Mento
is a genre of Jamaican social dance music that has evolved over two
centuries as a central feature in that country’s culture and has become a musical symbol of Jamaican national identity. I study the
history, composition, performance, and distribution of this music, from
its emergence in the 18th and 19th century,
through its many changes throughout the twentieth century
(tourism, the recording industry, Jamaica's National Festival), to its
present-day 
status as a locus for contemporary musicians who are caught
in a conflicted approach to “what is authentic” in Jamaica’s musical
heritage.
Although
mento is often considered a “foundational” part of Jamaica’s
musical past (and often packaged as "Jamaican calypso"), little attention is given to
its history which has been marginalized in previous studies of Jamaican music. My
research will change this. I have examined archival
materials in Jamaica, the United States and England, done fieldwork in
Jamaica with contemporary musicians, and studied mento’s
various styles and their relationship to later styles such as reggae
and dancehall music. The results of my
research will show the complex and sometimes contradictory ways
changing ideas about national identity in Jamaica have affected the way
in which mento music and its supporting musico-cultural institutions
have evolved over the past two centuries.
I've uncovered rare, unique and often unknown materials that present a rich account of mento’s history, and that reveal its changing role in Jamaican culture in ways not recognized presently in the published literature.
Perhaps the most important part of my research consisted of working with musicians who currently play in this genre. In my research, I was able to conduct extensive interviews, photograph mento musicians in a variety of ensemble situations and, in many instances, document current mento performance practice through field recordings. The difference
between performance
traditions in Jamaica became crucial to my work: often, oral sources during fieldwork led directly into the archive the
next day, enabling me to sort out tensions between these highly
differentiated sources. Because I play tenor banjo (an instrument
common to mento
bands) and was regularly invited to perform both in
informal situations (rum shops, for example) and, on occasion, more
formal events (like funerary fêtes called "set-ups"), I feel that I
have developed a unique perspective on this music.
I have been studying mento full time since 2000 and have made several research trips to Jamaica (including one funded by Fulbright for the 2002-2003 year). Since then, I have presented papers on mento at academic conferences, I have published in academic journals and music magazines (the first, entitled "Long Time Gal, Mento is Back," appeared in the December 2001 issue of Beat magazine. Those interested in its content can download a PDF of the article's text here; click here for further discussion of follow up work I did with artists presented in that article), and I have been a consultant on several commercial projects in which mento played a role.
I defended my dissertation in November 2007. My study, the first comprehensive investigation of mento music, offers a deeper and richer understanding of this genre so important to Jamaican music history.
Key to photos:
Top banner: Blue Glaze, Stanley Beckford and friends in rehearsal for Vincent Pryce's set-up. May Pen, October 2004.
Right Margin, top: Vincent Pryce and Randal Whyte from Blue Glaze playing at a party in Lime Hall, St. Ann. New Year's 2003.
Right Margin, bottom: Motherless (Cecil Mitchell), at home preparing for work (left) and performing later that night (right). Montego Bay, January 2003.
Left margin: T. Miller of the Lititz Mento Band at a set-up in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth. October 2002.
Bottom banner: Singing night, Thompson Town, Clarendon. April 2003.
Flute player on referring page: "Sudden Death" (Lastin "Neville" McLeod), Clarendon. June 2003.
All images taken by Daniel Neely. Permission not granted for use.
I've uncovered rare, unique and often unknown materials that present a rich account of mento’s history, and that reveal its changing role in Jamaican culture in ways not recognized presently in the published literature.
Perhaps the most important part of my research consisted of working with musicians who currently play in this genre. In my research, I was able to conduct extensive interviews, photograph mento musicians in a variety of ensemble situations and, in many instances, document current mento performance practice through field recordings. The difference
between performance
traditions in Jamaica became crucial to my work: often, oral sources during fieldwork led directly into the archive the
next day, enabling me to sort out tensions between these highly
differentiated sources. Because I play tenor banjo (an instrument
common to mento
bands) and was regularly invited to perform both in
informal situations (rum shops, for example) and, on occasion, more
formal events (like funerary fêtes called "set-ups"), I feel that I
have developed a unique perspective on this music.I have been studying mento full time since 2000 and have made several research trips to Jamaica (including one funded by Fulbright for the 2002-2003 year). Since then, I have presented papers on mento at academic conferences, I have published in academic journals and music magazines (the first, entitled "Long Time Gal, Mento is Back," appeared in the December 2001 issue of Beat magazine. Those interested in its content can download a PDF of the article's text here; click here for further discussion of follow up work I did with artists presented in that article), and I have been a consultant on several commercial projects in which mento played a role.
I defended my dissertation in November 2007. My study, the first comprehensive investigation of mento music, offers a deeper and richer understanding of this genre so important to Jamaican music history.
Key to photos:
Top banner: Blue Glaze, Stanley Beckford and friends in rehearsal for Vincent Pryce's set-up. May Pen, October 2004.
Right Margin, top: Vincent Pryce and Randal Whyte from Blue Glaze playing at a party in Lime Hall, St. Ann. New Year's 2003.
Right Margin, bottom: Motherless (Cecil Mitchell), at home preparing for work (left) and performing later that night (right). Montego Bay, January 2003.
Left margin: T. Miller of the Lititz Mento Band at a set-up in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth. October 2002.
Bottom banner: Singing night, Thompson Town, Clarendon. April 2003.
Flute player on referring page: "Sudden Death" (Lastin "Neville" McLeod), Clarendon. June 2003.
All images taken by Daniel Neely. Permission not granted for use.
