Jamaica’s Ambassadors of Mento began their month and a half adventure touring Europe as the opening act for grammy-winning R&B songbird Sade on Friday April 29, 2011 in Nice, France with a rocking performance at Palais Nikaia. Since then they have gone on to do the same everywhere from Zurich to Dublin, culminating in a stellar final performance at the O2 Arena in London on May 31,2011.



Along the way The Jolly Boys had a chance to return to their fans in Germany. Moments before taking the stage at Olympiahalle in Munich on May 19, 2011, lead singer Albert Minott sat down for this interview with Reggaeville’s Markus Hautmann! Now just in case any of you missed out on any of the action along the way, join us as we recap The Jolly Boys’ journey from Frankfurt to London on their tour as R&B singer Sade’s opening act throughout April and May 2011.
read more!

The Jolly Boys have been making strides and swaying crowds touring as R&B songbird Sade’s opening act in Europe, and all while celebrating the U.S release of their widely acclaimed album Great Expectation. The album, which features Mento interpretations of 12 contemporary classics including Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”, Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” has been getting reviews from the press all over.



The album was recently reviewed by Banning Eyre of NPR‘s “All Things Considered”. You can listen to the review (spliced with great samples from the album) here:
read more!

Jamaica’s mento music giants began their month and a half adventure touring Europe as the opening act for grammy-winning R&B veteran Sade on Friday April 29, 2011 in Nice, France with a rocking performance at Palais Nikaia. Since then they have gone on to do the same in Antwerp, Hamburg, Oberhausen, Milan, Stuttgart, Copenhagen and Stockholm. For all our fans who might have missed out on the action, here’s a short chronicle of Jamaica’s mento masters The Jolly Boys as they journey from Nice to Stockholm on their tour as R&B singer Sade’s opening act throughout April and May 2011.



The Jolly Boys have been making strides and swaying crowds and all while celebrating the U.S release of their widely acclaimed album Great Expectation which features Mento interpretations of 12 contemporary classics including Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”, Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”. The album is available for purchase on iTunes, ebreggae.com and Amazon. As a bonus The Jolly Boys have also made some of your favourite Classic Mento tunes like “Emmanuel Road”, “Dog War Inna Matthews Lane” and “Soldering” available for download and purchase on iTunes here.
read more!

Yesterday (May 3, 2011) marked the highly anticipated first North American release of The Jolly Boys’ album Great Expectation which features Modern Mento interpretations of 12 contemporary classics including Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”, Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”. Though the album has only been live for a little over 24 hrs it is already being well received by fans and critics in the U.S.



Mento is the original sound of Jamaica and a forerunner to reggae and ska, the two genres of music Jamaica is most known for. Modern mento is the name given to the new genre birthed by The Jolly Boys with Great Expectation. Among a number of other media outlets, the album was reviewed yesterday by Dan Aquilante of the New York Post and this is what he had to say:
read more!

Jamaica’s reigning Kings of Mento have taken their raspy-voiced vocals and soothing tropical rhythms to the streets once more with the U.S. release of their highly anticipated album Great Expectation on Wall of Sound Records! It’s been merely hours since it’s release and already the International press is giving the album praise.



Great Expectation is the first North American release from the legendary Jamaican band the Jolly Boys in 20 years. Mento is the original sound of Jamaica and a forerunner to reggae and ska, the two genres of music Jamaica is most known for. The album, which received rave reviews after its UK release late last year, is a collaborative project between Geejam Recording’s Jon Baker and Wall Of Sound’s Mark Jones and features Mento interpretations of 12 contemporary classics including Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”, Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.
read more!

Five months after their stellar performance at Knust in Hamburg, Germany during their winter tour of Europe last year, The Jolly Boys will return to Hamburg tomorrow (May 3, 2011) to show their fans what they’ve been up to lately. Jamaica’s modern mento ambassadors kicked off their adventure as the opening act for R&B songbird Sade in fine style on Friday April 29, 2011 at Palais Nikaia in Nice, France.



(Photo by Charl Baker)

They followed it up with an equally energetic show at Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium on Sunday May 1, 2011 and are eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s performance at the Color Line Arena! Now, as they prepare to take the stage in Hamburg once more we look back at what their last visit was like with this fan-posted footage of The Jolly Boys performing (among other hits) their renditions of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”:
read more!

Jamaica’s mento maestros The Jolly Boys are ready for some more action and are currently en route to Nice in France to kick off the start of their tour of Europe opening for grammy winning rhythm and blues sensation Sade on Friday April, 29 2011 at Palais Nikaia.



Following a personal invitation from Sade, Jamaica’s legendary icons will once again bring Jamaican mento music to the eclectic streets of Europe this spring. As a flashback of the last time The Jolly Boys were in France and a preview for our fans in France of what’s in store, enjoy this video of The Jolly Boys in an acoustic session for the French Television Channel Arte Tv :
read more!

After their rocking American debut in New York in February the legendary Kings of Mento will be returning to the U.S in just a few days to share the stage with Grammy winner Shaggy at the 7th Annual American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) Peacock Soiree on Saturday, April 9, 2011 in Miami.



The gala honors diamond-selling performer Orville “Shaggy” Burrell as the 2011 International Humanitarian for his philanthropic role in assisting the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, Jamaica.The Peacock Soiree will be held at Miami’s Jungle Island, a lush, tropical setting with a festive atmosphere that sets the tone for a night of cocktails, dinner and performances. Another highlight of the evening is an anticipated silent and live auction. The proceeds of the Peacock Soiree create significant social impact by raising important funds distributed to Jamaican charities in education, healthcare and economic development.

read more!

Following a personal invitation from Sade, Jamaica’s legendary and iconic The Jolly Boys have announced that they will join Sade on their European tour this spring. The Jolly Boys, once the toast of Jamaica with their traditional ‘mento’ music, have after five decades been enjoying a remarkable revival. It was the legendary film star Errol Flynn who, having purchased a small swathe of Northeast Jamaica, would stage wild parties at his home, and provide his favourite entertainment in the form of a local mento band, whom he nicknamed The Jolly Boys.



Mento originated as country folk music, with origins in African sounds, but with influences from European and especially Celtic music. It pre-dated and influenced everything from ska to reggae to dancehall. However, the electrification of Jamaica and its independence in the 1960s led to the decline of mento music and a new musical voice, reggae.

It was in 2009 when music producer Jon Baker suggested The Jolly Boys record a new album featuring some surprising contemporary cover versions,1 that mento music and The Jolly Boys were re-introduced to both Jamaica and the world. The album ‘Great Expectation’ released last year went on to receive rave reviews.

read more!

It was a journey 50 years in the making. After months of anticipation The Jolly Boys made their electrifying Big Apple debut to a jam-packed audience at the Hiro Ballroom at The Maritime Hotel in New York on February 24, 2011. Performing songs from their repertoire of classic and modern mento hits The Jolly Boys made an exceptional impression on an audience that had never before seen the Jamaican sensations in action.



( via Chad Batka for The New York Times )

Upon arrival in New York, an appearance on East Village Radio with DJ Max Glazer of Federation Sound got the buzz going for American fans who might not yet have known The Jolly Boys were in town. While interviews with Jesse Serwer of Largeup.com and Sherman Escoffery of the Jamaica Observer made sure the fans back in The Caribbean got their slice of the pie as well. So by the time ‘the boys’ took the stage (at around 10pm) their big day had already seen a lot of activity, though judging by their energetic performance one would not have been able to tell.
read more!