As you may have noticed, our site pays respect to Brother Bob Marley and the timless and endless belssings of his messages. These pages are intended as a gathering place, where one and all can share thoughts, experiences, reasonings, photos, collectibles - anything about Bob!

So please click here if you'd like to share your love for Bob...
... and BIG UP the Contributors on these pages!

PORTIA GWANZURA on Bob Marley

For the last three years, Portia Gwanzura has been managing and performing with the Hohodza Band all over Britain and Europe. It is a role she had also filled for the previous 12 years in her native Zimbabwe. Hohodza are a hard driving, musically extremely talented and visually stunning outfit, never failing to pack the dance floors at whatever event they play, whether it be a private party or a World Music festival. Their eleventh CD (but their first in Britain) ‘Chaitemura Chave Kuseva’ has a reggae styled track, written by Portia and I was intrigued to find out if Bob Marley’s legacy still has an impact on Zimbabwean musicians - over to Portia:

“The reggae connection in Zimbabwe? It goes back to Bob Marley because Bob Marley did the Zimbabwe Independence celebrations. He’s the one who came to perform when we got our independence, which is really good, very, very important and it means a lot to us. So as a result, many groups in Zimbabwe tend to sing reggae, but in many cases the groups would do reggae, singing like other groups and imitating other groups. A lot of groups do reggae because people like and love reggae in Zimbabwe, but I personally did my own reggae song. It’s not a song that’s been done by anybody else, it’s my own song. I wrote that song, it is called ‘Fenstance’ and it’s a special dedication to my late daughter. I did it in reggae because I really like reggae personally. It’s a beautiful piece and the people that have played it on the few radio stations that play our music really say that it’s a nice piece. So I‘m glad I did one reggae number. And yes, it’s a Bob Marley inspiration for many of us.”

More information on Hohodza can be found at www.hohodzaband.co.uk.

- Norman Darwen

Soukous Singer ROBERT MASEKO on Bob Marley

Robert Maseko is a young Soukous singer from the Democratic Republic Of Congo, who began his musical career at the age of seven. Now based in London, he was at Manchester’s Band On the Wall in March 2001 to promote his new CD ‘La Cremeria’ (Afric’ArtsRMCD 7768-1), which contains respectful love songs and positive messages. On asking him about his influences, he spoke about Congo’s Papa Wemba, and then mentioned Bob Marley:

“It’s a big sign to me - Bob Marley name, Bob Marley works, Bob Marley inspirations. It’s a good inspiration to me because I think we think the same things. I’m trying to put it in a new way, not the old way, now is the new way because the way has been opened. Now is the new way to bring people together. They used to be together also at that time but times are different, more different ideas coming in.

The day he passed away I was playing with my friends and I see the sign of a leopard in the sky, the clouds - this is the truth, the honest truth from my heart - so the papers published, they say, ‘Bob Marley passed away’. Me, I was playing with my friends, I was young, about 10 or something like that, and I saw the cloud formed a leopard, killed by a sword, you know those African swords. I called my friends - ‘Hey guys, look at that, the leopard killed by a sword’.

That’s the day Bob Marley passed away. It was a big sign for me. When I became a big man, that’s the time I understand that image I saw. Why me in Congo, so very far away from Jamaica, to see that? So I learn from the old man, he’s a good musician; he’s a good singer, good guitar player, good inspiration. He used to fight for the things he thought was right - that’s the way it is, that’s the way it feels like - period!

Let’s make it more beautiful today.”

