James "Jamesie" Brewster, born in 1929 in the US Virgin Islands is one of the most recognized names associated with quelbe music, also known as scratch music or quadrille. The music is an "indigenous, grass-roots form of folk music which originated in the US Virgin Islands", says documentary filmmaker, Andrea Leland. "It's a form of oral history, its lyrics are used to immortalize significant historical events, spread 'rude' gossip about one's neighbors, and relay the day to day trials and tribulations on a small island."
Instruments used to play the music are those that one can "scratch up" and historically, instruments were homemade or created through found objects. In addition to performing, Jamesie creates handmade instruments - several videos here capture his process.
Jamesie and the All-Stars performed not only in the US Virgin Islands, but also in the United States and Denmark. Playing along with Jamesie on many of the videos are Camille "King Derby" Macedon on banjo, who is also Jamesie's first cousin; Lawrence "Trashy" Mason on squash; Dimitri "Pikey" Copermann on saxaphone; Paul Hosford on bass; Wilfred E. Allick, Jr. :Junie Bomba" on congas; and "Hoofa" Richards on triangle. Many of the performance videos contain several shot from different cameras, the raw footage for use in the documentary Jamesie: King of Scratch, produced by Andrea Leland and Kathleen McManus, and released in 2006. Some of the videos have accompanying interview transcriptions or song transcriptions as well.
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Activities around the Agricultural Festival grounds - B-roll
Andrea Leland
Images around the grounds of Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Activities around the Agricultural Festival grounds - B-roll
Andrea Leland
Images around the grounds of Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera: Henrik Lockhart
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Activities around the Agricultural Festival grounds - B-roll
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance - Camera 1, Part 1
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 1: Matt Benedict
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance - Camera 1, Part 2
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 1: Matt Benedict
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance - Camera 1, Part 3
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 1: Matt Benedict
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance - Camera 2, Part 1
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 2: Andrea Leland
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance - Camera 2, Part 2
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 2: Andrea Leland
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance | Camera 3, Part 1
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 3: Henrik Lockhart
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance | Camera 3, Part 2
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 3: Henrik Lockhart
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Agricultural Festival | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie & the All-Stars Performance | Camera 3, Part 3
Andrea Leland
Jamesie & the All Stars performance at Agricultural Festival on St. Croix. Camera 3: Henrik Lockhart
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Agricultural Festival |St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights - Camera 1, Tape 1
Andrea Leland
Performance by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights at Agricultural Festival. Camera 2: Matt Benedict
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Agricultural Festival |St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights - Camera 1, Tape 2
Andrea Leland
Performance by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights at Agricultural Festival. Camera 2: Matt Benedict
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Agricultural Festival |St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights - Camera 2, Tape 1
Andrea Leland
Performance by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights at Agricultural Festival Camera: Andrea Leland
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Agricultural Festival |St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights - Camera 2, Tape 2
Andrea Leland
Performance by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights at Agricultural Festival Camera: Andrea Leland
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Agricultural Festival |St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights | Camera 3, Tape 2
Andrea Leland
Performance by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights at Agricultural Festival. Camera 3: Henrik Lockhart
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Agricultural Festival |St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights Interview - Camera 3, Tape 1
Andrea Leland
Interview with and performance by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights at Agricultural Festival. Camera 3: Henrik Lockhart
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Danish Polycalypso Orchestra and Jamesie | Denmark | Performances - Part 1
Andrea Leland
Jamesie traveled to Europe to tour across Denmark and perform with the Polcalypso Orchestra, whose music focuses on Danish polka and Caribbean calypso.
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Danish Polycalypso Orchestra and Jamesie | Denmark | Performances - Part 2
Andrea Leland
Jamesie traveled to Europe to tour across Denmark and perform with the Polcalypso Orchestra, whose music focuses on Danish polka and Caribbean calypso.
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Demonstration | St. Croix , U.S. Virgin Islands | Scenes of U.S. Virgin Islands - B-roll
Andrea Leland
Scenes of the market and typical sights of St. Croix for B-roll use in the documentary. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Demonstration | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie Makes a Banjo - Camera 1, Part 1
Andrea Leland
Jamesie makes a banjo outside his house on St Thomas. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Demonstration | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie Makes a Banjo - Camera 1, Part 2
Andrea Leland
Jamesie continues to make a banjo outside his house on St Thomas. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Demonstration | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie Makes a Banjo - Camera 2, Part 1
Andrea Leland
Jamesie makes a banjo outside his house on St Thomas. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Demonstration | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie Makes a Banjo - Camera 2, Part 2
Andrea Leland
Jamesie continues to make a banjo outside his house on St Thomas. Camera: Andrea Leland
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Demonstration | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Jamesie Woodworking
Andrea Leland
Jamesie doing woodworking outside his home, creating a bowl. Also footage of posters and awards inside the Jamesie home. Camera: Erik Miles