Ashley Martin speaks about Byron Lee, going solo and Jazz Fest

"I felt like my belly was ripping out," was the passionate, teary-eyed recollection of Ashley Martin, female lead singer of Byron Lee & the Dragonaires as she revisited that Saturday in November 2008 when the Dragon was laid to rest.

"Nobody could understand why I was crying so much... but the Dragon was the closest thing to a father that I had ever known. Even when they told me he had died, I immediately went to the hospital to see for myself, just to get a last look at him... just to hold his hand for the last time, but they wouldn't let me," she said, fighting back the tears but losing the battle.

Regaining her composure, the petite dynamo flashed that brilliant 'Ashley' smile, the same one which made the Dragon decide that she would be the "pretty face of the band".

"Neville Hinds had auditioned me and told me to come the following day to meet the Dragon. I was so excited that I had a hard time deciding what to wear. When I finally met the Dragon, he told me that once Neville had passed me he knew I was right. And then he went on to tell me how much the media would love my face and I would be the pretty face of the band.

"It was an exciting five years on the road," she stated. "In the early days, whenever I wasn't getting something right, he would tell me 'Breathe Ashley, breathe' and whenever it was perfect he would smile and raise his hand."

According to Martin, she was in Canada when she heard the news that the Dragon was diagnosed with cancer, "and that day, I felt that a part of me had died". However, having seen her mother battle with cancer and win, Martin was confident that Byron Lee too, would beat the disease. After all, he was the Dragon.

She told him of her mother's diagnosis and the consequent recovery and

that experience, she

says, tightened the bond

between them.

As she reminisced on the final months of the Dragon's life, Martin shared a conversation which has impacted her latest decision to move on to a

solo career.

"We had gone to visit him at the hospital and he looked me in the eyes and said, 'Ash, if anything happens to me, you need to move on. You have a great voice and you need to sing more than calypso.' I looked at him and said confidently, 'Dragon, nothing is going to happen to you'. But I knew in my heart that he was close to the end," Martin said.

Martin will signal the official start of her solo career at the JAMAICA Jazz and Blues Festival, where she will perform on the Thursday night with international acts such as Babyface and Joss Stone.

"The true soul of Ashley Martin is about to come to the fore," she smiled, declaring that she is ready for the world and totally focused on her solo, soul career.

"No more wriggling on stage," the soca "wining machine" said firmly. "The woman in me is about to rise."

Possessing a thankful spirit, Martin spoke highly of her mother -- who got pregnant with her at 17 and took the decision to "keep me" and never regretted it -- Cecile Levee, Babsy Grange, Novia McDonald-Whyte and the other women who have empowered her.

She recalled opening for Air Supply the last time they visited Jamaica, "and when they came on stage, they told me 'We are looking forward to seeing you at the Grammies'". They even autographed a guitar pick with the words "A true star in

the making".

Martin calls her upcoming solo sojourn the start of her new life and is embracing it with everything she has. For her JAMAICA Jazz and Blues Festival debut, she will be wearing her own designs, Attitude by Ashley Martin, and her repertoire will include songs from Tina Turner and Teddy P.

A Gladys Knight fan, Martin is not too happy that she won't be able to do a Gladys song, "but can you imagine if I got the chance to meet her?" she said in breathless, awed-filled tones.

"Wouldn't that be something?" she quizzed (again), this time looking as if she was about to do that calypso jiggling for which she is famous.

Who knows, Martin will probably live her dream by not only performing at the festival but also meeting Gladys Knight, who is one of this year's highly anticipated acts.

But as wonderful as this opportunity is, for Martin, it will be bittersweet.

"Now I'm going to perform solo and do something other than calypso and the Dragon won't be there to cheer me on. But in my heart, I know that if I'm not getting it right, it will be his voice that will tell me, 'Breathe Ashley, breathe'," she declared.

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