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Jana's Interview with The Sunday
Gleaner
January 5, 2003
Chaos
Freelance Writer
The ins and outs of Jana Bent
Jana Bent is somewhat a
study in contrasts. Confident yet shy, open yet
closed, sometimes one has to dig a little deeper than
she is comfortable
with in order to find out who she really is and even at
the end of the day,
The Sunday Gleaner was none too such if the real Jana
Bent had come to
light, or if just rare glimpses had been offered. She
respects other
people's privacy and expects the same of others. Of
course, being an
entertainer, some sacrifices have to be made to the cult
of celebrity...
Dressed in a white pair of sneakers, a simple black
bottom and a red top,
she has just finished rehearsing and is clearly tired
but just as clearly game.
The Sunday Gleaner spoke
with the singer/songwriter/choreographer and
dancer and quite an interesting picture emerged, the
brightest colour of which was determination to succeed.
Born to a Trinidadian mother and
Jamaican father in Jamaica, Jana spent most of the
earlier part of her life
in-between Jamaica and Canada, countries for which she
has dual citizenships. She refuses to divulge her age,
saying with a laugh `I could
tell you but then I'd have to kill you,` delivering the
cliche with aplomb. `A lady never tells her
age... under any circumstances,` she laughs. The Bents
were a ping-pong ball between the two countries because
on the one hand her father was scared of the rampant
crime in the island and on the other missed the tropical
isle.
She did forms one and two
at St. Hughs High School in Jamaica, did one year and
three months in Canada at the Hillside Junior Public
School and Clarkson Secondary School in Mississauga,
came back to Jamaica to do fourth, fifth and part of
lower sixth form at Priory before completing sixth form
at Campion College and at Wolmer's Boys.
Yes, Wolmer's Boys
High School. Her brother, Rupert Bent III, was a student
there at the time and there were some subjects she had
started at Priory that were not offered at Campion, so
she worked out an arrangement where she would be tutored
by teachers when on their off-periods. In other words,
this is one young lady who knows what she wants and how
to get it.
Then it was back to
Canada for 13th Grade at North Toronto Collegiate and a
three-year degree in Psychology at the University of
Western Ontario. Why Psychology? `It was the most
interesting course, everything I learnt I could relate
to my life, my environment and my society,` Jana says.
A trip back to the
island of her birth followed and she almost immediately
began her career in entertainment. She worked with
Denyse Plummer, Richie Stephens, Damian and Julian
Marley, The Wailers and Shaggy, for whom she worked as
back-up singer, dancer and choreographer. She also had a
brief stint with Spanner Banner.
However, how did a degree in Psychology translate into a
career in music?
`I used to write
poetry when I was little, my grandmother used to be a
teaching instructor in English and English Language at
Mico, so she used to give me extra lessons, so growing
up with a grandmother like her, you develop a passion
for writing and you get good at it.
`I've always loved
dance - I did dance classes through Mona Prep. I did
dance classes in high school in Jamaica and at the
School of Dance (Edna Manley), then at various schools
in Toronto. My aunt was a dancer and she encouraged me
to teach dance - I taught a hip-hop class. I also had
dance classes with L'Acadco. I was a dancer
from day one, before prep. school, but it was only when
I was in Canada I realised I could make a career out of
it. I danced and acted in the Caribbean Students
Organisations' shows at Western (the University of
Western Ontario). I also taught dance in Toronto at a
private dance school there, called the Arabesque Dance
Studio,` Jana answers.
Having family
members already established in the areas where your
passions lie is usually almost always a bonus and in
Jana's case it was no exception. Her brother Rupert Bent
III had long ago decided he wanted to be a producer and
had gone hell-bent down that path while Jana was still
in school. Once she got back to Jamaica, she walked
straight into working with soca queen Denyse Plummer,
whom Rupert was producing at the time. They needed a
back-up singer, dancer and choreographer. Since her
brother was well aware of her talent, Jana was in. This
was 1992. With Plummer, Jana Bent did a number of
one-shot carnival shows here and abroad. She also shot a
Coca-Cola commercial and music video with Japanese star
Toshi Kubota here in Jamaica.
