Dem 3 Jamaican Tenors set to perform for JANC in the Bay Area in 2009.

Dem 3 Jamaican Tenors set to perform in Broward
BY TRACY-ANN TAYLOR
In the 1970s, singer Bob Marley brought international recognition to Jamaica by popularizing reggae music.

Ever since, Jamaica has continued to highlight reggae artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, Shaggy and Sean Paul, but not much attention has come to Jamaicans who perform in other musical genres.

Singer, actor, director and producer Steve Higgins is looking to change that.

He is staging the production Dem 3 Jamaican Tenors, featuring the talents of David Reid, Cecil Cooper and Steve Higgins, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Soprano Dahlia Wynter and pianist Roger Rundle will accompany the group.

“A part of my mission is to show a gentler side to the Jamaican spirit. Everybody thinks that we are only about reggae and dancehall. A lot of people think we are crude. So, I want to show that we are made up of other things—finer things—in a style that is befitting of Jamaica,” said Higgins, 45.

The concert promises to be funny, classy and romantic as the singers interact with each other and with the audience, keeping them engaged.

Seeking to dispel the notion that Jamaican men are not romantic, the men tell their stories through passionate, Jamaican folk songs and Italian love ballads, which Jamaicans and others can relate to, said Higgins.

The folk songs, done in Jamaican patois, will be explained to the non-Jamaican audience, he said.

Collectively, the group has been acting and singing for a number of years spanning three generations. They have performed together on numerous occasions.

In addition to singing, Cooper is also an artist and teaches art at the Jamaica school of art. His paintings have been on exhibition all over the world.

Of the three in the group, Cooper said, he has the romantic voice.

“I’ll be singing romantic songs to the ladies,” said Cooper, who resides in Jamaica.

The benefit concert is presented as part of the Broward Center’s Arts Access Program, which helps small community groups present performances about their cultures.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Morant Bay High School Scholarship Fund and the Einez Yap Scholarship Fund.

“I think the Broward center program gives different ethnic groups and different cultures a chance to showcase what is good about their culture,’’ Wynter said. “South Florida has so many different ethnic groups and it’s a nice idea that the Broward Center for the Performing Arts is opening their doors to different ways of connecting arts and music.”

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, please call 954-462-0222 or visit www.browardcenter.org.

Tracy-AnnTaylor@BrowardTimes.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Photo by Elgin Jones/BT Staff. Dahlia Wynter, left, and Steve Higgins, right, members of Dem 3 Jamaicans Tenors group, sing