By Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer .JPG)
Ranglin
WESTERN BUREAU:
ERNIE RANGLIN may have been honoured for his guitar artistry and innovation and his hair may now be a lighter shade of silver, but his playful side is well intact.
While he was playing at the Pizzaman eatery at Pineapple Place, Ocho Rios, on Saturday night, a car alarm went off and kept going, until MC Darren Henry of IRIE FM asked that it be turned off. It was only to go off again when Mr. Ranglin was back in his stride. The guitarist stood up, guitar at the ready, and felt his right front pants pocket, as if searching for the control for the alarm, a smile on his face.
There were chuckles and applause from the small audience.
There was no playing around, though, from Ranglin and a trio of musicians on drum, bass and keyboard as they put talent and effort into a fund-raiser for the Coalition for the Support of Adolescent Mentorship Training Programme. Dr. Sydney McGill of the Family Counselling Centre of Jamaica explained that it is a mentoring programme for young male students, aged 10-13, which is operating in the Ocho Rios Primary School, will soon be going into the Marcus Garvey Comprehensive High and in September will be introduced at Cornwall College in Montego Bay, St. James, and Calabar High in Kingston. He said that the programme has been operating for the last three years and "has been doing better than we expected".
The musicians, with Mr. Ranglin at front and centre with guitar cradled, sat through the introduction of the programme, as well as dances by five girls from the Kids Talent Bank in Ocho Rios, who danced to a pair of gospel numbers. In between the dances, Lady Edwards sang the gospel number I'm Free.
OPENING FLAVOUR
When it was time for the band though, the opening flavour was definitely not gospel, as Ernie Ranglin led the way on Jammin. The speed of his fingers was evident from mid-way through the song and, after a flourish, the band ended the song slowly to applause.
They kept the Marley mood going with Lively Up Yourself, blistering improvisations from Ranglin replacing what would have been 'and don't be no drag' in the ordinary scheme of things. But there was hardly anything ordinary about Ernie Ranglin on Saturday night, except his unpretentious demeanour. He transformed the sound from mild woodpecker taps to rapid water droplets into a pool, as he played extremely high notes, the band transforming the beat from reggae at will. The bass player got an extended run before Mr. Ranglin took over again,
leaning back and back and back in his chair as he played, until he was looking along the neck of the instrument into the night sky.
And then he came back down to the more accustomed position.
They moved on to a slow number and then hit a mento groove, an older lady jigging her way to stand just below Mr. Ranglin seated on a raised area.
There was an intense moment as Mr. Ranglin played high and fast, then went even higher still, until the music sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks doing 'Rucumbine' at 75 rpm and then he took it down back to normal speed as the audience applauded.
Between taking an occasional 'overhand' grip on the guitar's fret, exchanging an
exhilarating series of notes with the keyboard player and scratching his head and smiling after a strong strum, notes still pouring out, Mr. Ranglin played with obvious enjoyment.
Even after the intermission, as the band sat through the gate prize draw, he was absorbed in his instrument, playing low, unobtrusively and languidly as the fun of the draw was conducted. And when it was time for the band to play again, Mr. Ranglin simply picked up the pace and the volume, the other musicians joined in and it was a magical time again.
