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Jamsie King of Scratch

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Award-winning filmmaker Andrea E. Leland collaborated with James Brewster to create a 70-minute documentary and archiving project.  The result of their collaboration is a spirited musical journey to the Caribbean focusing on Scratch band music (also known as Quelbe), an indigenous, grass-roots form of folk music from the Virgin Islands that was recently declared the “official” music of the Virgin Islands. 79-year old James Brewster, the central character of this documentary, is an uncompromising, humorous, and provocative musician known for his playful compositions and lively performances, and is the legendary “King of Scratch.”

This engaging documentary includes performances by Jamesie and the All-Stars at a St. Croix nightclub; an agricultural fair on St. Croix; the World Music Festival and the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago; the Lotus Music Festival in Bloomington, Indiana; jamming with his friends; and performing and teaching in Denmark. Interspersed with these performances is more intimate footage of Jamesie talking with other musicians about the historical significance of the music and explaining how he came to create some of his songs and footage at his home revealing his more personal side.  The documentary celebrates Scratch band music and one of it's most legendary performers. It provides a unique opportunity to view up close and personal the US Virgin Islands' deep-rooted musical tradition.
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"The scratch band music of the U.S. Virgin Islands (also known as quelbe music) is rarely heard outside of its homeland. Like many other “traditional” or “folk” musics of the Caribbean, this old-time string band genre has survived on the margins. To compromised North American and European ears, its vaguely calypso-like sound might suggest touristic fantasies of never-ending sun, sand, and rum punch; conversely, given a contemporary “world music” spin, it might fall somewhere on the spectrum between rootsy authenticity and quaint nostalgia. But as Andrea Leland’s appealing documentary shows, this is an important cultural expression that deserves to be taken seriously on its own terms. Focusing on 79-year-old James “Jamesie” Brewster, a revered scratch band musician from St. Croix, Leland helps us understand much about what this music means to practitioners." Kenneth M. Bilby, Columbia College (Chicago) Center for Black Music Research
Andrea Leland  For the past 20+ years, Andrea Leland has produced / directed award winning documentaries focusing on Caribbean and Latin American cultures. In Haiti, Belize, Chiapas, and several Caribbean islands, she works collaboratively with community members providing a forum to voice their untold stories, personal challenges and compelling triumphs. Social, artistic or political actions are placed within context of their culture, imploring the viewer to confront old myths and discover a new perspective. These documentaries are successful tools for cultural preservation. Titles include: Jamesie King of Scratch (US Virgin Islands), The Garifuna Journey (Belize), The Long Road Home (Chiapas, Mexico) and Voodoo and the Church in Haiti. These films have won numerous awards and have screened at museums, conferences and festivals throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States and have won numerous awards. Selected invitational screenings include: American Museum of Natural History, New York; 18th Bilan du Film Ethnographique, Paris, France; Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles; and the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian, New York. She has written articles that have been published in the Caribbean Review, ACM Literary Magazine and Angles magazines. Through Ms. Leland’s collaborative approach to documentary filmmaking, she has gained the respect and confidence of members of the Haitian, Mayan, and Garifuna communities. In addition, Leland’s documentaries have proved to be successful tools for cultural preservation. The Garifuna Journey, produced in collaboration with Garifuna elders in Belize, was instrumental in gaining United Nations recognition as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” for the Garifuna community.

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