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.

While the US Virgin Islands are an extremely popular tourist destination, few tourists know of the rich cultural traditions of the people native to the islands. With virtually no representation in the popular media, the deep roots and cultural traditions of the Virgin Islands are either unknown or are considered only as a form of light entertainment. Instead, most tourists hear nicely packaged and easily digestible sounds while dining beachside at their comfortable resorts.

The rich musical style of Quelbe is a testimony to the oral tradition of the Caribbean people. The music and lyrics have long served to reinforce a sense of community, identity, and history. Using song as a way to tell their stories, the Virgin Islanders passed on the stories of important events in their lives. The music provides an excellent example of the complex textural mixture of African, European, and Amerindian cultures, all of which have left their mark on these Caribbean islands.

North American culture is quickly taking over the islands, leaving folk traditions such as Quelbe marginalized. As younger generations of Virgin Islanders lose interest in their native culture and Quelbe musicians get older, it is urgent that the historically significant form of Quelbe music be documented. While several Quelbe CDs have been recorded, knowledge of the Virgin Island's folkloric musical traditions is not widely known among the American public. The literature on this music is scarce; most of the recorded oral histories (collected in the 1970's) are housed solely in a library on St. Thomas. There is no comprehensive video documentation of Quelbe and its major figures. The Virgin Islander's rich cultural heritage is crucial to the understanding of the settling of the Americas and deserves the attention this documentary provides.