By Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
The Word! is composed of Karrel Wisdom (standing left), Eban Hutton (standing right), Duane Wright (stooping left), Neville Oddman (stooping centre) and Jason Anderson.
IN THE beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God...' (St. John 1 v. 1).
There are still a few disciples among us today, who seek to spread the word and bring people to Christ. Though their names may not be Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Duane, Jason, Eban, Karell and Neville have committed themselves to spreading the good news.
These five talented Christian young men currently compose the gospel singing group 'Word!'. According to Eban, "The name (Word!) signifies spreading the word of God." And this is just what these young men have done; they have devoted their time, talent and energy into spreading the Word of God through song.
Duane Wright, the group's bass singer, is often described as the no-nonsense, articulate and businesslike member, who is very passionate about the progress of the group. Jason Anderson has the baritone pitch and he says he is no pushover, as he doesn't put up with nonsense.
Then there is Karell Wisdom, first tenor and lead singer. Despite having reached adulthood, he is often described as the group's baby. He is no doubt the sensitive one and is very talented in songwriting, singing and playing musical instruments.
The second tenor singer is Eban Hutton, whom his colleagues say is miserable - but that may be because he is a perfectionist when it comes on to the sound of the group. Completing Word! is third tenor, Neville Oddman, the talkative joker of the band, who always falls asleep during practice.
So there you have it, 'Word!' in their current form. The band did not have five members originally, though, going through a series of changes since being formed in May, 1989, when they started out as a quartet.
PART OF WORD
That was doubled to eight, then trimmed to six and further shaved to five. In a nutshell, more than 15 persons have been a part of Word! at one point or the other.
"We were going through a dry patch and needed some young blood and at Mico, where we were at the time, younger members from our church (Rollington Town Seventh-Day Adventist) rehearsed on the same block," Eban Hutton said. From there, they recruited new members.
Since its inception the group has produced two albums, One in De Spirit in 1995 and Doin Fine in 1999 and have performed in places like the United States (in a number of cities along the East Coast) and Grand Cayman. Word! Has also won four Jamaica Music Awards (JAMMI's) and have been privileged to share stage with such luminaries as Kirk Franklin, Gilberto Gil, Shirley Ceasar, Sandy Patti and Acapella.
"Originally we were mostly an a capella group, but nowadays we try to include more accompanied songs," said Neville. According to him their style has now become more diverse, as they have added touches of jazz, R&B, reggae and traditional sounds to their music.
All of the current members of the group, grew up in the tradition of male a capella groups within the Seventh-Day Adventist movement and this, Jason says, has helped to shape the group's direction.
However, they are now making moves to experiment with other genres and styles, as Karell says they aren't satisfied with just the traditional four-part harmony that describe most groups. R&B groups like Take 6, Boyz II Men and Commissioned fascinated and influenced them, he said, and thus the slight shift in style.
Most people probably have not seen the group's current five in performance, as they only managed to re-group in November of last year.
The group says they are now working on some new material, but can also look out for a few new touches that they have added to their flavour.
