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I was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently reside in Los Angeles, California, where I am a musician and bandleader of the internationally recognized reggae ensemble, Jahmark & the Soulshakers. I am a Rastafarian who loves life to the maximum and being an artist I have a deep appreciation for beauty in all its glorious forms. I'm very down to earth and yet extremely fun loving, with a great sense of humor.
I love meeting all kinds of people from different cultures as I feel that the more we learn about each other as real people (and not just some distant "foreigner" on the news) is the less that our so-called leaders can fool us into warring with one another in order to satisfy their own selfish aims.
In my life I have come to know that God-Consciousness and "religion" are two completely different things, for while our leaders cunningly use religion to divide and conquer us it is only the Iniversal realization of God-Consciousness that can truly Inite us. This in a nutshell represents the driving force behind who I am as a person.
HISTORY
Around the mid 70s throughout the 80s there was a mass exodus from the Caribbean island of Jamaica to the four corners of the earth due to intense political turmoil on that island state. Out of this turmoil arose the singer, artist, songwriter and performer we know today as Jahmark, whose craft began to emerge around the legendary Marley family.
As fate would have it, Jahmark's path crossed with Bob Marley's sister, Pearl, in Miami, Florida around 1979 and they became very good friends, even dating on and off for a couple years. He was around Mother B's home (Bob's mom) one day and remembers Bob writing one of his songs around 2am one morning, "Music got you dancing on the floor, begging for more." which Ziggy later recorded with the Melody Makers. He witnessed various impromptu sessions with the Wailers at this time. It was around that time also that Jahmark appeared in an episode of the then popular TV series, Miami Vice.
Before Jahmark & the Soulshakers were formed, Jahmark was one of the founding members of Redemption Posse. Along with his good brethren, Emanuel Walsh and Anthony "Big Dread" Ross, they took the honors for Best Songwriter and Best Performer in the 1986 Jamaica Festival Song Competition competing against such icons as Stanley & the Turbines, the Jamaicans, Faith D'Aguilar and Tinga Stewart to name a few. That same year they backed up and coming DJ Tiger on his first major public outing at the Jamaica Sunsplash Beach Party.
In 1987 they were approached by a Japanese promoter, Katsuya Abe, to play in Japan on a six month contract after he had seen them at S.O.B.s in Manhattan performing with Leroy Sibbles of the mighty Heptones. After their contract was up half of the band returned to New York while the rest stayed in Tokyo. In 1988 Jahmark & the Soulshakers were born at first consisting of all Japanese musicians, the core of which was recruited from an upbeat group of musicians known at the time as Index. In 1989 they had recorded a song entitled UNITY at CBS Sony Studio in Tokyo along with Sly & Robbie and Tyrone Downie of the Wailers for a compilation CD of the same name. This was followed by another compilation CD entitled JUS PASSIN THRU, and later came their full length debut CD tribute to Nelson Mandela simply entitled VIVA MANDELA.
By 1991 Jahmark had re-located to Los Angeles where he re-shaped the Soulshakers band and performed at such venues as the San Diego Street Scene, Oxnard Reggae Jam on the Coast, Hemet Reggae Fest, and on and on. They have played alongside such artists as the Wailers, Third World, Pato Banton, Wailing Souls, Eek-a-Mouse, Jimmy Cliff, Lucky Dube, etc. always leaving those in attendance begging for more. Jahmark has appeared on two compilation CDs since in L.A., THUMPN REGGAE JAMZ and REGGAE WORSHIP, vol II.
In 1994, Jahmarks songs OCEAN BLUE (co-written with Peter Wolf who also wrote WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK AND ROLL) and I WANNA ROCK U BABY (co-written with Calvin Banks, formerly of Urban Dread) were chosen for the movie soundtracks WEEKEND AT BERNIES II and MIAMI RHAPSODY respectively. Due to the hi-profile of these two movies, these two songs have earned Jahmark & the Soulshakers a wide and varied international fan-base, from Brazil to Austria, to Israel and Taiwan, from France and Italy to Indonesia and Thailand.
1997 saw the release of Jahmark & the Soulshakers U.S. debut full length CD release LOVE POWER (thanks to the combined efforts of Francisco Stitt of Banana-Boat Records, and Carl McGregor of House of Sound Studio). In 2003 they followed up with another smash hit CD entitled LIFE! (a Roughsounds / Banana-Boat "joint".maximum respect to Mike irwin of Roughsounds Studio, without whom this album could not have been completed). In 2004 their song LOVE POWER was chosen to be in the soundtrack of the Canadian indie film, DESTINATION JAMAICA. 2005 found Jahmark writing a number of new songs for Jahmark & the Soulshakers' third U.S. album (another Roughsounds / Banana-Boat "joint").
2006 was a very good year for Jahmark & the Soulshakers, as their song LOVE POWER made it to the semi-finals of the International Songwriting Competition (based in Nashville, TN) out of fifteen thousand entrants. In addition, in February of '06 they took home the Southern California Music Award for the "Best World Music" category out of fifteen hundred entrants, and eventually six finalists. Also, as a testament to his versatility, Jahmark was recently invited by Euro dance music producer, Alexander Perls, to perform on a number of club/dance tracks such as WAITING FOR THE SUN, BE LOVE and UNCHAINED MELODY, aimed at the Euro-techno audiences in countries like the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, etc.Rastafari leadeth the way everytime.
2007 saw not only the recording of thirty brand new songs for what eventually turned out to be a double album titled BOOK OF REDEMPTION, but also the collaboration of Jahmark & the Soulshakers and Hopeton "The Scientist" Brown in the mixing of the album. The album is now set to be released in the fall of 2010
CD RELEASES
UNITY (compilation 1989),
VIVA MANDELA (1990),
JUS PASSIN' THRU (compilation 1990),
THUMPN REGGAE JAMZ (compilation 1994),
REGGAE WORSHIP, vol. II (compilation 1995),
LOVE POWER (1997),
LIFE! (2003)
SOUND
Jahmark & the Soulshakers sound has evolved into a very cutting edge, innovative, new millennium form of up-tempo roots rock reggae with just the right amount of laid back cuts for the nostalgic roots lovers. Definitely fresh and original, definitely timeless music, definitely SOULSHAKIN!!!
VENUE HIGHLIGHTS
Jamaica Festival Competition, Jamaica Sunsplash, the Song of Lion concert in Tokyo with Sly & Robbie, Marcia Griffiths, Edi Fitzroy, etc., S.O.B.s with Leroy Sibbles in Manhattan, San Diego Street Scene with Lucky Dube, Hemet Reggae Fest with Wailing Souls and Eek-a-Mouse, Oxnard Reggae Jam on the Coast with Third World, the Skatalites, and the Wailers, Smokeout Concert Promo Party at the Key Club with Andrew Tosh, Ventura Concert Theatre with Jimmy Cliff and Pato Banton, etc.
PRESS REVIEWS
Jahmark has had rave reviews in the Jamaica STAR, Miami's REGGAE REPORT, L.A.'s the BEAT, the REGGAE NUCLEUS, the HEMET NEWS, Japan's REGGAE MAGAZINE (RM), the L.A. WEEKLY, California State University Northridge's the DAILY SUNDIAL.
Jahmark & the Soulshakers songs,
OCEAN BLUE and I WANNA ROCK U BABY, appear in the
movies WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S II and MIAMI RHAPSODY
respectively.
Visit jahmark.com for more details!
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