Jombo still entertains guests after three decades Claudia Gardner Hospitality Jamaica Writer: MARTEL ‘JOMBO’ Blackhall of Sandy Bay in Hanover has been singing for thousands of guests on the sands of Negril beach for more than three decades. According to Blackhall, he learnt how to play the drums and guitar as a young boy at the feet of a famous calypsonian who resided in Sandy Bay. After leaving the Sandy Bay Primary School, he worked as a drummer alongside the calypsonian in places such as Disco Inferno, Holiday Inn and Half Moon, Wyndham (Hilton Rose Hall) and the Trelawny Beach Hotel (now Royalton). Today, he walks the seven-mile beach and sings tunes, from folk songs to reggae, and almost any other genre at the request of tourists, most of whom will voluntarily offer him tips. He later joined the Montego Bay-based group, Future Wind, which backed several top reggae acts in its time. Subsequent to that, he formed a band which performed in resorts within Hanover. Like many musicians, Blackhall began to visit Negril in 1982, and played the role as a drummer on a local band. At nights, Blackhall said he would play with the band at places in Negril such as Rick’s Café and De Buss, while singing on the beach in the daytime for tips. “After the season got slow, I started to freelance on the sand. In those days, it was about two of us on the beach. I knew quite a few of the people who owned the little restaurants on the beach and they allowed me to play my guitar,” he said. “In those days, the police started to take away our guitars and take us to jail and charge us for offering services without license. So the Jamaica Tourist Board came in, with the Jamaica Federation of Musicians and said ‘no, because these people are Jamaicans and they were born here and that is their natural talent, plus the visitors did not pay for it on packaged deal. So, eventually, they are just getting it free,’ so that’s how come we can still do this,” he added. Recently, he produced a 15-track album, titled Reggae Master, which, he said, was financed by way of the tips given to him by tourists. According to him, the Negril beach has provided a source of legitimate income for himself and for others and should be protected from abuse. “People can make a living on the Negril Beach, but they have to be disciplined. The Government would have to keep it under control or what you will find is that everybody will just come on the beach and treat it as a marketplace. That would not be good, because most people come to the beach to relax,” Blackhall said. When I am playing music, I stay very far from the people, so whosoever like it, always come and put something in my cup,” he said.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 17:05:30 +0000
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