POLICE investigations are ongoing into the circumstances which led to last Thursday’s brutal murder of former Jolly Boy, Kitchenier Howard.

Howard, 76, who, at one time, played guitar and sang with the celebrated Portland mento band.

His son, Floyd, confirmed his death.

The younger Howard described his father as a “humble man”.

“From mi born till now, him hardly talk an’ him nuh trouble people. A nuff a wi him grow. I never hear him an’ nobody inna any argument, never. Dem man deh don’t even talk loud; him an’ everybody good,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“From mi a grow till now mi never hear a man say anything bad ’bout mi father. Ask anybody in a di community,” the younger Howard continued.

According to police reports, about 10:30 pm, a relative found Howard at his home unresponsive and summoned the police. On arrival of the lawmen, Howard had multiple stab wounds and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. A suspect is in custody.

Though they first formed in the 1940s, The Jolly Boys came to international prominence when they began recording mento songs for the Geejam label in Port Antonio. Mento is a folksy sound that predates and greatly influenced ska and reggae. It was hugely popular in Jamaica during the1940s and 1950s.

The band’s Great Expectations album, released by that label in 2010, has been compared to the sensational Buena Vista Social Club which was recorded in Cuba during the 1990s.

On it, The group covered Amy Winehouse’s Rehab. Their other songs include Requimbine Song, Big Bamboo, Touch Me Tomato, and Donkey Want Water.

During their resurgence, The Jolly Boys performed throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong, and were the subject of feature stories by the Associated Press and New York Times.

In recent years, the ageing outfit has lost some of its members, to natural causes.

Lead singer Albert Minott died in 2017, while founding member Joseph “Powda” Bennett passed away in August 2014. Rhumba player Derrick “Johnny” Henry died last year.