your father. You know, another
(22:01):
man who helped me a lot was Jackie Jackson. Oh,
uncle Jackie. Yeah. He thought that I had the ability to,
you know, be a frontline personnel. Just as you were saying,
we're you know, I play lead saxophones. And you know,
and and so he thought that I had that capability,
(22:22):
so he made me part of a group he played
and called the Caribs. So when I wasn't doing when
I was not playing for Sony Bradshaw, I would play
with the Caribs and weekends and you know it was
always it was always a great.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Thing, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So so with with with all that said and done,
we I was doing. I was playing in the Caribs band.
And one of the producers for Dennis Brown, Erald Thompson,
you know the Joe GiB studios. Oh yeah, the Launch
(23:00):
and Sami and so he invited me to the studios.
Then guess what, Yes, then guess what happened. They are
the CEO of Channel one Studios, Georgio Okim. He came
(23:21):
to the Launch. Of course, you know the junk Launch
was the place to go. You know, it had the
best live music and all that. So both of them
came and both of them invited me to come to
the studios and play. Mm hmm. So I, of course,
you know, may I hesitated, But then we remember Babay
come and the same thing happened. So at the time
(23:48):
Number was doing a little stint in the US, and
then Number came home and Number said to me, let's
go to we the people. That was lid Parks. That
was my second stage in that was my second stage.
(24:08):
And of course so this is where I made my
second step. So I got all this. I was in
Celebratal seventh band for like six seven years. I got
you know, make me get all this experience and exposion
and you learn everything right here every and so it
(24:31):
was time for me, you know, to start go out
and create. And I wanted to do nothing more than
hear my instrument being played by me on the radio.
All right, So that was that was one of my interests.
I just wanted to hear. And then I said, I
(24:54):
hear myself. I hear myself play pan song. That is
the biggest song. So that's how now I started to
go to the studios. I went to the studios and
I wasn't able to play, you know. I of course,
you know, you have people like Tommy m copein god
My Herman Marquis, Bobby Ellis, you know, and these people
(25:23):
were just you know, dirty Harry. You had to just
sit down and listen to them, because I had to
listen to that I had to understand that this is
this is where I had to understand the music. Now
we're talking about the genre of reggae music. No, and
I I had to just listen and and and and
see what was happening and hold them approach and all
(25:45):
of that. So after about a year, you know, Errol
used to wait until Temmy and everybody gone in the days,
and then he would allow me to play on some tracks.
So I started to learn to play on tracks. I
did say them at Channel one, but I came out
very big a Channel one because I did played on
a song called in the Arena, which was a very
(26:08):
big song. So then yes, and then I remember Tommy
Cowan coming from me. I just had it and I
played and I played on a song for Israel Vibration,
who was a young upcoming group at the time. Yeah,
at a song called all Gonna Sing the Same song.
(26:29):
And then you know, we just started to move from
strength to strength. But then, yeah, this was Live Parks
and we the people band. We became the top band.
We became the band that everybody wanted to sound like,
everybody wanted to play like. And then we became Dennis
Brown's band.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Okay, okay, wow, oh my gosh. And do you I
have to ask, because Dennis Brown is one of my
all time favorite singers. Do you have a favorite I
know it's hard, but do you have a favorite Dennis
Brown song?
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yes, it's called Malcolm X.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Oh I don't know that one. Okay, I have to
look that one up.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
It's called Malcolm X. It was written by Marcanoff. Right,
it's called Malcolm X. And the thing is that I
actually I am going to school. Winston Macanoff is going
to school. Bob Blaod, a keyboard player from Weedy People,
is going to school. So all of us is at
(27:33):
Joe Gibbs. We're set at school. We got to Joe
Gives in the studios, you know, in our clothes, and
we sit in the and then Macanoff wrote this song,
Malcolm X. And I remember I'm teaching it to Dennis Brown,
and we sat there and it was just mind blowing
to me because you know, I could understand you know
(27:56):
how to play music, and you know how to build
anything musically, but meant to see lyrical content being used
and using this way, it was kind of mind blowing
for me. And I was like, WHOA But Malcolm X
was my favorite. Dennis Bunca, Wow.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Wow, that's amazing. I definitely have to go listen to
that now that I have some context and your other collaborations,
like I mentioned in the intro span generation, So from
Luciano Roots revival to Champaul's global algorhythms and Taris Riley's
contemporary expressions, how do you approach adapting your style to
(28:36):
complement their distinct voices while still preserving the depth and
integrity of your own musical identity.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Well, being a youngster who studied what people like Tommy McCook,
as I said before, Roland Sterling, all of these great
musicians as saxophone players, they you know, carved the whole
Ready city. Yes, you know, and I remember now a
(29:08):
lot of a lot of what you hearing dance all
is what was already played in reggae and sc The
man then does revived them.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, my dad always tells me, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Man then does revive everything. Man and what they say.
I know. My greater experience came from a concert I
did in London with Dennis Brown in about nineteen seventy eight,
seventy nine, you know, with those little boys loving one
playing music and we just playing and free, free life.
(29:41):
And when that concert was finished and I turned around,
Bob Marley was standing there behind me, and Bab Male
is yeah, man, Bab Maley says to me, I am
going to Jamiaica to do my new album and I
want you to play. So when I came back, when
when I came back to Jamaica, I went to the
(30:03):
Student of Tough Girl where I played on an album
cal Survivor. And that's my first experience now with with
Bob Marley and Jinga, and so we had a I had.
