A veteran jazz musician, Gwyn Jay Allen, 60, has admonished musicians and entertainers to use their crafts to positive influence communities and change lives for the better.
He said, “Let us not limit our artistic talents to just Sierra Leone only. Let us represent our country internationally through our creative arts; it will help to grow and lift our nation. So, I say Let’s improve on our crafts and work to achieve a higher standard.”
He continued that the arts, music and entertainment unions must come together to protect the industry and the livelihoods of many, “as it is one of the most influential and popular tools of multimedia communication”.
He added that for the entertainment industry in Sierra Leone to develop, government and stakeholders should pay attention and give more value to the diverse and rich culture and heritage.
“We need to shed more light on the arts and our unique Sierra Leonean culture, but sadly the interest is not there anymore, and so it is slowly fading away. For the arts to take center stage in tourism and cultural affairs, additional and dedicated finance will be needed to bring it all back to life again,” he stated. He recalled that some years ago Sierra Leone used to have one of the best cultural dancing troupe in Africa, winning many international competitions. “I wondered why our cultural dancing troupes are no longer as vibrant as they were before? Our unique culture together with our many authentic traditional musical instruments is far too rich to go to waste. Why are we neglecting them?”
Allen is one of the board directors of Ballanta Academy of Music and Performing Arts. “We nurture entertainers at Ballanta to become good artists and musicians to a good professional standard. We provide classes for various musical instruments such as the guitar, violin, piano, brass instruments, dance, singing etc .”
He said that if the entertainment industry in Sierra Leone was to attain international standards, government alongside the private sector must make it a priority to support and fund the performing arts. He said, “We desperately need a national theatre like most countries have which would provide the perfect platform for Sierra Leonean talent to be showcased whilst addressing the need to attract international acts to Sierra Leone.”
Allen was born in Loughborough, UK, to Sierra Leonean parents. In his early career days, he would sing and play his guitar on the trains on his way to work and back.
In 1997, 20 million viewers watched as Gwyn won his TV episode and became a finalist in the UK’s popular TV talent show ‘Stars in Their Eyes’ as he played the role of Louis Armstrong and sang the hit song ,‘We Have All the Time in the World’. Allen’s music and theatre career soon took off and went on a seven-month long tour of UK theatres playing the role of Cab Calloway in the Smash Hit West End Musical, The Blues Brothers.
By Ibrahim S. Bangura