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Carlton James and The Rod Dennis Mento Band Text and content courtesy of Daniel Neely |
Last revised: 3/9/08
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Before Carlton’s arrival, the Rod Dennis band had had a good track record. Likely formed in the late 1950s, the group started out under the name the “Red Devils.” By the mid 1960s, they were fairly prominent throughout their parish (St. Catherine) and in 1966 placed second in the National Festival Mento Band Competition. However, change was on the horizon. In the late 1960s, they were playing in a competition in Mandeville when it was discovered that there was another group out there called the Red Devils. Not to cause confusion, the concert’s promoter rechristened the band “Rod Dennis.” Because it happened in competition, the group accepted the name and kept it. Indeed, the Rod Dennis Band was looked upon favorably in the early 1970s, but with Carlton’s arrival in 1973 its stature quickly grew. The silver medal it won in the National Festival for the Arts that year was the second in two years, but only the third in nine. In the years to follow, however, the band became a fixture and perennial contender in the National Festival’s Mento Band Competitions. As it won gold, silver and bronze medals year after year, the band’s renown grew. Their success followed them throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with their most recent gold medal coming at the last mento band competition held, in 2003.
From The Gleaner, a 1990s photo
of The Rod Dennis Mento Band. Left to right, Throughout this time they were in demand at community-oriented events in St. Catherine, Clarendon Kingston and St. Andrew, their band offered an alternative to the ubiquitous sound systems. When Boothe grew too old to perform the duties required of a leader, he passed the responsibility on to Carlton in the early 1990s. Moses remained with the group as a performer and spiritual head until his death five years later. Despite the loss of Boothe, the Rod Dennis band remained active under Carlton’s leadership, with long standing gigs at the Terra Nova and Hilton Hotels in Kingston, as well as at all manner of private and corporate functions. Over this time, they performed both solo and with an impressive array of jazz and reggae artists, including Monty Alexander, Stanley Beckford and the Fab 5. The group continued to maintain a close relationship with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and were, in fact, one of two bands asked to represent the tradition in the JCDC’s Mento Music Educational Initiative in 2000. In 2003, the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) hired the group to headline their inaugural Mento in May concert, the first in a prestigious IOJ series held each year at Kingston’s Devon House. Later that same year, the band could be seen in Trevor Rhone’s film One Love. A featured performer at Kingston’s new Emancipation Park in 2003, Carlton most recently appeared at Caribbean Tourism Week 2006 in New York City to help promote Freddie’s First, a documentary he appears in that looks at the musical connections between Trinidad and Jamaica.
Arriving in New York in late 2003, Carlton
been called a “legend.” Always on the lookout for good mento
musicians in the New York metropolitan area, his roots run deep into
Jamaica’s national past and he remains interested in preserving the
tradition with other musicians and passing it on to the youth. He is now
available to both teach and to add a traditional Jamaican touch to parties,
restaurants, weddings and corporate events. For more information, contact
Mr. James at 718-452-1201. |
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