Jamaica Nice. is proud to sponsor Alpha Boy School Radio where every one of the 800+ songs features at least one past student from the legendary school for at risk youth.
From jazz innovators, to ska pioneers to reggae icons, Alpha Boys School Radio is your musical passport to Jamaican music and culture. Jamaica Nice. has been a proud sponsor of ABSR since 2019. Click below to listen.
Started in 1892 by one of the first sisters, Sister Mary deChantal, Alpha’s music program helped launch the careers of key contributors to jazz (Dizzy Reece, Joe Harriott), pioneers of ska (Don Drummond, Lester Sterling) and reggae (Bobby Ellis, Cedric Brooks, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace) with some becoming vocal ambassadors of the culture itself (Johnnie Osbourne, Yellowman, Leroy Smart). Alpha has been called a “dream factory” (NPR/USA) for “legendary musicians” (Jamaica Gleaner) who “helped release the spirit of one of the most musical islands in the world” (The Telegraph/UK). Alpha’s place in Jamaica’s music pantheon can be heard on Alpha Boys School Radio, a 24/7 streaming station that only plays music in whole or in part performed by Alpha graduates (alphaboysschoolradio.com).
Now called the Alpha School of Music, the music programme at 26 South Camp Road is over 100 years old. It was started by the Religious Sistesr of Mercy, a Roman Catholic order of who nuns who arrived in Jamaica in 1890 to help with the operations at Alpha Cottage, a home for at-risk and homeless boys and girls. Still operated by the same order of nunds and located on the same property as where Yellowman, Dizzy Reece, Leroy Smart, Johnny Osbourne and so many others learned their craft, Alpha continues to push the boundaries of music education
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Part proceeds from the sale of every Jamaica Nice. top and accessory supports the community. Jamaica Nice. funds music scholarships for tertiary students, workshops and educational experiences for Jamaicans at the high school and college level, teaching residencies for foreign music educators at schools in Jamaica and international exchanges for students and teachers. Click for our latest activities.
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