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Rushton in concert at 'Christ in Art & Jazz' held on June 2 at Swallowfield Chapel in St. Andrew.
Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter
JAMAICA'S GOSPEL music needs upgrading if it is to become a strong force in the international Christian recording marketplace. There is an urgent need for the observation of higher standards for songwriting and production.
That's the view of Dennis Rushton, one of Jamaica's leading gospel musicians who has in recent years been gaining significant influence on the U.S. gospel music scene.
A producer and pianist of renown, Rushton said, "Jamaica's gospel music needs to step up. There are a few of us who have seen the light. There are a few of us who realise that if we are going to take the world by storm, we have to step up. The little three-chord thing can't work.
"We need to step up the quality of our production. In terms of songwriting - we are weak. A lot more of us need to study the Word and then write songs. I believe that if we step it up, we will get more publicity, and will get better recording deals from people in the United States. As long as we continue with the little 'country' sound, we are not reaching anywhere."
A major reason for gospel music's underachievement in the nation, he maintains, lies at the feet of pastors. "Most pastors are preaching against reggae. They don't allow reggae on a Sunday morning ...You can't reach ghetto people with the regular tune to Rock of Ages. You have to reach them with Rock of Ages done to a 'riddim', notice I did not say 'rhythm'. I would not want to go a church where on Sunday from start to finish it's just reggae. But I believe that a balance is needed. We can't let people think that gospel is anything that is not reggae. Balance is important."
He argued that since reggae is indigenous to Jamaica it is reasonable to expect that it will be the main vehicle that local Christian musicians use to propagate the Gospel. Furthermore, he hinted, that if local gospel musicians chose to deviate from that genre to something like rhythm & blues (R&B), they can hardly expect to be a market force as R&B is second nature to a wide pool of Christian musicians in America.
"So if you want to make a mark, you have to make it with your own language (reggae) and you have to find various ways to make it. That is one of the reasons why I use jazz as I can fuse jazz with the reggae and with the classical and create my own sound. The key to being a success in the music business is to make sure you have a signature sound," Rushton said.
NURTURE MUSICAL TALENT
He believes strongly that church leadership must actively seek out and nurture musical talent within their congregations or risk losing such persons to the world. He listed a number of dancehall artistes who were brought up in the church, but whose musical giftings were developed only after they left the Christian community.
"The Church should be opening music schools and have these guys employed to the Church and teach them music," he said. Furthermore, the Church should encourage the utilisation of a wide range of musical instruments during the worship service. This, he said, promotes a kind of purity of sound in an age where computers and synthesisers are heavily used to imitate orchestral instruments.
Born in 1969, Rushton received his formative Christian experience at Pentecostal Tabernacle on Wildman Street in central Kingston, where his father was an assistant pastor. There the young musician served in many capacities including band leader and assistant to the choral director.
He began his music education at nine. He was schooled in the classical mould up to Grade Seven of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Thereafter he studied his craft with a number of local musical luminaries including Paulette Bellamy, Marjorie Whylie, and Jon Williams.
He makes it plain that though he is comfortable playing most genres, he is fond of the jazz idiom. He is particularly indebted to Jon Williams for his tutelage in jazz. His mastery of the genre has brought him to audiences of millions because of the cable station BET J (formerly BET Jazz).
Up to 1999, he held a job at the Jamaica Public Service. Then in January of the following year he decided to launch out as a full-time gospel musician. That year BET J was in the region scouting for 10 exciting jazz musicians. His proficiency and reputation brought him on the BET J radar.
"The first question I asked them (BET J) was "Hey, can I play gospel.' They said, 'Yeah man'. So I got the opportunity to play gospel on a secular station. I did a one-hour episode of my original music. After that, the media doors started to open. Before that, I had knocked on several doors and people would just shut the door on me 'We sorry, we can't give you an interview. We sorry, we can't accommodate you. Who are you?' After BET J, I was called 'Mr. Rushton'. Since BET J, I have not called any media house for anything. Every time I do media, them call me. Before that I used to call them ... I don't believe I have arrived. I will never feel I have arrived. For as far as I am concerned, I am really just a vessel. I believe that there is a message that needs to be delivered from the ivories and I need to always put myself in that place where I can be the vessel God wants me to be to deliver the message. It (BET J) really opened doors, and I have gotten a lot of other opportunities - I have played for big people.
TOUGH LOCAL SCENE
Gospel music, he said, has been kind to him at an international level. But on the local scene, he hinted it was not nearly as kind. For local gospel musicians to earn a living from playing, they will almost certainly need to supplement their income by doing weddings and/or do some teaching, he said.
An old boy of Calabar High School, Rushton is well known among local jazz musicians having played with some of Jamaica's finest. About eight years ago, he said, the Lord spoke to him concerning jazz. According to Rushton, "He said, 'Dennis, you are becoming popular as a jazz musician. What I want you to become is a Christian musician that plays jazz'." Because of this, he has changed his perspective. He used to go to jazz concerts and play straight jazz. Now when he is does those kinds of gigs, he includes gospel songs fused with the jazz beat.
"I am into the business of family-oriented music. I am into music that my three-year-old son can listen to. It doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be gospel, but it has to be consistent, with biblical principles - wholesome. That is where I am at. I mean most of the time I am playing gospel.
Why jazz, when people are preoccupied with reggae?
"Jazz for me is an experience. I like the spontaneity of jazz. Jazz cannot be written down - not like the other forms that are strict. If you play, for example, Oh When The Saints Go Marching In today in B flat, tomorrow if you are playing the same song, you might just take it to another key. That's just jazz. In some sense jazz is like a variation on a theme," Rushton said.
He explained that while active at Pentecostal Tabernacle, he sensed the call of God to move on to support the wider Christian community in terms of offering musical assistance - especially with keyboards. He realised that there were a lot of churches locally that did not have keyboard players of suitably high calibre.
Though officially still a member of Pentecostal Tabernacle, Rushton is these days worshipping at Swallowfield Chapel where he is the 'resident pianist' and co-musical arranger with gospel music producer Danny Browne.
Rushton has worked with some of Jamaica's top gospel acts including Glacia Robinson, whom he guides as her musical director. He has done a lot of work with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Gospel Festival contest. He gives high marks to this state agency for its work in showcasing each year some of the finest gospel talents in the island.
His big vision at this time is to help to promote Jamaica as the destination where tourists will come to hear gospel music. He is seeking to do so largely through 'Christ in Art & Jazz' show. This began in 2004 and continued this year. The last show was held on June 2, at Swallowfield Chapel. It is the brainchild of both Rushton and Marcia Henry of Swallowfield Chapel. The idea is to have an expo which begins with Christian-themed art which culminates in a Christian jazz concert. Rushton believes the concept is a winner and can be a big way to get people to come to Jamaica to experience the best of Christian-themed art and gospel music based on the jazz genre.
Rushton is married to Kerri-Gaye, a teacher, and they have one son.
Send feedback to mark.dawes@gleanerjm.com.
