BERES HAMMOND

Don't be deceived by Beres Hammond's cool profile. The playful smile, the unassuming demeanor, the beard, the cap and the spectacles might lull you into forgetting that you're in the presence of an awesome musical talent, Jamaica's greatest practicing singer/songwriter. Beres remains cool, though he knows that he's one of a handful of people responsible for maintaining a mighty legacy of soulful reggae music a select group of Artistes like Toots and Gregory Isaacs, like Dennis Brown and Bob Marley.

Over the course of a 30-year career, Beres has poured his smoky-sweet voice an instrument of subtlety and power reminiscent of an Otis Redding or a Teddy Prendergast over every kind of riddim track, from the funked up reggae jams of the '70s fusion band Zap Pow to the lush instrumentation of his 1976 album 'Soul Reggae' to the spare digital beat of his 1985 dancehall breakthrough "What One Dance Can Do."

Few artists can tell a story and bring it to life more vividly than he can. For Beres, music truly is life. It's not unusual for him to stroll downstairs fresh from his morning shower and lay down a rough vocal idea to be worked out later. "We no stop make tune," he explains, relaxing on a breezy veranda in Kingston.

"Every day, each vibe you get, just comes natural. You can sing about this and sing about that and sing about the next," he says, with heartfelt conviction. "Just make some songs, man. Songs about everything - love affair and life itself, the ups and downs, and your brothers and sisters trying to survive in the street. It's for real. No fantasy business. We don't rehearse them, just make the vibes flow. Like Bob did say, a 'natural mystic,' you see? Natural. It goes on and on."

The King of Calypso
THE MIGHTY SPARROW

The Mighty Sparrow (A.K.A. Dr. Slinger Francisco) is affectionately known as the Calypso King of the World. He possesses the unique ability not only to put into words and tempo the exploits of society, but to crown it all with showmanship and appeal. With over 70 albums to his credit, Sparrow's astute social and political observations find full expression on songs like "This is Madness," "Both of Them," "Crown Heights Justice" and "Salvation." He has brought honor, glory and dignity to an indigenous art form once scorned by the elite of Caribbean society. He utilizes the medium he masters not just to entertain but also to edify, enlighten and educate.

BUNJI GARLIN
and
ASYLUM

The Caribbean's most adroit lyricist of the day, Bunji Garlin, is poised to make an explosive impact on the global music arena. Add that to his phenomenal lyrical abilities and Bunji's astonishing vocal flair and you have an unstoppable force that renders audiences mesmerized from his opening lines.Bunji lives in the hope that his songs will touch hearts and change lives around the universe.