RIP MONTEGO JOE

[JohnnyConga]

I'm so sorry to be sending you news like this all the time,but I know you want to know. I knew Montego for years; he was always kind to us, helping in any way he could. He will be missed. love, cob


Just received:

From: Lil Phillips <Lilltone@aol.com>
Subject: Funeral for MONTEGO JOE, Master Drummer

WAKE:
TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2010 4pm-8pm
Frank R. Bell Funeral Home
536 Sterling Place (corner of Classon Ave.)
Brooklyn, New York 11238
(718) 399-2500

FUNERAL:
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010
Viewing: 10:00am-10:50am
Funeral: 10:50am
The Riverside Church
490 Riverside Drive
(Church also accessible at 91 Claremont Ave.- 121st St.)
New York, New York 10027
212-870-6700



Also just opened the message following from Lori Tan Chinn.
From: LT Chinn <ltcookie88@yahoo.com>
Subject: Ifetayo Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Baba Montego Joe




Ifetayo Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Baba Montego Joe
Ifetayo Council of Elder Member & Arts Faculty Member
Ancestor StripMJ 2

"Listen" the drums seem to call out

"We are looking for the Master to carry him home"

No news travels faster than the message

heard in the syncopated percussive

polyrhythmic patterns reverberating

in the name of a great man's passing

Baba Montego Joe, born Roger Sanders, a Son of Jamaica

Transitioned on Monday, June 28th 2010

"That which is good is never finished." -Kunia Proverb

Baba Montego Joe
About Baba Montego Joe, Council of Elder and Arts Faculty Member

Baba Montego Joe -Montego Joe is a native of Jamaica, West Indies and is well known in the music world as one of the foremost Afro-Caribbean percussionists. His professional performance experience spans six decades and geographies that include the U.S., Europe, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. He has worked with and recorded with such artists as, The Fifth Dimension, Nina Simone, Herbie Mann, Abby Lincoln and Max Roach, with Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie. He is also an instructor at Medgar Evers College and the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp. (Youth Arts Academy).

With a vast reservoir of knowledge about the history and meaning of Afro-Caribbean music and his impeccable style and technique, Baba Montego has much to share. We are especially grateful that he has been able to share his vast wealth of knowledge with our Ifetayo students over the past five years.

Words from Baba Montego:

"Being an elder at Ifetayo is like being in an African village. We are respected and get to help the youth grow spiritually." For the youth, Baba Montego has these words of encouragement: "Walk tall and try to abide by what it is you were taught at Ifetayo. Learn as much as you can in life and always be well-informed."


"When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion."
- Ethiopian Proverb

Thank You for Joining in the Spirit of Living
Culture and Building Community!

Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Inc.
629 East 35th Street
Bro64oklyn, New York 11203
Phone: (718) 856.1123
Fax: (718) 856.1192
www.ifetayo.org
info@ifetayo.org


Ifetayo Cultural Arts | 629 A East 35th Street, Suite #2 | Brooklyn | New York | NY | 11203

[Isaac]

Thanks Johnny for remembering one of great percussionists of New York.
Although I didn't know Montego Joe,
there was a time in the late 70s and 80s when almost every 2nd young conga student I met
said they had studied with Montego Joe. They all trasmitted a reverential feeling when speaking
about him, as he was a true mentor, not just for music. I met him and spoke to him briefly when he was giving
a group class to teenagers at a YMCA on 14th st. I sensed he helped keep these kids out of
trouble by turning them on to music and culture.
Finally I did get to see him perform
in a jazz setting in NYC on a visit in the mid 80s. He had a very subtle and warm musical touch,
not using much force at all, nor overplaying. He got a lot of sounds out his skins and added much to the songs.
He was comfortable in many styles. His gentle confidence and friendliness is what I remember.
Later I went back to find him on recordings with the 5th Dimension, Art Blakey, Roland Kirk and George Benson. For a little while
he occasionally wrote some percussion articles that appeared in Modern Drummer magazine.

Isaac Gutwilik