The World Discovers Walter Ferguson
By Jim Parisi
The essence of Calypso is in its rhythm and its humor, not necessarily in that order. The seed of this musical style sprouted around Barbados, Trinidad and Ciudad Colon, Panama. It spread, literally by word of mouth, to other Caribbean ports, including Kingston, Jamaica, where it spawned the nucleus of reggae music.
Walter Ferguson is probably the last Calypsonian to learn his craft in this traditional, organic manner. Born in Guabito, Panama in 1919, he moved to Cahuita, Costa Rica at an early age with his father, Melsh, who was a cook for the Banana Company there. For years, Ferguson, or “Gavitt” as he is affectionately referred to by his wife and family, plied his trade with an old Martin guitar, creating songs and exchanging them with other wandering Calypso minstrels up and down the Caribbean coast of Central America. Walter even recorded a vinyl album of original songs in the early 1970s, which quickly slipped into obscurity along with its composer.
Rock and Roll has had an element of humor and playfulness since its inception; it is simply a part of its inherent makeup. Sure, there is a serious side, as well: the musicianship has always been concrete and the messages diverse, be they political, philosophical or romantic. But the whimsical part has always been there, throughout the history of Rock and Roll. Ben Orton has been a serious Rock and Roll musician with a serious funny bone for more than twenty years. Born near Champagne, Ill, he relocated to the Ozark Mountains and Fayetteville, Ark to pursue his college degree “in three easy decades” as he has explained it. Ben has spent time living in Seattle, India and Iran as he took the long road to eventually come to Costa Rica and live in the Quepos/Jaco area. On his way here, he paid his dues, including playing bass guitar and recording with a biker/porno band, and then released his first solo project, “Ben Orton & Other Infamous Fugitives”, a good, straight-forward rollicking, rocking album. He recently released his first album from Costa Rica, a self-produced CD entitled “Hecho en Costa Rica” along with his band BenJammin and the Howlers. All the songs are Ben’s original material and the album was recorded in Jaco and Quepos.
by Jim Parisi
