Renowned drummer Desi Jones remembered

Tributes continue to pour in following the sudden passing of renowned musician Desi Jones, who died on Saturday at the age of 65.

Reports state that Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital in Kingston after being rushed there by a family member.

Since then, many industry players have expressed shock.

Herbie Miller, director and curator of the Jamaica Music Museum, who was with Jones and other musicians on Friday night (May 10) after a gig at F&B Downtown, recounts Desi’s final moments.

Herbie Miller also reflects on the kind of person Desi Jones was.

A member of the Skool Band and a drummer for Chalice, Desi Jones played with Sonny Bradshaw, Myrna Hague, Marcia Griffiths, Gem Myers, and Mutabaruka among others.

World renowned dub poet Mutabaruka, who has toured the world with Desi Jones, said he feels disoriented.

Singer Gem Myers, who is still in shock, shares her recent interaction with Desi.

Meanwhile, tributes continue to flood social media platforms.

Digital creator Steve James, in a post shared to Facebook, said, “Desi Jones was never considered a Reggae drummer as he was a total drummer extraordinary who played all genres of music.”

Radio personality and Pan-Africanist Denise Isis Miller on Facebook wrote, in part, “Desi Jones was an iconic drummer.”

On Instagram, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, shared that she was “shocked and saddened by the untimely passing of one of Jamaica’s most talented, gifted, and loved musicians”.

Desi Jones authored “The Art of Reggae Drumming”, which is recognized as the world’s first instructional book on Reggae drumming. It was released in 1983.

Jones is survived by his widow Judith and children Joshua and Jodie.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.