By: Curtis Morton
CHARLESTOWN-NEVIS- Sometime during the course of Saturday 20th June, the shocking news made its rounds like bolts of lightning, throughout the length and breadth of the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis.
Alexander Adolphus Charles was dead.
He was such a humble and quiet personality that maybe a lot of people on Nevis, where he has resided for quite a number of years, may not know him.
Let’s say he was one of the smoothest, coolest bass men that this world will ever know.
He had obvious talent and skill. Whenever he was pulling those bass strings, inevitably there was a smile on his face. A smile that would assure the close observer that he was enjoying what he was doing: Enjoying the music that he was helping to produce and enjoying the fact that his audience appreciated it.
When he started to make a name for himself in Nevis, it was as a member of the Caribbean Roots band and his musical mates like JAZZIQUE Chiverton and Junior Parris and his dad, Leroy Parris SR, simply served to make a wonderful musical combination.
As the health of Leroy Parris Sr disintegrated, the band slowly but surely split up, with JAZZIQUE forming his own band and Leroy JR going to work for the Nevis Cultural foundation, on a full time basis.
As for ‘ADOLPH’ as he was fondly called, he soon found solace in playing in local bands and eventually seem quite settled with playing alongside his buddy and renowned local musician, Rohan Claxton.
He eventually became associated on a full time basis with Rohan’s band that provides an entertainment package in some of the local hotels, known as ECLECTIC.
He also became an integral part of the musical school coordinated by Rohan and his wife Mauricia, known as SHERZANDO.
Rohan Claxton stated on Friday 26th June, that ADOLPH will be sorely missed. He noted that he not only taught guitar lessons for his musical school but that all of his students who attempted overseas examinations recently, were successful.
Claxton referred to the late musical genius as a humble man.
‘He did not have a lot of means to live by, but he was satisfied with what he had and was ever willing to share, especially of his musical talents,’ he said.
Claxton informed that the funeral service for ADOLPH will commence at 1.30 pm at the Charlestown Methodist church tomorrow Saturday 27th June.
‘We are going to give him a grand send off. We will have a concert of sorts in his honour which will involve a lot of the musicians with whom he was associated over the years,’ he stated.
ADOLPH was known to have been associated with most of the bands in St.Kitts and Nevis, in one way or another.
According to Claxton, his demise was sudden and dramatic: The previous night he played his music with the ECLECTIC band at the LIME beach bar and played with the accustomed zeal. Claxton stated however, that he seemed listless.
The following morning Saturday, he did not show up for his guitar class at SHERZANDO and after several urgent phone calls, Claxton made a dash to his home where he had suffered a sudden stroke and took him to the hospital….but it was too late.
A huge turnout is expected at the funeral service tomorrow.