Troubled man with a horn
The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues with the 13th of its biweekly feature looking at seminal moments that have helped shape Jamaica over the past 60 years.
It is the most tragic story in reggae history. On New Year’s Day, 1965, Don Drummond, the brilliant trombonist, murdered his lover Anita Mahfood in an East Kingston tenement.
Their turbulent relationship is reggae’s version of Sid and Nancy or Ike and Tina. It ended the career of Drummond, a member of The Skatalites, who died at the Bellevue asylum on May 6, 1969.
Drummond was only 35 years old when he died. A founding member of The Skatalites, he composed two of that legendary group’s most famous songs, Confucius and Eastern Standard Time.
At his trial, he was represented by PJ Patterson. Drummond was ruled criminally insane and sent to Bellevue, not far from where he killed Mahfood, an exotic dancer known as Margarita.
Drummond was born and raised in Allman Town. A widely-told story is that his struggling single mother placed him in the Alpha Home for Boys where he learned music.
“He was a quiet guy, kinda moody, and he kept to himself. But when that man took up a horn. Boy!” Trinidadian singer Lord Creator said in a 2003 interview with the Jamaica Observer.
Of Lebanese descent, Margarita was a well-known dancer at some of Kingston’s popular nightclubs. The troubled Drummond was just one of her many suitors.
Just how good Drummond was has sparked countless arguments. Trumpeter and bandleader Sonny Bradshaw, one of his contemporaries, once described him as a mere folk hero.
His admirers include American trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis of the famous Marsalis family. Marsalis staged a symposium on Drummond’s work at The University of the West Indies’ Mona campus several years ago.
In 2013, the National Dance Theatre Company launched the ballet Malungu, in tribute to Drummond.
In February 2019, the Jamaican Government finally recognised Don Drummond’s contribution to the country’s music. He received an Icon Award during the Reggae Gold Awards at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.