I had the experience of experience, sayce and that was
just another mind blowing situation. So I I did all
(30:27):
of that and I started to learn how to apply
myself right. I have already learned that in SONI Bradshaws.
And of course, because you learn how to apply yourself
to a singer, when the singer is singing, you you
(30:51):
accompany the singer, right, So you have to understand accompanying
differently from overpowering. So you actually try to accompany the singer.
So this is where you build all of this. You
are company a company a company, and then you are
(31:14):
gradually getting a sound for yourself because you know, it
was always said that you should try and have a
song that that is what is that that people don't
identify immediately, right, So I was able not to take
(31:36):
my time and do that, understand, Yes, So that's how
I was able to you know, accompany songs alongside Dennis
Brown and you know myself then with then the Lucianas
and the taris Riley's heritage, everybody. I was able to
(31:59):
apply myself and not overpower, but a company. Right.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
And you're so right. That's so important because I think
sometimes you can kind of hear that, especially when you
see a concert live, that the musicians are not really
in sync and maybe like one is too loud or
one is just doing too much, and it can be
really for an audience. It can be really confusing to
you know, as an audience member.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah, man, because remember that when the artist is on stage,
the audience is supposed to look at that person.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
It's like a tennis match, real, you know, you notice
the people's head just go with the ball and then
it is always on that rhythm until something happens.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Yes, that's so true, so true, And I wonder if
we could go back a little bit. So when Bob
Marley approached you, you must have wanted to drop down
like London Bridge because you're you're a student. I'm just
thinking like you're a school child. And at that time
Bob Marley was really big.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
No we just.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
We're just free coaching when a free calling no sense.
But it was just a big thing for me, and
and and what what became of it is that it
was easy for him to accept.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Me because him comes from down the street like me.
Him come from to Woods known by me. So when
he marked me certain questions right and and and I
said to him saying, yeah, I live here. So I
mean he was elated in your in your start understartment
(33:50):
because a man from finn Yeah, you understand, relate exactly.
So so that was the thing. It was us nice.
Everything that worked out real and I was able to
to I was able to play on a song that
I also played a solo on. And I remember a
(34:13):
couple of months after that and the year after Asta
Child and His Majesty Centennial I played on I played
that on stage with and all of this was just
different levels of you know, me becoming a de inflaser.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
You know, Oh, that's amazing. And what songs on Survival?
Did you play on.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
The main song wake Up and Live? Oh? Wow, wake
Up and Live? You know that song that was an
ambush the night the song survival? Quite a few tracks.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Man, wow, wow, Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
I did not know that. Wow.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
And a second to last question, So, beyond your prefer romance,
you've been a teacher and a mentor to countless musicians.
So how do you balance performing with the responsibility of
really passing on knowledge and what do you see as
essential values for the next generation of Jamaica musicians.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Well, what we did doing was I didn't take I
didn't take time to go in any classrooms. For instance,
during the COVID situation, you have a saxophone. You have
a saxophonist right, No, right is O'Shane Love. And you
have a trumpet player Okay MacIntyre. And you have Randy Fletcher. No,
(35:41):
these three young musicians, right Oh, I play alongside them
in more sessions these days. Then you have another you
have another saxophone player, Sender. No, these are youngsters who
left EDNA. But I remember during COVID, O'Shane was doing
(36:05):
his final year and I was asked by Edna, you know,
to teach him for the last semester and all of that.
I didn't have the knowledge to teach him the theoretical
part of the music, which he had already learned, right,
(36:25):
But I was able now to give him anza and
experience in the studios. You know how to approach songs.
You know how to listen and how to play together
as a section in studios and live. And I just
I just took him. I just tell him to come
(36:46):
to my hard and I just I every studio session
that I played, and I I allowed him to play also, right,
so know how he'll know is my first trumpet player.
