Like many others whose lives were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Carl Powell, a keyboard player from St. John, started taking lots of long walks.
“I would go by these old ruins, and the spirit of my ancestors would overwhelm me,” he said. The slower pace of life also evoked in him a sense of nostalgia; he started thinking about “the way things used to be” and about Quelbe, the traditional music of the Virgin Islands.
“When I was young, I always loved to hear Quelbe,” Powell said, “but we always thought we were too young for it.”
Then “something snapped” about a year ago when Theodora “Tutts” Moorehead — who’s 79 years old and “likes us to tell her age” — suggested they start a Quelbe band. Powell realized he, too, was truly the right age.
Powell decided to approach Tommy Pilgrim, a St. Thomas drummer, who immediately replied, “I’m in,” and added, “I’m going to make your life easy by bringing (bass player) Clifton Finch.”
The three veteran musicians soon recruited singer Lybia Callwood, who first performed with Powell as a teenager and then with Powell’s band Paradise People. Now, with Moorehead on percussion, soundman/vocalist Lionel “Magic” Mulraine, calypso singer Frankie “Bloop” Braithwaite, and roadies Stanley Powell Jr. and Charles “Kala” Jackson, the band is complete.
Quelbe Resurrection played their first gig in March 2022 and have been going strong since then, drawing crowds at a regular Saturday evening gig at the Windmill Bar on St. John.
Although computer spell check programs do not recognize the word “Quelbe,” local people know that it is the name of the traditional music of the Virgin Islands. In its original form, it was played on homemade instruments — flute, string bass (made out of a bathing pan), ukulele, triangle, squash, and maracas. As it evolved, the stringed instruments became electrified and saxophones were often added.
“It is our indigenous music,” said Pilgrim. “You hear it here and there on the radio. Since it wasn’t always electric, a lot of bands felt it wasn’t up to date. But the reality is it can’t be up to date until we update it. Everything must evolve.”
And that’s why the band, now managed by Powell and Pilgrim, decided on the name “Quelbe Resurrection.” Their intention is to play the traditional Quelbe songs on modern instruments and also feature music from other genres, including R&B, bossa nova, ballads, calypso, jazz, and pop. (Lybia Callwood can belt out an especially dynamic version of the Gloria Gaynor disco hit “I Will Survive.”)
‘You go out to hear reggae and soca, and usually that’s it,” said Powell. “But when you go to hear Quelbe Resurrection, you get a kallaloo.”
Right now, Quelbe Resurrection is the only band on St. Thomas and St. John regularly performing Quelbe music, but the genre is strong on St. Croix, where Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights reign supreme. In fact, Quelbe Resurrection made its debut by opening for Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights when they performed at Fort Christian on St. Thomas last year.
“We have to give Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights lots of credit,” said Pilgrim. “They’ve kept the genre going. And we also have to give credit to Mahlon ‘Koko’ Pickering, too.” Koko and the Sunshine Band kept the genre alive on St. John until Pickering’s death in 2020.
Powell said Quelbe Resurrection is now gathering local musicians to perform at a concert tentatively scheduled for Father’s Day, June 18, at the auditorium at Charlotte Amalie High School. They’ve invited Leslie Rhymer, Rena Thomas, Daryl Lewis, Merle Sasso, Shikima Jones-Sprauve, Ronnie Jones, Henry Powell, Sonia Sprauve, Eric Provost, and others to perform.
“All of us performed professionally — or in church — for as long as 50 years,” said Powell.
Age is not an issue for the musicians in the band or for the audience, said Pilgrim. “When we play, you can see the joy on their faces. If we can still play music in the fourth quarter of our lives, it inspires them to do whatever it is they want to do.”
Quelbe Resurrection has a number of performances set for the rest of the month on St. John. They will be playing at the Windmill Bar on Feb. 18; at a special event for seniors at the Caneel Bay Beach Club on Feb. 22; at the Beach Bar on Feb. 24; and again at the Windmill Bar on Feb. 25.
For further information, contact Carl Powell at 340-690-4226.