Next up were a six-week
United States and a six-week European tour with
different incarnations of The Wailers. She was touring
with people such as Junior Marvin, 'Family Man', 'Wya',
'Mikey Boo', Andrew McIntyre and Chris Sterling and a
guitarist from India Roy Venkentrammen. Showing a
charming propensity to break into patois at the most
unexpected moments, she explained. `I mostly sang
back-up, danced how I felt... I was the only female and
it was fantastic, great, me one and 18 Rasta man... they
looked after me, they protected me, they treated me like
a sister. It was a life-changing experience... when it
was over, one piece a bawling ah puh dung! I didn't want
to go home,` she reminisced.
`But as soon as I
got home, I started working with Julian Marley. We went
to Brazil and Japan and shows 'round town. We were
hooked up through The Wailers, Family Man and Wire went
to work with Julian and so I and Natasha Abrahams
(another back-up singer) were introduced,` she says.
This was in 1993. Next up was a 10-day tour with
Julian's brother, the Grammy-winning Damian Marley. `We
did a few shows here and there in the United States and
Mexico... we went to Houston, Cancun, Miami - it was the
'Bob Marley Festival Tour'. At the same time I was
working with Richie Stephens, doing session work,` Jana
told The Sunday Gleaner.
Jana Bent has
rather expressive eyes. They dart around the room or
stare intently into yours as she tells her story, her
long brown hair, streaked with copper, red and blond,
cascading around her shoulders. Her lips break readily
into wide smiles and quite often, laughter, as she
recounts the years. It was at 'Sumfest '94' while that
Jana Bent, while singing back-up for Richie Stephens on
'International Night', met international superstar
Shaggy - for the second time.
Jana was the founder and
choreographer of the Pulse (as in the model agency)
Popular Dance troupe - a group of models who could also
dance. In June of 1994 Shaggy and his manager, Robert
Livingston, saw her during rehearsals for the
now-defunct 'JAMI' - Jamaica Music Industry awards - and
were impressed. `At the after-party Shaggy came up and
said 'Yo, I'd like you to meet my manager'. 'I'd like to
work with you' Robert said. Sure! When do I start? I
said.`
However, Jana did
not officially become part of Shaggy's Big Yard crew
until around December 1994. He was hitting his stride
with Boombastic and touring the planet with Jana and
Belinda Brady - her best friend - in tow. `That was
amazing, amazing, I loved working for them, I learnt so
much from Shaggy, so much from Robert, they didn't ease
up on me. Shaggy would take me with him to the record
company so as to learn how to do interviews... Belinda
and I wanted to pursue solo careers, on the tour bus we
would ask them questions and they would answer.
`At 'Japan Splash' in the
summer of '95, Belinda and I were rehearsing and the
drummer was messing up the intro to one of the songs. We
were like 'Excuse me', but he (the drummer) was ignoring
us. (Breaks into patois) Shaggy get wile pon 'im! 'These
girls have been practising the music for the past six
weeks, so they must know what they are saying.' The
drummer refused to listen so Shaggy sey 'Alright, play
the record' and we were right! That's just one example
of how he looked out for us,` Jana remembers with a
grin.
For the record,
Belinda Brady and Jana are the two nubile young ladies
who frame the doorway in Shaggy's Boombastic music
video. Belinda left in-between tours to pursue her
solo career and has recorded the song My Man Dat with
Jana on Shadow Girl, Jana's sophomore release. The
Sunday Gleaner discussed with the singer somewhat
negative remarks made in the review of the CD in this
publication. `That song wasn't supposed to be on my
album, it was supposed to be on Belinda's, but she
changed direction and since we had already shot a
beautiful video for it, I didn't want it to go to
waste,` she said.
When the Boombastic
tour came to an end in July 1996 went to work with
Sandals for a year and eight months. She would be sent
to the 13 various properties in the various islands
where she would choreograph, compose vocal arrangements
and write skits for the entertainment staff there.
`Nobody got the same,` Jana clearly states.
