The CARICOM Secretariat has expressed a profound sense of loss at the death of legendary bandleader Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, who passed away at the age of 73 on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
The CARICOM Secretar-iat at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, said in a statement that the death of Lee, a Jamaican, “brings to an end just over half a century of unmatched contribution of a unique genre of music which he composed and shared with appreciative Caribbean and global audiences.”
Acknowledging that to the people of the Caribbean, Byron Lee was “Community property, embraced, appreciated, and beloved,” the CARICOM Secretariat called him a musician par excellence, and noted that he was the first Caribbean band leader to achieve an international following.
The statement also observed that he mentored young musicians and performers not just from Jamaica but the entire region, a tradition widely credited for the high standard of band music in the Caribbean.
His performances in the Caribbean Community as well as its diaspora will be sorely missed, the Secretariat said, adding that “his passing represents the end of an era which we, as Caribbean people, cherish.”
The Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat also extended sincere condolences to his wife Sheila, children, and grandchildren.