He's also another you know, great youngster. So I took
(37:06):
Okay alongside me. I take him to the yard here
where I have my studio house, and we practice anting, anting,
and but I teach him how to listen to the music,
how to approach what the search for, you know, listen
how the sound, how these musicians sounded together, which instruments
(37:28):
and which instruments they used to create a certain kind
of sound. That and that kind of sound and genre
is only in the reggae music. You know, the kind
of way of Taming Them and Jing Garden and and
Cedric Brooks and Kyl Bryan, all of these studio and
(37:50):
musician how they played right? How you know, I tell
him how the Jackey two keyboards were played. Understand I'm
the same to him. This was another part of the
music that.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
We had to study because this was a different part
from what Jackie Jackson, Pearl, Douglass, Winston, Grennan Gladston, Anderson Winston.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Right. You know, this was another another different sound from
what was happening on that side. Also, you understand me
because you have a member, say, people like Paul and
Jackie them them started the whole international Kaina teing with
the with the Herbie Mans and and the Pearl Simon's
and you understand me, the Jimmy Cliff right. So it's
(38:38):
like you had two sections of Jamiican musicians who created
some wicked sound and you had to learn to differentiate
don a Treasure hile different from Dona Coxson, you understand me,
so yes, and the different instruments and on the instrument
(39:00):
and Tommy McCook lean the lot to to to reads,
so he played a lot of saxophone songs with flute
and and you know while do not. Studio one is
trembled and alta saxophone, our trumpet and tenor saxophone. And
(39:20):
you had all these different songs that came out at
the two major studios. So I had to sit and
try to tell you themsel. Look, irrespective of what you
are going to create, you have to recognize and say, oh,
this is where the music is coming from. And you
(39:40):
have to you have to be able to play it also,
so when you go panastier gentlemen say give me the coochie,
you have to know what the cochi is. You have
to know it. Look, I know it, mean, I know
it sounds right. Yep.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
That's amazing advice. That's really amazing advice. And I think
that you know well, I hope I should say that's
a lot of Jamaica and musicians, especially up and coming,
really take advantage of the fact that some of you
are still here because we've lost so many, as you know,
within recent years, including like Uncle Tutz yep, and you
(40:21):
know Auntie Karen, uncle Jackie's wife, like so many great
musicians and singers and things like that. So I really
love that a lot of you are just really open
to providing this advice for younger persons. And I had
Aston Barrett Junior on here and he talked about, you
know the fact that my dad was really instrumental in
(40:41):
helping him, and you know all these other seasoned musicians
like yourself that have really helped him, you know, with
his career going forward. So I think that's just so
amazing as a community that you guys kind of stick
together to push the genre forward.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Yep, it's the only wead guys standover, dearI understand me,
and you know we just have to understand it and
hold it together.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Yes, definitely, definitely. Okay, So final question before I do
my thank you, if you could go back to that
fourteen year old boy, and you know, after you've lived
your life now, what would you tell him, like, what
advice would you give him or maybe word of words
of encouragement?
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Well, I would just it's just a simple thing. I
would tell him that he should have stayed at Edna
Manly a little longer.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
That's it, okay, Okay, very simple. And why though, what
is there a reason? Particular reason?
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Yes, because what the time it takes me now to
figure something out. Sometimes I would just I think if
I had stood a little longer. Instead of taking me
ten minutes, it would take me like ten seconds.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
Oh so getting that baseline education, Yeah, it's a bit deeper. Okay, gotcha, Okay,
that makes sense, Uncle Dean. What we've explored today, your artistry, collaborations, mentorship,
and the wisdom embedded in your musical phrasing, I think
(42:24):
is a testament not only to a technical mastery, as
I said earlier, but to a life lived in service
of culture. And from the first memory of music in
your childhood to the countless stages studios and young musicians
you've guided, your saxophone has carried more than sound. I
believe it's carried memory, history, and really human emotion. And
(42:49):
while you're a legend to me in your own right,
you've worked with other legends, as you mentioned, bridge generations
and really brought integrity to every color aberration. And yet
through it all you've remained approachable, reflective, and generous. I think,
a true custodian of Jamaican music. And to me, this
(43:10):
conversation serves as a recognition of your voice, your heart,
your legacy, and a legacy that doesn't simply rest in
the notes that you play, but in the lives you touch,
the artists you mentor, and the Jamaican culture that you sustain.
So thank you Uncle Dean for sharing not only your music,
(43:31):
but you're wisdom with me and with the world.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Well I have to thank you too, I mean not
to thank you, especially for the thought that is like
you know, super you understand me. It is it is
not This is not an easy road, you know, and
to have people having a thought in the breach, in
the way in which you you know, put it over
(43:58):
it is really real. Really, you know, I have to
give thanks. You understand me. So yeah, man, so we
have to tell your tongues and do what you're doing.
Keep doing it, you know, because you know you're really
a carry panel level and express it pane level. And
so we have to be very thankful for all of this.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Oh, thanks uncle Diana, and thank you also for being
a really great friend to my dad. He talks very
highly of you all the time.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Yeah. Well, yearely said that this is the thing that
you see when when you talk about musicians, right, you
have to, I mean you have to mention Paul Douglas
and Junior Douglass. So but you're afraid you have to
mention a man who knows you know. You remember I
(44:52):
was speaking about earlier. I was speaking about accompaniment and
and you know when you listen so part of glass
and Jackie Jackson, you know I called him the Slie
Robbie of the seventies. Yeah, this is where you have
just great musicians who know just how to accompany and
(45:14):
how to play the music and the level without making
no nice you know.
Speaker 1 (45:20):
Wow, that's a perfect description.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (45:25):
No, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking
the time to talk the things with me.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
You're welcome, man, and anytime you understand me,
Dean Fraser is more than a saxophonist. He is a
living archive of Jamaican music, a vessel through which stories
have been told not only in words, but in breath,
tone and phrasing. His horn has carried the soul of
reggae across generations, offering both lament and celebration, discipline and improvisation.
(00:28):
From his early years in Trench Towne, discovering music as
a child, through his aunt to becoming the saxophone voice
behind icons like Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Luciano, Taurus Riley,
and lending his artistry to the international sound of Schampaul,
(00:48):
Uncle Dean has not only performed, he has defined. His
work reminds us that the power of music lies not
only in whose stands at the microphone, but also in
those who give the song its heartbeat, its wind, and
its wings. What makes Uncle Dean remarkable is not just
(01:12):
his virtuosity, but his humility and consistency. In an industry
shaped by change, he has been both anchor and compass,
preserving the integrity of reggae music while allowing it to evolve.