Come August 1998 Jana
decided to focus completely on her music. She was living
in Montego Bay and returned to Kingston. The result was
Chase The Sun which was released in 1999. Some of the
songs were recorded in Philadelphia in the United States
(U.S.) with Handel Tucker, a Jamaican producer based
there who has worked with artistes such as Maxi Priest
and Patrick 'The Shadow' Lindsay. Of the album she says
`It did remarkably well,` - it was voted The Observer's
'Album Of The Year 1999' - `...up to this day songs from
it are being played,` she smiles.
As for sales? (she blows
a raspberry) `Sales were non-existent. Royalties
really non-existent. It got me on a lot of playlists,
but according to my distributor at the time (who she
would rather not name) I never sold any. I have a new
one who is saying that I am selling (copies of the 45rpm
single No Regrets, a duet with deejay Bounty Killer),`
Jana Bent shrugs.
The release of the album also heralded another first for
her - her first solo performance at Reggae Sumfest. It
was exactly a year after she had left Montego Bay and
she says it was a great performance. `The organisers -
Johnny Gourzong... were saying 'Can you go back out?'
but I think they were just trying to kill time because
their next artiste wasn't ready,` she smiles abashedly.
Jana Bent released her
second album in December of 2002. When asked about the
three-year delay she said `When you don't have the
backing of a major label, it's very expensive, when it's
just me, my mother (Eunice Bent) and my brother, you
can't just churn them out. Just to press them... besides
all of that, nothing comes before its time.`
Jana is currently
employed to her mother's publication relations (P.R)
firm Communication Consultants Limited. Prior to working
there full-time, she worked on a project basis with
them, and before that, with Digital Transtec. Some of
the projects she has worked on include one with the
Jamaica Information Service in Washington D.C. in the
U.S. as well as another with the wife of the then
Jamaican ambassador to the U.S., Margaret Bernal on the
Jamaican Artist Alliance. `Music is my passion... P.R. -
you gotta make a living.`
Here is where The Sunday
Gleaner tried to delve into Jana's secrets. What about
her love life? `Love life?! Non-existent. I don't have
the time to focus on it. What with 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. work
day and then I have to focus on my music career,
networking, following up correspondence...,` as well as
maintaining her website
www.janabent.com. She does admit to finding someone
attractive however.
There are a number of
interesting songs on Shadow Girl which approach love and
lust from different angles. On the title track, she
offers herself as the girl who won't leave lipstick on
your collar. Has she ever been in that position? `It's
not really about me, it's about the phenomenon in our
society today where women decide that they want a man
who already has a wife or a girlfriend, they're fine
with being on the side, it's just about sex. It's not
something I would do, I've been on the other side of
that triangle and it's not a nice experience.
`One Last Look (from
Chase The Sun) is about being in a relationship someone
that everyone tells you is the wrong person but you go
ahead and of course you get burnt. 'One last look' is
about being ready to leave and telling the boy to take
one last look,` she explained.
Jana Bent was a tad
uncomfortable when discussing her image with The Sunday
Gleaner. Never shy on-stage and known for her sexy
attire, it was something she was a little... reluctant
to discuss. `My image is something I came up with,
something to reflect the softer, happier side of me (as
opposed to the angrier, sadder one of Chase The Sun - if
you listen to the CD, the songs are happier, upbeat, my
image reflects my frame of mind, happier, strong.`
With regards to the sex
appeal aspect `I do what I feel, I dress how I feel and
if people like it, hey! Ca'an please everybody, I just
do the best I can with all the skills I have to achieve
my goals, who like it like it and who nuh like it,
sorry! Ca'an please everybody,` she shrugs
philosophically.
Jana Bent is currently in
high hopes of getting a grant from the Canadian
government to get the funds in order to shoot a video
for her duet with Bounty Killer, something that
government does on a semi-regular basis. There are at
least 250 applicants and only one will win. She is
keeping her fingers crossed and given the success of
Sean Paul's Gimme The Light after American Little X
directed the video for the same, who can blame her? A
major label signing would be like manna from heaven.
Jana Bent. Singer,
Songwriter. Choreographer. Beautiful. Independent. Sexy.
Driven.
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