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This interview features maybe the most
influential person in Germaican History, Dean Fraser. The
A+ Saxophone player, responsible for getting Germaican Records
founder Pionear on the scene in Jamaica, speaks with Nadine
about Dancehall, the split and reunion with Luciano and about
the business within the business.
Germaican Observer: Why and how did
you come to play the Saxophone?
General Degree: Its something we had to do as recreation
in the evenings as kids to stay out of trouble… I never
did look at it from no money point of view, it was just time
was hard and living was hard and I just had to get something
to do and that's what I did.
G.O.: How did being a part of the
Sonny Bradshaw band come about?
D.F.: My teacher was also a member of that group and
although I wasn't ready to be a part of that group, I wasn't
up to scratch, but he and also Mr. Bradshaw thought
that I will learn and I will learn quickly, so I did…
G.O.: What was that like and why did
you decide to go solo?
D.F.: Being a part of that group taught me everything
career wise, it taught me everything that any young musician
should learn… it was like a big educational institute
for me. After spending about 8 years in that band I decided
it was time to go out there yuh nuh, so I was leaving
solid pay and work to go out there and 'fen' for myself.
I was ready fi starve likkle so I just went ahead and do what
I wanted to do, so leaving that I went to the Studios, "Joe
Gibbs Studio", "Channel 1 Studio"
and I stand there every day for about a year and hope that
one day I would play on a song and here I am.
G.O.: You are referred to as a 'Saxophonist
extraordinaire,' do you see yourself as being that?
D.F.: No sah, not necessarily… I've been called
that since I was a youth so it is not something that you would
say yuh really get hype or anything over that, no really.
Compliment is great but that is something that can lead you
astray.
G.O.: What is the feeling you get
when you play...
D.F.: I don't know I just a play and just a express
myself and that's just what I do.
G.O.: You have played with almost
everybody in Reggae and Dancehall...
D.F.: I think I have covered everybody and if they
are brand new I think I will cover them sooner or later, most
of the people I have wanted to work with I have had the opportunity
to and I do like the part of the businees that I'm in I do
get the opportunity with almost anybody I want to work with
and that is satisfying.
G.O.: You had stopped working with
Luciano and now you're working together again, what
had happened?
D.F.: That was just a little misunderstanding between
himself and a couple of other people in the band and I took
a stand mainly because I thought he handled the situation
shabby that was basically it. I was no animosity or anything
it's just that something happened and I think he could have
handled the situation much better and dealt with the whole
procedure much better… I took a stand mainly because
I did not like how he handled the business yuh understand
me, because yuh have to remember the business of music first
before you take certain stands. It's the business of music
and career, so if yuh handle yuh business of music and career
like that then it seems as if you're not interested…
and if you are not interested then I don't think that I should
work with you so I had to take a stand to show him that is
not how you approach or how you handle certain situations.
G.O.: What are the major changes that
have taken place in the over 20 years that you have been in
the business?
D.F.: One thing about the business that has changed
for the better is the business of the business…
G.O.: What does that mean?
D.F.: The business part of our music has changed for
the better, when I say the business part I mean like yuh nuh
we have better management these days, everybody is doing a
little paper work and all a dat which is good for the business
aspect of it.
The music aspect of it I think has deteriorated a little in
the sense where, the music itself should have been doing better
as a music and that is the part of it that I think we need
to do something to improve.
The improvement on the business aspect of it makes it difficult
these days to see a Singer or a DeeJay turning out to perform
and no have nothing like the old days when all of the so-called
producers of the old days stole all the money from the Singers
and all that and left them to be just some very ordinary likkle
people yuh nuh… but these days our Singers and DeeJays
are being paid well and all a dat and that is good.
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G.O.: Almost all Riddims coming out
today are "computer-built" and not like in the old
days, how do you feel about that?
D.F.: Well it depends on what the song wants and what
the person wants, this is a different age, this is a different
era and yuh just have to fall in line… everything is
a cycle and goes around and comes around, yuh can play live
music into the computer now, so everything has come right
back around so it's just a matter of being current...
G.O.: You started out playing Jazz
and you do mostly Reggae music now, how do do you feel about
Dancehall music?
D.F.: Dancehall is great… Dancehall is a music
that we as a people should accept and get behind because Dancehall
is the new popmusic of the world. It is the most potent right
now and if yuh notice the young people are just 'hawking'
up the Dancehall music, even the Americans right now are switching
to what they call the 'Jamaica Flava,' it's a music to reckon
wid right now and we just need to recognise that and get wid
it.
G.O.: You will hear a child in Jamaica
say "I want to be a singer or a deejay when I grow up,"
but almost never want to be a saxophonist or pianist, don't
you think there needs to be more done like a musical...
D.F.: That is a saying that keeps going round and round
and round, but really and truly we need really to improve
on that… that can be very far away because of the economic
situation right now but the most that we can do is what we
can do. If they expose them to the things they will want to
do it, yuh just need to show them the instrument and let them
get interested in playing it, as soon as we get some of these
programs in place… we have been talking about this for
a very long time but it hasn't manifested but as soon as we
get that in place we will be able to do that...
G.O.: At the end of the day can you
actually live and live comfortably from what you do?
D.F.: Me personally don't wah live better than how
mi live right now, as long as mi live and able fi do the things
mi wah fi do and when me feel like and all a dat…that's
basically me, mi no really come fi have a whole heap a money
and have people a fight over it and over me mi no really interested
inna dat. Mi just wah do mi work and live.
G.O.: You will be touring Germany
with Max Romeo...
D.F.: I'm looking forward to that because I've never
done a gig like this touring...
G.O.: You put out an album recently…
D.F.: Yeah, I put out a little album last year called
"Sax of Life" and that little album is to keep a
vibe going, but I've not really sat down yet and meditate
on the new stuff that I want to do.
Germaican Observer: Well thanks a
lot Dean and hope to see you perform when you're here.
General Degree: Alright my dear...
Nadine Reid/ G.O. Leipzig/Germany
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