Chat-bout.net - Bradshaw was Dean of Jamaican Music

Bradshaw was Dean of Jamaican Music

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, has described the late musical icon, Mr. Sonny Bradshaw, as the Dean of Jamaican music.

Mr. Bradshaw died in a London hospital on Saturday, October 11, after being ill for months. He was 83 years old.

"Jamaica has lost another exceptionally creative person with the passing of Sonny Bradshaw. Only a man with great vision and talent could have made a 7-member band, the Sonny Bradshaw 7, sound like a 14 piece big band. He blessed our country with his big vision and talent many times over," the Minister said.

Miss Grange pointed out that many of the country's musicians had the Sonny Bradshaw 7 as their professional training ground.

"Sonny Bradshaw dedicated much of his life to making and sharing music. As a jazz pioneer, an extraordinary trumpeter, a great band leader, a teacher, a journalist, and the creator of Teenage Dance Party, which helped to bring Jamaican popular music to our airwaves, and the creator of the Ocho Rios Jazz festival, Sonny has left an indelible mark on Jamaica and his imprint will continue to be etched in our country's future for years to come. He was the dean of Jamaican music," she said.

"I offer condolences to his family, especially his wife, Ms. Myrna Hague, and his friends. I know all of Jamaica grieve with them at this time, yet we celebrate the gift that Sonny Bradshaw was to us, even as the final blast of his trumpet lingers in the air," she added.

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