To listen to the Great Dean Canon Fraser is to
(01:34):
hear Jamaica, speaking their struggles and their triumphs, all distilled
into the voice of the saxophone. As you listen to
this episode, I invite you to think of Uncle Dean's
journey as not only the story of an artist, but
the story of a nation through music. His notes remind
(01:57):
us that legacy is not only one we leave behind,
but what we continue to breathe into the present moment.
If you're listening to the podcast on Apple Podcast, please
remember to rate and leave a comment below. Also, don't
forget to follow us on Instagram at Let's Talk the Tings. Now,
(02:22):
grab your tea, coffee, or a glass of wine and
Let's Talk the Tings. Hello everyone, Welcome back to Let's
Talk the Tings, where we discuss personal growth, travel, music
and wellness while encouraging you to live fearlessly and fabulously.
(02:43):
I'm your host, Ash and this week we are talking
to things with a legendary Jamaican saxophonist whose work exemplifies
technical mastery and the intellectual rigor of musical arrangement. An
icon who has collaboration with foundational figures like Dennis Brown
(03:03):
and several dancehall and reggae artists. Like Sean, Paul Luciano,
and Taras Riley, to name a few. Dean Frasier, Hi,
uncle Dean, how are you.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
I'm fine, Good morning, Good morning. Oh.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
I would like if you wouldn't mind if we could
start with your first memory of music. I always like
to ask persons of your stature, like when they first
discovered music or their earliest memory of music.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah. Well, my earliest memory of music started as just
a little kid playing around my aunt, who is responsible
for my career. She was a micnyan and she is
(03:58):
the only other person in my family that I know
that deals with music. And of course she was She
went to Michael and those early days, she her minor
was music. So she yes, so she had she had
(04:21):
a little acoustic guitar and a melodica which she learned
to play the piano from. So you know, that showed
I showed some kind of interest in that, and so
with that she started to you know, like watch how
(04:44):
I was reacting at the time, and so she decided
to send me to learn to play Ah. Okay, so
that was the early days. Yes, So I actually started
out learning to play again guitar, yes, which I didn't
go I didn't do much. I actually started. I think
(05:09):
after one term I gave it up because she thought that,
you know, she as an educator to ourselves. She thought
that she thought that, you know, going to school would
have been better than you know, learning to play music
at that time.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay, wow, interesting and it's interesting how those like formative
experiences shape your perception of rhythm and melody and really
before even formal training began, because as you said, you
picked up a guitar and I'm sure you just heard
different genres of music. Do you remember what the first
(05:51):
genre of music is that you heard, because I know,
back in those days they played a lot of R
and B and like other types of music aside from reggae.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
They didn't play a lot. That's all they played on
the radio. But fortunately for me, I lived in Johnstone
and I lived at twenty three Penn Street in Johnstone
and that twenty one Penn Street was the major dance
(06:22):
at that time. So that time dance dance hall was
a place and not a genre.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Oh really.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So next door to me, yes, and so at like
age seven, it was I was listening to you, I
as a young DJ and a sound system and that
was next door to my yard. So I had the
opportunity to you know, like you know, we have a
(06:57):
bill a new fence every sunder man in because you know,
some kind of activity and man of a job fence
and long fence, and but it's something we look forward to,
you know, is a process where we didn't think was funny,
you know. So we I used to like climb on
(07:21):
to the fence and you know, look at people enjoying
themselves and listen to the different levels of scare music
and rock steady music. You understand me. And this was
even before you I broke as an individual as artist himself.
(07:43):
So I remember him and his brother, you know, operating
Dickie's I Fight song, and so you know, I had
a lot of you know, actual you know, person to
personal relationship with the music at that time. But to
play music to you know, to be a musician that
(08:05):
was far from from that was far away.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Okay, okay, so right, you were just getting familiar with
the music at that time was.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Just an experience.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, okay, So then how did you come to play
the saxophone?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
So after my aunt sent me to learn guitar and
that I wasn't enjoying that that that class, my teacher
was kind of aggressive, you know, and then time there's
(08:41):
a youth to come from downtown, that kind of aggression
was a turn off, you know. She you know, she
seemed she treated the children from uptown differently from home.
She treated them, and that was a turnofter me. So,
as I said said, I didn't last a term. But
(09:03):
then then I remember I'm going to Norman Many Secondary School.
And the day somewhere in nineteen sixty nine, I think
it was, Yes, the first day I entered that school,
(09:28):
my aunt says to me, and she gave me an
address for Johnstone again on Love Street. Actually she said
I should go to Love Street and there's a man
there and he's going to teach me some kind of music. So, yes,
(09:50):
after school, you know, I lived on I lived down
on Fourth Street in Trenchtone, So I just walk up
the street on the top Umpson Street, then Antelove Street,
and this man introduced himself to me as Alfred Babe O'Brian,
a saxophonist, an alto sax player and a clarinet player.
(10:14):
And so when I went there, know him say, boy,
you look for that boy, you look like Cannon. So
between between Marma bridging number, Robinson number, say yeah, man,
(10:34):
Cannon and then started calling me Cannon. I didn't know what.
I didn't know what canan was at the time.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Right, But wow, Jamaica, there's something else, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
After a couple of weeks, I realized that Canon was
actually a super duper alto saxophone player Canon marl Adelie.
So they called me because of my weight. That didn't
have anything to do with the music. Yeah, my goodness.