- Norman Darwen

Interview with GARY CROSBY
A Renowned Bassist Shares his Reflections on the "One Love Sessions"

Back in the eighties, Jazz in Britain underwent a radical overhaul, thanks in a large part to an outfit called the Jazz Warriors. This group had arisen out of Britain's African-Caribbean community and brought fresh ideas - and a large dose of Caribbean culture - to the music. Renowned saxman Courtney Pine came out of this group, as did one of the world's leading (upright) bassists, Gary Crosby. Gary has been a very active protagonist for the music, often with several projects on the go at any one time. He is now a director of Dune Records, which has enjoyed artistic success (if perhaps not the deserved financial reward) with the likes of J-Life, Denys Baptiste, and Soweto Kinch. Oh, he also has an uncle who is a guitarist - his name is Ernest Ranglin! When I spoke to Gary at Manchester's Band On The Wall in 1999 he was leading the formidable Jazz Jamaica big band. I asked him about his involvement in a tribute to Bob Marley project which resulted in the 1996 CD 'One Love' (Mercury/ Polygram), covers of Bob's songs by some of Britain's leading young jazz players):

ND: Gary, can you tell me about the 'One Love' session?

GC: Well, it was to celebrate fifty years of Bob Marley. It was a friend of mine in Japan called Koichi Hanafusa put me in contact with a chap who was working at Polygram, who was in fact Steve Williamson and Courtney Pine's A&R in Japan, and he asked me to put together a Bob Marley tribute album. He gave me the money to do twelve tracks and he mentioned a few of the artists who I would have picked anyway - Cleveland Watkiss, Courtney, Tony Remy, Steve Williamson, Dennis Rollins, Ophy Robinson, Juliet Roberts, Noel McCoy, Omar, and Carroll Thompson. We did the twelve tracks, one track a day, really high quality studio, really took our time and did a great job. It never really took off in England. It never really got the promotion I think it should have, because everybody that done the album was up for touring it or supporting it. It was almost like a Warriors return, a lot of us had never played with each other since the Jazz Warriors. It was tough but there were some good vibes there too. It was sold to Verve, England and I was of the belief that they weren't the right company anyway. I was of the belief Island should have taken it and make something of it, but it didn't work.

I'm hoping one day I'll be able to talk to Polygram and possibly get the rights for it and re-release it myself. Most of those people that are on the album are close friends and still keep in contact with me. So there's still the possibility of doing something, it's not wasted - but it has fizzled out. I think possibly - I've seen it in record shops under the reggae section and I've seen it in other shops under the jazz section; possibly there was a bit of confusion how to market it.

At least six of the guys at the time had their own record deals, which now it's turned out that none of them have got record deals, but at the time there were six of them that were signed to major record deals. That was a very difficult thing and possibly that scared me off from taking it on. It took nearly two years hard work to get it organised, recorded and then just wash my hands of it. It took about almost over two and a half years. I'm really pleased that we did it, it's there, it's documented something, but I'm afraid it didn't get the push it should have. I think it's a great album, there's some very good tracks on it. There's some middle-of-the-road tracks, which we thought would have got airplay and then there's the awesome Steve Williamson track! I mean, that track he did was just so out-of-sight! I wouldn't have believed anybody could have taken a Bob Marley track and done what he did with it.

ND: Yes, I'll go along with that! OK, that's great, thanks Gary.

- Norman Darwen

TALE OF THE TUFF GONG
The Life of Bob Marley as presented by Marvel Comics!

Check out some recent "finds" from my personal Bob Marley collection. These two comics were published on the Marvel Music imprint in 1994, near the time Bob was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

"Tale of the Tuff Gong" was intended to be a three-part series, but the last of the three parts ("Zion") was never published.

Here you can see Part 1 ("Iron") and Part 2 ("Lion"). "Iron" featured a forward excerpted from the speech delivered by Bono of U2 at the Hall of Fame induction. Both editions are beautifully illustrated by Rasta artist Tennyson Smith. The artwork is oil over pencil drawings, and I think you'll agree they're stunning!

Parts 1 & 2 chronicle Bob's life through roughly the time of the shooting at 75 Hope Road in 1979. Gorgeous illustrations abound throughout, and a lot of Rasta wisdom and livity is shared and expressed. In the coming weeks we'll show some shots from inside these two issues. We hope that some of you will also share your love for Bob as well on these pages.

- Allie-I