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On
April 9th, award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Taj Weekes
and his band Adowa
will release their fourth CD “Pariah
in Transit” on Weekes’
Jatta Records. The album’s 10 tracks
represent some of their finest performances over the past two years throughout
North America and at St. Lucia’s world-renowned jazz festival in May 2011. “Pariah in Transit” will be distributed by Megawave, based in Ann Arbor Michigan,
which specializes in jazz, world, reggae, gospel, and piano blues releases.
While
(commercial) radio airwaves are notoriously unwelcoming towards artists with
consciousness-raising messages, Taj
Weekes & Adowa’s rapidly expanding fan
base, extending from Eastern Europe across North America and throughout the
Caribbean stems from the critical praise their three previously released albums
have received and, especially, audiences’ roaring approval of their enthralling
live concerts.
“Pariah
In Transit’s” curious title reflects Taj Weekes & Adowa’s
position in the overall reggae narrative, “on the outskirts trying to get
in but not really being allowed to. We weren’t born in
Jamaica, reggae’s birthplace, which is one of the greatest adversities we
face,” explained Taj,
a Rastafarian who hails from St. Lucia. Adowa,
so named for the first Italian-Ethiopian War that secured Ethiopian sovereignty
on March 1, 1896, represents a broad swathe of the Caribbean archipelago with Radss Desiree
(Dominica) on bass; Adoni
Xavier (Trinidad) guitar, vocals; John Hewitt
(Barbados) keyboards, vocals and Cornel
Marshall (Jamaica) drums, vocals. “People
don’t listen to jazz or rock from just one place so why should we be looking to
one geographic location for great reggae music?” Taj
asks.
Serving as a
vibrant reminder for listeners who have already experienced Taj Weekes & Adowa’s
concerts and an unforgettable introduction for those who haven’t, “Pariah In Transit” offers
inspired renditions of songs spanning their three albums including “Life”,
Taj’s survival story of good conquering evil, from their 2005 debut “Hope & Doubt”;
the biblically referenced powerful anti-war anthem “Since Cain”,
from “Deidem”,
honored as the Best Reggae Album at the Just Plain Folks Music Awards in 2008
and “Rain Rain”
from 2010’s “A Waterlogged
Soul Kitchen”, a homage to Hurricane
Katrina survivors that ranked among many critics best-of lists for that year.
Music fans
irrespective of their geographic location will embrace Taj Weekes & Adowa’s
treatment of wide-ranging topical issues, from the media’s “Propaganda War” to
the ongoing crisis in the Middle East addressed in “Jordan”, each set to
burnished reggae rhythms anchored in dub heavy basslines and accented by an
array of eclectic musical elements, making “Pariah In Transit” one
of the year’s most appealing and significant reggae releases. “As
artists, our sole job is to bring to light things that people may not think
about too much whether it’s what happened in New Orleans or the earthquakes in
Haiti or Japan. Corporate media tells us about everything that doesn’t concern
us. So my responsibility is to let people know what is happening, like a town
crier, and maybe we can respond accordingly.”
Taj’s activism
isn’t confined to his song lyrics. His philanthropic efforts throughout the
Caribbean on behalf of his organization TOCO (They Cry Often Outreach) have
earned him Goodwill Ambassador status by The International Consortium of
Caribbean Professionals (ICCP) as well as the St. Lucia House Foundation’s
Distinguished Humanitarian Award.
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