Dizzy, first of all welcome in Brussels, second time around with the Jamaica All Stars. As an introductory question could you tell us how this whole Jamaica All Stars project got started?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "Well, we tried a couple of things before, but it never turned out right. Finally we wound up with the concept of Jamaica All Stars and that seems to be working well. It's been some hard work too. Pierre Simonin and I tried to package something that everyone would enjoy. So far every where we go the reception has been wonderful. I want to thank Pierre Simonin again, because the effort he has put in to get this thing rolling has been immense."
I heard some comparisons being made between Jamaica All Stars and the project started by Ry Cooder in Cuba, Buena Vista Social Club. Do you think that comparison stands?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "I don't know. It depends on how you look at it. There are quite a few oldies in Jamaica All Stars, but we are certainly not all oldies; there are also a number of young musicians playing with us. If in terms of musical concept, Jamaica All Stars is propagating the Jamaican musical heritage, just as Buena Vista Social Club was doing with the Cuban music. Personally I don't like to compare, I'll leave that up to you all."
On a personal level, is Jamaica All Stars just the next project for Dizzy Moore, or is it more about a musical legacy that you want to pass on to a next generation?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "Definitely the latter part of your question. We want to keep the music alive. It can do so much for mankind. If we could play more music and fight less war we would be better of!"
Quite a number of musicians in Jamaica All Stars have a connection with the Alpha Boys School, be it as a pupil or now as a teacher. Could you talk a little bit about the importance of that institute?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "Quite a few of us are from the Alpha Boys School, nothing to be ashamed of, everything to be proud of! It is one of the institutions on the island that nurtures young musicians. There aren't many other institutions like that. We have the Jamaican School of Music, but they are more into the classical stuff. I've seen quite a few of their students who don't really fit into our scenario. Alpha teaches a broader scope: some classic, some mento, calypso, cha-cha, jazz, blues, music in general. I think in the world we live in now, you shouldn't be too specific in your music, but rather generalize your spectrum to make the music soot the minds of the general public worldwide."
You're a trumpeter yourself and you learned to play your instrument at Alpha. Was the trumpet your own choice and if so why?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "To be honest with you my first choice was the piano, mainly because I grew up in a house with a piano there. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to touch it. My parents tried to scare me by telling me it would turn me into an alcoholic and that my backside would be out because my pants would be all torn. However, I said to my mom: "If there's no music then nothing!". One day one of my friends was rattling away on the drums and I asked him where he learned that. He told me: "At Alpha!". I said: "Well that's where I have to go then!", but the kid responded: "No man that's impossible, you have to be a bad boy to be sent there.". "O.k." I responded: "That shouldn't be much of a problem!" (laughs) So from that moment I chose some of the worst kids in my neighbourhood to hang around with. My parents got real nervous and said: "Oh Lord, what's going to happen to the kid? We have to get him out of here!". It was all planned by me to get into Alpha and like I say: "No regrets!"
Truly great story! You have the same nickname as one of the great jazz trumpeters namely Dizzy Gillespie. Is that just coincidence or is there more to it?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "(laughs) You'd have to ask the general population that. They gave me that nickname and it stuck. To be honest, I liked Dizzy when I was a kid. I used to play a lot of his stuff for practise purposes. It's possible that at the offset of my career in music I might have sounded somewhat like him."
The Jamaica All Stars project is backed by Pierre Simonin and his French company Passage Productions. Do you guys perform in Jamaica too and is there any interest in your motherland?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "There is certainly interest there, but we haven't reached the point yet where we want to respond to that interest. What we want to do first is to try to certify ourselves through Passage Productions. We are aiming for the world really, but we have to take it step by step."
It's well known that you are enlightened by Rastafari. Could you tell us shortly how you got involved in the Rastafarian way of life?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "That is probably due to family heritage. My grandfather was a Rastafarian. His children thought he was mad then, but now they are asking me questions like: "How did he know the things he knew?" All I can say to them is: "Didn't you ask?" (laughs) I had quite a though time with my mom as a kid, being the way that I am, but now I'm the favourite kid. I can just lay there and everything comes to me. I'm talking a bit in the abstract here, but we can't reveal all in detail, not at this point anyway, maybe further along the track! If we explained everything at this point in time we might get sabotaged! In this modern world you can't let everyone know what you want to do until you are doing it!"
This weekend (06/02/2005, red.) is a weekend of big celebrations surrounding Bob Marley's 60th birthday, and this is probably just the start of a whole year of festivities. As an artist and as a human being does he hold a special meaning for you?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "In the band everyone knows and respects Bob. Because we are here doing our job, we can't be in Ethiopia doing what they are doing. It's a pity we didn't have a little bit more time on our hands so we could have been there. Commemorating Bob is a worthy cause; he was like our messenger. As kids we spoke of Rastafari and the way we saw life, how we could make the family of mankind happier. Bob took that message across the world."
Sizzla was recently jailed for using profanity on stage. Jamaica is really clamping down on that kind of offence. Where do you see the role of the artist in the age-old conflict between 'freedom of speech' and 'being a roll model'?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "If I had known exactly what was said, I could be more specific in my statement. Profanity... If it are just wasteful words, then that doesn't make sense. It's not necessary to use them, but I think some words like 'bomboclaat' or 'rasclaat' have become part of the Jamaican language. Everybody uses them, even the people at the top who might put you in jail for it. I even heard the police use those words. Whenever someone in Jamaica gets mad that's what he or she will shout. I'd rather get called a rasclaat or a bomboclaat a million times then to be hit with a stone once!"
You've been at it for so long now Dizzy: a musician at Studio 1, a member of the Skatalites, now Jamaica All Stars. Is there any moment or record in your life that you treasure above anything else?
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore: "I put music in general before anything else! That's my favourite subject; it's my woman, my companion and my soother when I have problems. Music is my life. There are so many records, that it's very hard for me to say which one I like best. I could say that I don't like any of them because I'm always striving to do better. (laughs)"
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