THE music seems to get sweeter with the passing of time as was evident last Sunday, February 26 when the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Military Band celebrated its 90th Anniversary with typical fanfare, drawing hundreds to the Garrison Church of the Ascension at Up Park Camp headquarters and later to the Shell Bandstand at the Hope Botanical Gardens, St Andrew.

With customary energy on the clarinets, trombones, flutes, saxophones, trumpets and Oboes, the band filled the air with a symphony of music, soothing to the ear and rhythmic to the body. The zouave uniform of the Jamaica Military band and the ceremonial red tunic of the Jamaica Regiment Band, playing together as the JDF Mass Bands, added colour to the ceremonies.

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Colonel Daniel Pryce, inspector general ceremonial and investigation at the JDF with responsibility for the band, has been a part of the force for 34 years and sees the band as an instrument of entertainment for all.

“The Jamaica Military Band is at a point at which everyone can be justly proud. This is one aspect of the military that has been around longer than the JDF itself in its current form,” commented Pryce who witnessed the pomp and pageantry in the company of Chief of Defence Staff Major General Rocky Meade and other senior officers of the JDF.

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Senior Superintendent of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Calvin Allen, who commands the Traffic and Highway Division of the JCF, said he was happy to be in attendance to show his support for the band’s achievement.

“I am honoured to have been invited to participate in this grand celebration of 90 years of providing music. Music has the power to spur a nation in a positive way. I really want to congratulate the Jamaica Military Band for reaching this milestone and for these celebratory activities that they have put together,” Supt Allen said.

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Lieutenant Commander John McFarlane, former commanding officer of the Coast Guard and of the Air Wing and an accomplished tenor soloist who has performed with the Military Band on many occasions, spoke from personal experience with the band.

“The Jamaica Military Band has always maintained a high standard of performance and a high standard of excellence, and I find singing with them to be a very enjoyable and professional experience,” said McFarlane, now senior director of airport operations at the Airports Authority of Jamaica.

Past band members and directors of music, some travelling from New York and the Cayman Islands, also turned out to wish the Military Band a happy 90th anniversory. Retired Major Joe Williams, who joined the JDF in the 1950s and, served as the band’s director of music for over 25 years, was happy about the celebratory activities.

“I am extremely pleased that something has been done about celebrating this 90th anniversary of the Jamaica Military Band. The fact that it has been in existence for such a long time is testimony to the dedication of the players and the people whose responsibility it is to keep it together,” said Williams.

Conductor for the Mass Bands at the Anniversary Concert, Warrant Officer Class One Albert Shaun Hird, acting director of music, led the band through a menu of musical genres including, overture, waltz, ska, reggae, mento and soca and the like, displaying the versatility of the band to the delight of the large audience.

“The first half of the performance displayed the versatility of the players, doing pieces arranged for orchestral and classical work. The second half was more for entertainment, playing dance band pieces, reggae band music, soca, etc. The piece

Gloria was arranged by our own Staff Sergeant Gregory Nicholson,” explained Hird.

The JDF combined corps of drums gave a stick display performance with snare and bass drums, a surprise treat to the appreciative audience who rewarded them with enthusiastic applause.

As if it couldn’t get better, the audience got a taste of Scotland’s national instrument, the bagpipe, with Highland Cathedral played by Ex-Corporal Raymond Malow, formerly of the Military Band, now lecturing at Prospect College. He was accompanied by the JDF Mass Bands.

“It is a fitting way to celebrate 90 years and it speaks to the longevity of music that was spoken about at the church service, so I am very proud to be associated with the Jamaica Military Band. I love music and I think we have done enough to ensure that this is a legacy that will live on,” said Pryce.