(11:07):
But then my teacher he thought that I should learn
to play the clarinet. So oh, that is where my
whole career started. Now, this is when I'm starting to
learn to play, and this is where everything started.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Wow, that's amazing. That's hilarious. That's a hilarious story. How
you got the name, but that's amazing. And for a
lot of people that aren't familiar with the saxophone, the
saxophone is often described as a human instrument because it's
capable of phrasing that mirrors the voice. So what drew
(11:45):
you to it, really, besides the fact that you met
this man and all of that, what drew you to it?
And how did you cultivate a style that is instantly
recognizable as your own.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
All right, So that man altered Babel Brown played in
all most of the big bands in Jamaica. It's not all.
He was also a teacher at Alpha. Oh okay, so
he gave me the climate and said that I should
(12:18):
start there. So after about a year, you know, learning
to play the cliant. It's a very difficult instrument, but
of course, you know, the clanet is the mother of
all the reads, all reads meaning all saxophones and obos
and flute and all these instruments that you know, we
call them read instruments. After a year, you know, I
(12:45):
was you know, finding my way around now. And I
was also interested in crickets. So oh yeah, So I
I would go to would go to school, and they
wanted to put a cricket team together, and you know,
(13:07):
I would say I try out. You know, since after
my try out them say, yeah, mcam be a part
of the cricket team. But mckair' practice even in time
when I have learned to play music at the evening time.
So right on my own, I tried to to see
if I could you know, deal with both. In doing so,
(13:31):
I lean towards playing cricket more than lean towards playing music.
Oh interesting, yes, and my aunt never find that funny
at all. Between she and my mother then does plan
(13:54):
and deal with mckeas properly. Okay, I forgot to mention
that the institution that I was learning to play at,
it's called the National Volunteers Youth Organization. So you know,
this was an some American organization that you know, came
(14:16):
to Jamaica. Yes, and so they dealt with old people,
you know, and old age you know. So all of
these old age homes were visited by these people and
run by it. So this particular part of the institution
(14:38):
was where they provided funding nuantings so that we could
learn music. So right, so my aunt has a social
worker at that time because she had stepdaughter teaching a
little and became a social worker. So she was one
of those officers that drove around and you know, make
(14:58):
sure everything was okay. So she had the power to
look in the register and see how many days I
went to music class. So when when when she come in,
she said, when last up you've been to music class?
And I'm like last two days ago, she said, she said,
you have been there in two weeks and things. So
(15:21):
she she she would help my matter. They tore them
fix me up, and okay, when them don't fix me up?
No when I but I've tried to work or not
with me and cricket because a load of crickets. Yeah,
just leave that alone. And decided, you know what, let
(15:47):
me go on to music class. Is he right? Right?
So in another in another six months or so, I
was moving from like zero to a hundred. Oh wow. Yeah.
So in nineteen seventy two, I was like fourteen. My
(16:08):
teacher said look here, because he was also a past
saxophonies Sony Bradshaw seven. So he said to me, look here,
I am going to send you to Sony Bradshaw seven band.
So you're going to playing that band. So I'm saying
to my teacher, are you crazy? He's like, nope, I'm
(16:35):
saying to you. So I'm saying to him, I am
fourteen years of age. I don't know anything about music
enough to take to go to this this place. And
I'm a Norman. I'm saying, one thing I know about you,
you will learn fast. So you know, I went to
(16:56):
mister Bradshaw, you know, the musical kid. Nobody knows me.
And even when the rest of musicians came to rehearsal
and Sam, who's the acon boy auntings? So you know,
Sonny never answered first, you know, but then Sonny said,
(17:17):
he's a saxophone player, and everybody drop a grown a laugh.
That boy went in playing, and you know, yeah, so
so so in in that band we had I remember
Tony Ramsey playing bass, Ox Brown great and yes late
(17:39):
Ox Brown playing guitar, Yes, Winston grennand playing drums, oh
yeah right, and and trombone player Joe mccarmol playing trombone. Okay,
Sonny Bradshaw, and I remember Winston Clark and Errol all
(18:01):
of you know. That was the Sun Branch. So but
then I never got off the wrong way. The minute
my start got on the runway, Oxbrown de reeled me.
You know, Ox Brown was like, look here, little boy,
(18:25):
begger about never I never made it the runway. I
was extremely afraid of oxcuse I could not please him.
But then the challenge that the challenge that he gave me,
(18:48):
it just seemed to keep me in m M so
I just started doubling up and everything. And you know,
I remember, I remember when him said hey, because you
play the song and and the people I'm club you
think you're rich, you need still need to go because
(19:09):
he was always telling me to go. You know, yeah, man,
but that that really you know I remember him coming
to Jamiica three years ago and we don't go talk
quite the four minute. I even get forgot check him guys.
You know afterwards you know him, well, show people him
(19:31):
I bring him, man, you know that kind of way.
So you know, he became one of my favorite musicians
and you know, beg him up, you know, and and
you know we don't same guy, no, but you know
we respect and show the respect that you know, he
gave me so much. He just sending the challenges to me.
