Grange in shock over death of beloved musician Desi Jones
· The GleanerCulture and Entertainment Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has expressed shock at the passing of beloved musician Desi Jones.
The 65-year-old drummer died on Saturday evening, his wife confirmed. He was found unresponsive at home and pronounced dead at hospital.
He played at the Herbie Miller-curated weekly jazz at F&B Downtown on Friday night and was reported to be in good spirits and showed no signs of illness.
"Last night (Friday) we were together until about 11 p.m. talking and laughing and telling a lot of stories about the good old days. This morning (Saturday) at about 8:30, Desi sent out lovely text to Oshane [Love] whose gig it was last night," Miller said.
Grange said Jones was one of Jamaica "most talented, gifted and loved musicians".
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"Jamaica has really lost one of its greatest musical talents. Desi was a musician's musician, whose skills crossed musical boundaries, and, importantly, he took the time to advance younger artistes, regardless of their development or their instrument," she said in a statement early Sunday.
Grange shared that she was Jones' manager when he formed his own band, Skool, in 1988. He co-founded the Chalice band before that.
"It was one of the best artiste-manager relationships I experienced in the business, of which I have been a part for many years," she said.
Grange noted that one of Jones' recent appearances involved him and iconic musician Marjorie Whylie who "both gave stellar performances and wonderful interpretations of Jazz compositions" at a ministry event marking International Jazz Day on April 30.
In 2019, Jones awarded the national honour of Order of Distinction (Commander) by the Government for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music in the genres of reggae, show music and jazz.
For years, Jones was a fixture on the live music scene, where he was very much in demand, and he also could be found at recording sessions locally and internationally.