Historian argued that the "Mento" is a supplement to dances copied from the slave gangs that is symbolised by the sound and music with the banjo inclusion in meringue music and Cuban rumba. It's close similarity to the calypso made it popular amongst Jamaicans between the1940s and the 1950s. Traditionally, Mento-folk-calypso bands played constantly in hotels all over the island of Jamaica. At the end of the 1950s, jazz, rhythm & blues, meringue and Mento. The Mento lyrics is as similar a method in music to the calypso songs instigated in Trinidad. These rhythmitical influences were merged into a new style of music described as the "Shuffle." This style of music was known as the Blue Beat in the UK! A form of music that is comparable to the 1950s American style of rhythm & blues. The "Shuffle" dance music gained popularity through the vocal artistry of the Cuban born: Laurel Aitkens. The "Shuffle" was a dance craze brought to popularity through the sound systems and recording artistes such as Laurel, Owen Grey, Lassells Perkins, and the Overtakers. Almost every record producers from all over Jamaica used the in house bands, namely the Skatalites for their recordings, as these musicians they were always available on request. The mento flavour is still a blend of music within the Jamaican musical genre of today! | | All the changes that took place since the Mento blended in combination with the New Orleans Rhythm, the Mento still flavours Reggae music. However, most celebrated house band of all, was the Skatalites, their services were always in demand by nearly all recording producers, and of all the musicians of Jamaica the tunes the Skatalites band recorded are habitually accrue by most record collectors. Development of Jamaica music began when sound system proprietors began seeking new youthful talents to perform in their recording studios to make records mainly for their sound systems! |
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