CHIN

history time....
As Jamaica's original music, all other Jamaican music can trace its roots to mento.
Some styles of mento would evolve into ska and reggae. (As a matter of fact, some mento songs are still being recorded "inna dancehall stylee" today.)

CHIN'S Calypso CD 1


1 Honeymoon
2 Monkey's Opinion
3 Look Before You Leap
4 Riddle Me This
5 Guzoo Doctor
6 Why Jamaican Man Tan So
7 No Money No Music
8 Woman's Style
9 Jamaican Bananas
10 My New Year Rules
11 Mussu And John Tom
12 A Food Wedding
13 Woman's Tenderness
14 Adam And Eve
15 Melda
16 Why Blame Calypso



Calypso/Mento recorded for Chin's Radio Service at 48 Church St. in Kingston Jamaica,in the 50s. personally recorded by the artist. A classic, vintage recording.

The Chin's Calypso Sextet Band consisted of a Rumba Box,a Bamboo Saxophone, a Bamboo Flute, a Banjo, a floor Bass Guitar with four strings, a regular Guitar, two heavy sticks called clave, which they knock together, and a pair of Maracas.
Most of the instruments were made with local materials, the Maracas was made from a fruit called Calabash, with some Jancrow beads put in as shaker.
Most of the musicians were from the country districts but lived in Kingston, Everard F. Williams was the lyrics composer and band manager, Alerth Bedasse was the musical arranger, singer and director of the band.
All the recordings were done with a recording machine that used a cutting needle to cut grooves into 10inch 78 rpm vinyl resin discs. The microphones used were the large old ribbon types, RCA and Shure, they were very good.There were no acoustic rooms for recording, the recordings were done in the store at nights, after the store was closed, the floor was concrete, the ceiling was low and made with gypsum.

The musicians in the Chin's Calypso Sextet Band were the salt of the earth Jamaicans of the old days, they played calypso/ mento music from their hearts, they put everything they had into their music.

Most of the lyrics were done in Jamaican English PAT WA (PATOIS ).


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