The Jolly Boys - 2000s

2000s

After Moses Deans died in 1998, the group carried on, playing mainly in Port Antonio. In the early 2000s, a rift developed between band members and the group again split into two different "Jolly Boys" bands, one led by Swymmer (which was sometimes called “Allan Swymmer’s Mento Band), and the other led by Bennett. It was during this time that the Jolly Boys–both groups, depending on availability–were first hired to play at GeeJam–then a residential recording studio–to entertain the artists working there. (Over the years, this list has included No Doubt, the Gorillaz, Drake and Amy Winehouse.)

The rift between the two bands lasted until 2006 or 2007. When GeeJam opened as a hotel in 2008, the again-reunited Jolly Boys became its house band. The quality of their performances–and particularly the strength and charisma of lead singer Albert Minott–led GeeJam’s co-owner Jon Baker to co-produce an album of rock covers done in a "modern" mento style with in-house studio engineer Dale Dizzle Virgo. In November 2009, ethnomusicologist Daniel Neely was brought to play banjo and act as the project's music director. The album, called Great Expectation was released in late 2010, and yielded an international tour representing a new stage in Jolly Boys history.