(19:53):
And you know, I really have something, really had something
to work. And you know I love that musician. You know,
so with that Dino right, and you know every day
year of Star War, yes, yes, you know, the whole
(20:17):
thing does started to fall in place.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Oh wow wow. And from a music musicological perspective, you're playing,
I think demonstrates an understanding of both harmonic structure and narrative,
and the saxophone in reggae functions not only as melody
but kind of like commentary, like an instrument that meditates
(20:40):
between rhythm, lyrical content, and emotional storytelling.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
So how do you.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Like when you get on certain tracks, like, for example,
your work with Dennis Brown right like was formative in
establishing that emotional architecture of reggae, and in many of
those tracks, You're warne seems to function almost as a
second voice. So how do you approach like these different
collaborations and what do you learn maybe from working so
(21:10):
closely with a vocalist of that caliber like a Dennis Brown.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah, well, Dennis Brown was my age. It's my age,
you know, we are the same age. And so as
I you remember, I'm still going to school, you know,
even though I'm that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Yeah, yeah, that's so funny.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah. Man. So during during that period, the Celebrate period
was like a great it was a great school, you know,
better than any university. And as I said to you,
I was able to meet your father. You know, another
(22:01):
man who helped me a lot was Jackie Jackson. Oh,
uncle Jackie. Yeah. He thought that I had the ability to,
you know, be a frontline personnel. Just as you were saying,
we're you know, I play lead saxophones. And you know,
and and so he thought that I had that capability,
(22:22):
so he made me part of a group he played
and called the Caribs. So when I wasn't doing when
I was not playing for Sony Bradshaw, I would play
with the Caribs and weekends and you know it was
always it was always a great.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Thing, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So so with with with all that said and done,
we I was doing. I was playing in the Caribs band.
And one of the producers for Dennis Brown, Erald Thompson,
you know the Joe GiB studios. Oh yeah, the Launch
(23:00):
and Sami and so he invited me to the studios.
Then guess what, Yes, then guess what happened. They are
the CEO of Channel one Studios, Georgio Okim. He came
(23:21):
to the Launch. Of course, you know the junk Launch
was the place to go. You know, it had the
best live music and all that. So both of them
came and both of them invited me to come to
the studios and play. Mm hmm. So I, of course,
you know, may I hesitated, But then we remember Babay
come and the same thing happened. So at the time
(23:48):
Number was doing a little stint in the US, and
then Number came home and Number said to me, let's
go to we the people. That was lid Parks. That
was my second stage in that was my second stage.
(24:08):
And of course so this is where I made my
second step. So I got all this. I was in
Celebratal seventh band for like six seven years. I got
you know, make me get all this experience and exposion
and you learn everything right here every and so it
(24:31):
was time for me, you know, to start go out
and create. And I wanted to do nothing more than
hear my instrument being played by me on the radio.
All right, So that was that was one of my interests.
I just wanted to hear. And then I said, I
(24:54):
hear myself. I hear myself play pan song. That is
the biggest song. So that's how now I started to
go to the studios. I went to the studios and
I wasn't able to play, you know. I of course,
you know, you have people like Tommy m copein god
My Herman Marquis, Bobby Ellis, you know, and these people
(25:23):
were just you know, dirty Harry. You had to just
sit down and listen to them, because I had to
listen to that I had to understand that this is
this is where I had to understand the music. Now
we're talking about the genre of reggae music. No, and
I I had to just listen and and and and
see what was happening and hold them approach and all
(25:45):
of that. So after about a year, you know, Errol
used to wait until Temmy and everybody gone in the days,
and then he would allow me to play on some tracks.
So I started to learn to play on tracks. I
did say them at Channel one, but I came out
very big a Channel one because I did played on
a song called in the Arena, which was a very
(26:08):
big song. So then yes, and then I remember Tommy
Cowan coming from me. I just had it and I
played and I played on a song for Israel Vibration,
who was a young upcoming group at the time. Yeah,
at a song called all Gonna Sing the Same song.
(26:29):
And then you know, we just started to move from
strength to strength. But then, yeah, this was Live Parks
and we the people band. We became the top band.
We became the band that everybody wanted to sound like,
everybody wanted to play like. And then we became Dennis
Brown's band.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Okay, okay, wow, oh my gosh. And do you I
have to ask, because Dennis Brown is one of my
all time favorite singers. Do you have a favorite I
know it's hard, but do you have a favorite Dennis
Brown song?
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yes, it's called Malcolm X.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Oh I don't know that one. Okay, I have to
look that one up.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
It's called Malcolm X. It was written by Marcanoff. Right,
it's called Malcolm X. And the thing is that I
actually I am going to school. Winston Macanoff is going
to school. Bob Blaod, a keyboard player from Weedy People,
is going to school. So all of us is at
(27:33):
Joe Gibbs. We're set at school. We got to Joe
Gives in the studios, you know, in our clothes, and
we sit in the and then Macanoff wrote this song,
Malcolm X. And I remember I'm teaching it to Dennis Brown,
and we sat there and it was just mind blowing
to me because you know, I could understand you know
(27:56):
how to play music, and you know how to build
anything musically, but meant to see lyrical content being used
and using this way, it was kind of mind blowing
for me. And I was like, WHOA But Malcolm X
was my favorite. Dennis Bunca, Wow.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Wow, that's amazing. I definitely have to go listen to
that now that I have some context and your other collaborations,
like I mentioned in the intro span generation, So from
Luciano Roots revival to Champaul's global algorhythms and Taris Riley's
contemporary expressions, how do you approach adapting your style to
(28:36):
complement their distinct voices while still preserving the depth and
integrity of your own musical identity.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Well, being a youngster who studied what people like Tommy McCook,
as I said before, Roland Sterling, all of these great
musicians as saxophone players, they you know, carved the whole
Ready city. Yes, you know, and I remember now a
(29:08):
lot of a lot of what you hearing dance all
is what was already played in reggae and sc The
man then does revived them.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, my dad always tells me, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Man then does revive everything. Man and what they say.
