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Songs My Father Taught Me
Join Marla Brown, daughter of anglophile reggae legend Dennis Brown, for a night of recollection and revelation from the children of notable Black British music makers featured in The Music is Black: A British Story exhibition.
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Tickets available from 08.00 on Tuesday, 27 October 2026
Marla will be in discussion with the sons and daughters of fathers who pursued successful careers in jazz, calypso and reggae in Britain. Singularly and collectively, her guests will explore how their own creative practices and musical identities were shaped by the work and talents of their fathers. They will discuss absence, presence, creative expression and the ability of music to solidify family bonds.
Jazz singer Elaine Delmar and reggae singer Delroy Murray will discuss their fathers Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson and Percy ‘Metro Downbeat’ Miller, respectively.
Jamaican-born Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson, trained in trumpet in the West India Regiment band before coming to Britain and remaining active on the jazz orchestra circuit throughout and beyond the inter-war years.
The revered sound system engineer ‘Metro Downbeat,’ worked closely with dub titan, Jah Shaka. His knowledge and intricate work upheld the infrastructure of sound system technology in Britain.
Carol Phillips will share details of her father, Trinidadian Harold ‘Lord Woodbine’ Phillips, the celebrated calypsonian, venue owner, and early mentor of the Beatles.
James BKS - who will contribute to the night in absentia, has generously provided images and footage of him working with his father, the famed Cameroonian jazz, funk, Makossa and Rhumba Lingala musician, Manu Dibango.
This event is part of the wider celebration of The Music Is Black: A British Story exhibition.
Jamaican-born Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson, trained in trumpet in the West India Regiment band before coming to Britain and remaining active on the jazz orchestra circuit throughout and beyond the inter-war years.
The revered sound system engineer ‘Metro Downbeat,’ worked closely with dub titan, Jah Shaka. His knowledge and intricate work upheld the infrastructure of sound system technology in Britain.
Carol Phillips will share details of her father, Trinidadian Harold ‘Lord Woodbine’ Phillips, the celebrated calypsonian, venue owner, and early mentor of the Beatles.
James BKS - who will contribute to the night in absentia, has generously provided images and footage of him working with his father, the famed Cameroonian jazz, funk, Makossa and Rhumba Lingala musician, Manu Dibango.
This event is part of the wider celebration of The Music Is Black: A British Story exhibition.
Header image: Lord 'Woodbine' Phillips Courtesy of Carol Phillips & Leslie 'Jiver' Hutchinson Courtesy of Elaine Delmar.