Don Drummond
{{Short description|Jamaican ska trombonist and composer}}
{{For|the Canadian economist|Don Drummond (economist)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use Jamaican English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Don Drummond
| image = Don Drummond.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| image_size =
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1934|3|12}}
| birth_place = Kingston, Jamaica
| death_date = {{death-date and age|6 May 1969|12 March 1934}}
| death_place = Kingston, Jamaica
| origin =
| instrument = Trombone
| genre = Ska
| occupation =
| years_active = 1950–1965
| label =
| associated_acts = The Skatalites
}}
Don Drummond (12 March 1934{{cite web |url=https://skabook.com/2016/03/12/happy-birthday-don-drummond/ |last=Augustyn |first=Heather |title=Happy 82nd Birthday Don Drummond |work=skabook.com |date=2016-03-12 |accessdate=2023-12-15 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601122216/https://skabook.com/2016/03/12/happy-birthday-don-drummond/ |url-status=live }}{{cite book|last=Augustyn|first=Heather|title=Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist|year=2013|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=978-0-7864-7547-6}}Other sources, such as Larkin, Colin (2005): The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae (Virgin. {{ISBN|0-7535-0242-9}}), state his year of birth as 1943. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many of their tunes. In 1966, Drummond was convicted of murdering his 23-year-old lover, Anita "Marguerita" Mahfood.
Biography
Drummond was born at the Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, to Doris Monroe and Uriah Drummond.Cane-Honeysett, L: Don Drummond Memorial Album, liner notes. Trojan 2009. He was educated at Kingston's Alpha Boys School, where he later tutored his younger schoolmate Rico Rodriguez playing the trombone.[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p219669|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com biography for Rico Rodriguez]
His musical career began in 1950 with the Eric Dean's All-Stars where he performed jazz.{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Klive|title=Dubwise: reasoning from the reggae underground|publisher=Insomniac Press|year=2005|isbn=1-894663-96-9 |url={{Google books|0UW6r3mE3gsC|page=126|plainurl=yes}}|page=126}} He continued playing with big bands into the 1960s at clubs such as the Big Bucket and the Silver Slipper.
After performing jazz for a decade, Drummond began performing ska and in 1964 he joined The Skatalites. With Drummond's politicized conversion to the Rastafari movement, other band members followed his lead.Porter, Darwin, and Danforth Prince (2006). Frommer's Jamaica, Edition 4 (Illustrated). London: Frommer's. p. 262. {{ISBN|0-471-94614-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-471-94614-4}}. He became a household name in Jamaica, before suffering mental health problems. It has been said that pianist George Shearing rated him as being among the world's top five trombone players{{Citation needed|reason=This is heresay. I've often heard this claim repeated but cannot find an official source. Remember that Wikipedia requires facts to be verifiable.|date=March 2021}}.
On 2 January 1965, Drummond's live-in lover, Anita "Marguerita" Mahfood, was found dead with four stab wounds to the chest. Drummond reported to the police that Mahfood had stabbed herself, but, in 1966, he was found guilty of her murder.{{cite web |url=https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Musician-Don-Drummond-guilty-of-lover-s-murder-by-reason-of-insanity_13016604 |title=Musician Don Drummond guilty of lover's murder by reason of insanity |newspaper=Jamaica Observer |date=25 November 2012 |access-date=12 March 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916103148/https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Musician-Don-Drummond-guilty-of-lover-s-murder-by-reason-of-insanity_13016604 |url-status=live }} Drummond was ruled criminally insane and imprisoned at Bellevue Asylum, Kingston, where he remained until his death four years later.Campbell, Howard (2013) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/DON-D-S-REBIRTH_14875874 Don D's Rebirth]", Jamaica Observer, 15 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013. The official cause of death was "natural causes", possibly heart failure caused by malnutrition or improper medication, but other theories were put forward; some of his colleagues believed it was a government plot against the Kingston musical scene, and some believed that he was killed by gangsters as revenge for the murder of Mahfood.{{cite web |url=http://ska.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa082297.htm |title=Was Don Drummond Murdered? |first=Bob |last=Timm |date=22 August 1997 |work=about.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428015640/http://ska.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa082297.htm |archivedate=28 April 2005 |accessdate=12 March 2010 }} Heather Augustyn, author of a biography of Drummond published in 2013 claimed to have proved that Drummond's death was caused by his medications.{{cite web |author= |url=http://reggae-steady-ska.com/interview-with-heather-augustyn/ |title=Don Drummond Biography - Interview with Author Heather Augustyn |website=Reggae Steady Ska |date=13 September 2013 |accessdate=11 August 2014 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213095821/https://reggae-steady-ska.com/interview-with-heather-augustyn/ |url-status=live }}
Legacy
Although he never performed abroad, Drummond is considered one of Jamaica's all-time great musicians.{{cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=Lloyd |title=Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music |date=2002 |publisher=BBC Worldwide |location=London, UK |isbn=0563488077 |page=22}}
In 2013, a ballet telling the story of Drummond's life was performed by the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica.Johnson, Richard (2013) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/A-ballet-for--Don-D- A Ballet for 'Don D']", Jamaica Observer, 21 July 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013. Created by Clive Thompson, the ballet is titled Malungu, which was Mahfood's pet name for Drummond.
In 2013 a comprehensive biography of Don Drummond was published by McFarland Publishing. Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist by Heather Augustyn features a foreword by Delfeayo Marsalis.{{cite news|title=Don Drummond book out|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130823/ent/ent3.html|accessdate=28 November 2013|newspaper=Jamaica Gleaner|date=23 August 2013}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.dondrummond.com] at DonDrummond.com
- {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p17152}}
- {{Discogs artist}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212064738/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=18477 Short biography] at allaboutjazz.com
- [http://www.lightmillennium.org/2006_17th/jcarney_drummond_part1.html Splash and Ripple from Green Island: The Musical Legacy of Don Drummond]
- [https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/don-drummond/ Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist] [https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/don-drummond/]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drummond, Don}}
Category:Converts to the Rastafari movement
Category:Jamaican people convicted of murder
Category:Jamaican people who died in prison custody
Category:Jamaican Rastafarians
Category:Jamaican ska trombonists
Category:People convicted of murder by Jamaica
Category:Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica
Category:Prisoners who died in Jamaican detention
Category:The Skatalites members
Category:Island Records artists
Category:Trojan Records artists
Category:First-wave ska groups
Category:20th-century trombonists