Last Farewells To Planno This Weekend

Last farewells to Planno this weekend Basil Walters, Observer staff reporter Friday, March 24, 2006 Rastafarian icon, Mortimo Planno, who died March 5, will be the subject of a musical celebration tonight, to be followed by a thanksgiving service tomorrow at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston. Tonight's celebration takes place at the Oriental (Chapel) Gardens, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Such artistes as Luciano, Tony Rebel and Bob Andy, among others, will pay tribute to the late elder. Well-known wordsmith Mutabaruka will also be providing music from his own personal collection. The most influential Rastafarian patriarch, Mortimo St George Planno, was closely associated with the development of reggae music. As a part of his menitoring role to Bob Marley and the Wailers, he would promote dances in order to give exposure to their music in an era when radio was not reggae-friendly. Planno also wrote a number of songs for the group, the two most famous being Haile Selassie Is The Chapel and Chances Are. Brother Kumi, as he was fondly called, will be laid to rest in Scott's Pass Clarendon on lands belonging to the Rastafari Nyahbinghi Mansion.