I know. My greater experience came from a concert I
did in London with Dennis Brown in about nineteen seventy eight,
seventy nine, you know, with those little boys loving one
playing music and we just playing and free, free life.
(29:41):
And when that concert was finished and I turned around,
Bob Marley was standing there behind me, and Bab Male
is yeah, man, Bab Maley says to me, I am
going to Jamiaica to do my new album and I
want you to play. So when I came back, when
when I came back to Jamaica, I went to the
(30:03):
Student of Tough Girl where I played on an album
cal Survivor. And that's my first experience now with with
Bob Marley and Jinga, and so we had a I had.
I had the experience of experience, sayce and that was
just another mind blowing situation. So I I did all
(30:27):
of that and I started to learn how to apply
myself right. I have already learned that in SONI Bradshaws.
And of course, because you learn how to apply yourself
to a singer, when the singer is singing, you you
(30:51):
accompany the singer, right, So you have to understand accompanying
differently from overpowering. So you actually try to accompany the singer.
So this is where you build all of this. You
are company a company a company, and then you are
(31:14):
gradually getting a sound for yourself because you know, it
was always said that you should try and have a
song that that is what is that that people don't
identify immediately, right, So I was able not to take
(31:36):
my time and do that, understand, Yes, So that's how
I was able to you know, accompany songs alongside Dennis
Brown and you know myself then with then the Lucianas
and the taris Riley's heritage, everybody. I was able to
(31:59):
apply myself and not overpower, but a company. Right.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
And you're so right. That's so important because I think
sometimes you can kind of hear that, especially when you
see a concert live, that the musicians are not really
in sync and maybe like one is too loud or
one is just doing too much, and it can be
really for an audience. It can be really confusing to
you know, as an audience member.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah, man, because remember that when the artist is on stage,
the audience is supposed to look at that person.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
It's like a tennis match, real, you know, you notice
the people's head just go with the ball and then
it is always on that rhythm until something happens.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Yes, that's so true, so true, And I wonder if
we could go back a little bit. So when Bob
Marley approached you, you must have wanted to drop down
like London Bridge because you're you're a student. I'm just
thinking like you're a school child. And at that time
Bob Marley was really big.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
No we just.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
We're just free coaching when a free calling no sense.
But it was just a big thing for me, and
and and what what became of it is that it
was easy for him to accept.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Me because him comes from down the street like me.
Him come from to Woods known by me. So when
he marked me certain questions right and and and I
said to him saying, yeah, I live here. So I
mean he was elated in your in your start understartment
(33:50):
because a man from finn Yeah, you understand, relate exactly.
So so that was the thing. It was us nice.
Everything that worked out real and I was able to
to I was able to play on a song that
I also played a solo on. And I remember a
(34:13):
couple of months after that and the year after Asta
Child and His Majesty Centennial I played on I played
that on stage with and all of this was just
different levels of you know, me becoming a de inflaser.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
You know, Oh, that's amazing. And what songs on Survival?
Did you play on.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
The main song wake Up and Live? Oh? Wow, wake
Up and Live? You know that song that was an
ambush the night the song survival? Quite a few tracks.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Man, wow, wow, Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
I did not know that. Wow.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
And a second to last question, So, beyond your prefer romance,
you've been a teacher and a mentor to countless musicians.
So how do you balance performing with the responsibility of
really passing on knowledge and what do you see as
essential values for the next generation of Jamaica musicians.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Well, what we did doing was I didn't take I
didn't take time to go in any classrooms. For instance,
during the COVID situation, you have a saxophone. You have
a saxophonist right, No, right is O'Shane Love. And you
have a trumpet player Okay MacIntyre. And you have Randy Fletcher. No,
(35:41):
these three young musicians, right Oh, I play alongside them
in more sessions these days. Then you have another you
have another saxophone player, Sender. No, these are youngsters who
left EDNA. But I remember during COVID, O'Shane was doing
(36:05):
his final year and I was asked by Edna, you know,
to teach him for the last semester and all of that.
I didn't have the knowledge to teach him the theoretical
part of the music, which he had already learned, right,
(36:25):
But I was able now to give him anza and
experience in the studios. You know how to approach songs.
You know how to listen and how to play together
as a section in studios and live. And I just
I just took him. I just tell him to come
(36:46):
to my hard and I just I every studio session
that I played, and I I allowed him to play also, right,
so know how he'll know is my first trumpet player.
