Marjorie Whylie is Jamaica's foremost woman musician - performer of jazz and traditional music. An accomplished pianist, vocalist and percussionist, she has the rare ability to integrate her eclectic talent and "hybrid" musical traditions, in performing, in teaching and in speaking.
As musicologist, composer and arranger, Marjorie Whylie believes greatly in passing on her vast knowledge and experience. Her music comes from deep in the Jamaican traditions: a mixture of local folk songs, African polyrhythmic playing, European art music and "classic" jazz.
Using voice and rhythm as the conduit of understanding, Marjorie Whylie often explores the roots of the Caribbean, charting rites of passage through the music of the ordinary and extraordinary -- worksongs, social commentary, religious music and dance, the popular medium of reggae and its antecedents.
Whylie has a delightful and infectious approach to the expression of what she describes as the "multifaceted nature" of her culture, and presents this in her concerts on keyboard, congas and in ensemble. At home in many genres, the jazz world is the richer for her eclectic approach and "blendings" of the diverse threads of this vibrant musical tapestry.
Marjorie Whylie's original music reflects her training, experience, exposure and scholarly research, and an evening of Whylie is one of entertainment and subtle education.
