Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Dermot Hussey 'thriving on a Riff'

The phrase may have come from Charlie Parker’s bebop original but each weekday at 8:30 pm on News Talk 93 FM renowned Jamaican musicologist Dermot Hussey is indeed “Thriving on a Riff” that sounds off across Jamaica and on live streaming on http://www.newstalk.com.jm/

What is Riffin? Offbeat inquires of the Program Director at XM 101. “Riffin”, a musical term is common to jazz, but not exclusively, for in any popular music, where there is a continuously reiterated musical phrase over changing harmonies, that is a “riff”. It’s also used in a wider sense, when one is extemporizing on a subject that too is considered “Riffin”, Dermot states .

“ For someone who has always been musically eclectic , Riffin summarizes all that I represent in music, and in a diversity of styles. It also represents the highest possible standards in improvised music, and under the umbrella of a riff, I can cover all and any style of music in any given programme. I’m also moving away from the regimentation of category, for in the final analysis it’s all about the music, and the best music too, and from wherever it might spring like hope, ever eternal,

Five nights a week Dermot Hussey dishes out a palatable banquet of diverse musical styling, music that is eclectic and decidedly improvised.

Indeed, Riffin is five nights of improvised music, five nights of music without borders “Heard Everywhere” on Jamaica’s NewsTalk 93 FM.

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