He's also another you know, great youngster. So I took
(37:06):
Okay alongside me. I take him to the yard here
where I have my studio house, and we practice anting, anting,
and but I teach him how to listen to the music,
how to approach what the search for, you know, listen
how the sound, how these musicians sounded together, which instruments
(37:28):
and which instruments they used to create a certain kind
of sound. That and that kind of sound and genre
is only in the reggae music. You know, the kind
of way of Taming Them and Jing Garden and and
Cedric Brooks and Kyl Bryan, all of these studio and
(37:50):
musician how they played right? How you know, I tell
him how the Jackey two keyboards were played. Understand I'm
the same to him. This was another part of the
music that.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
We had to study because this was a different part
from what Jackie Jackson, Pearl, Douglass, Winston, Grennan Gladston, Anderson Winston.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Right. You know, this was another another different sound from
what was happening on that side. Also, you understand me
because you have a member, say, people like Paul and
Jackie them them started the whole international Kaina teing with
the with the Herbie Mans and and the Pearl Simon's
and you understand me, the Jimmy Cliff right. So it's
(38:38):
like you had two sections of Jamiican musicians who created
some wicked sound and you had to learn to differentiate
don a Treasure hile different from Dona Coxson, you understand me,
so yes, and the different instruments and on the instrument
(39:00):
and Tommy McCook lean the lot to to to reads,
so he played a lot of saxophone songs with flute
and and you know while do not. Studio one is
trembled and alta saxophone, our trumpet and tenor saxophone. And
(39:20):
you had all these different songs that came out at
the two major studios. So I had to sit and
try to tell you themsel. Look, irrespective of what you
are going to create, you have to recognize and say, oh,
this is where the music is coming from. And you
(39:40):
have to you have to be able to play it also,
so when you go panastier gentlemen say give me the coochie,
you have to know what the cochi is. You have
to know it. Look, I know it, mean, I know
it sounds right. Yep.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
That's amazing advice. That's really amazing advice. And I think
that you know well, I hope I should say that's
a lot of Jamaica and musicians, especially up and coming,
really take advantage of the fact that some of you
are still here because we've lost so many, as you know,
within recent years, including like Uncle Tutz yep, and you
(40:21):
know Auntie Karen, uncle Jackie's wife, like so many great
musicians and singers and things like that. So I really
love that a lot of you are just really open
to providing this advice for younger persons. And I had
Aston Barrett Junior on here and he talked about, you
know the fact that my dad was really instrumental in
(40:41):
helping him, and you know all these other seasoned musicians
like yourself that have really helped him, you know, with
his career going forward. So I think that's just so
amazing as a community that you guys kind of stick
together to push the genre forward.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Yep, it's the only wead guys standover, dearI understand me,
and you know we just have to understand it and
hold it together.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Yes, definitely, definitely. Okay, So final question before I do
my thank you, if you could go back to that
fourteen year old boy, and you know, after you've lived
your life now, what would you tell him, like, what
advice would you give him or maybe word of words
of encouragement?
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Well, I would just it's just a simple thing. I
would tell him that he should have stayed at Edna
Manly a little longer.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
That's it, okay, Okay, very simple. And why though, what
is there a reason? Particular reason?
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Yes, because what the time it takes me now to
figure something out. Sometimes I would just I think if
I had stood a little longer. Instead of taking me
ten minutes, it would take me like ten seconds.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
Oh so getting that baseline education, Yeah, it's a bit deeper. Okay, gotcha, Okay,
that makes sense, Uncle Dean. What we've explored today, your artistry, collaborations, mentorship,
and the wisdom embedded in your musical phrasing, I think
(42:24):
is a testament not only to a technical mastery, as
I said earlier, but to a life lived in service
of culture. And from the first memory of music in
your childhood to the countless stages studios and young musicians
you've guided, your saxophone has carried more than sound. I
believe it's carried memory, history, and really human emotion. And
(42:49):
while you're a legend to me in your own right,
you've worked with other legends, as you mentioned, bridge generations
and really brought integrity to every color aberration. And yet
through it all you've remained approachable, reflective, and generous. I think,
a true custodian of Jamaican music. And to me, this
(43:10):
conversation serves as a recognition of your voice, your heart,
your legacy, and a legacy that doesn't simply rest in
the notes that you play, but in the lives you touch,
the artists you mentor, and the Jamaican culture that you sustain.
So thank you Uncle Dean for sharing not only your music,
(43:31):
but you're wisdom with me and with the world.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Well I have to thank you too, I mean not
to thank you, especially for the thought that is like
you know, super you understand me. It is it is
not This is not an easy road, you know, and
to have people having a thought in the breach, in
the way in which you you know, put it over
(43:58):
it is really real. Really, you know, I have to
give thanks. You understand me. So yeah, man, so we
have to tell your tongues and do what you're doing.
Keep doing it, you know, because you know you're really
a carry panel level and express it pane level. And
so we have to be very thankful for all of this.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Oh, thanks uncle Diana, and thank you also for being
a really great friend to my dad. He talks very
highly of you all the time.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Yeah. Well, yearely said that this is the thing that
you see when when you talk about musicians, right, you
have to, I mean you have to mention Paul Douglas
and Junior Douglass. So but you're afraid you have to
mention a man who knows you know. You remember I
(44:52):
was speaking about earlier. I was speaking about accompaniment and
and you know when you listen so part of glass
and Jackie Jackson, you know I called him the Slie
Robbie of the seventies. Yeah, this is where you have
just great musicians who know just how to accompany and
(45:14):
how to play the music and the level without making
no nice you know.
Speaker 1 (45:20):
Wow, that's a perfect description.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (45:25):
No, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking
the time to talk the things with me.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
You're welcome, man, and anytime you understand me,
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