Jon Lucien

Lucien Harrigan (Jon Lucien), singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer: born Tortola, British Virgin Islands, 8 January 1942; four times married (two sons, one adopted daughter, one stepson, and two daughters deceased); died Orlando, Florida 18 August 2007.

Jon Lucien's smooth, soulful baritone was always a delight to listen to and drew comparisons with Nat King Cole, Lou Rawls, and Luther Vandross. He was often heard on mellow jazz stations in the United States and was championed in the UK by the DJ Gilles Peterson. Possibly best known for his cover of "Dindi" by the Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, Lucien penned a great percentage of the material he recorded, most notably the ballads "Would You Believe in Love", "Lady Love", "Rashida" and "Soul Mate".

A native of the Virgin Islands, he incorporated the gently swaying rhythms of the Caribbean into material like "Hello Like Before", "Mysteries" and "Sweet Control" but, despite stints with RCA, Columbia and Polygram, and collaborations with Weather Report and Grover Washington Jr, Lucien never quite broke through to the mainstream.

Born Lucien Harrigan on Tortola in 1942, he was the oldest of eight children and grew up on the neighbouring island of St. Thomas. From his mid-teens, he played bass and various other instruments in Rico and the Rhythmaires, a band led by his blind father Eric "Rico" Harrigan. In the 1960s, he moved to the US and worked as a jobbing musician and singer, recording advertising jingles and performing at bar mitzvahs and weddings. During one of those engagements, he met Ernie Alshulter, who had worked with Tony Bennett and got him a deal with RCA. Renaming himself Jon Lucien, he recorded his debut album, I Am Now, in 1970, but found the label didn't quite know what to do with him.

"I did pop and jazz standards. The only original song on there was 'Find Yourself a Lover'," Lucien recalled. "The record company was attempting to package me as a sort of 'black Sinatra'. Once the white women started to swoon at my performances, their attitudes quickly changed."

By the time Lucien recorded Rashida, his second album, in 1973, he'd stockpiled enough compositions to make it a totally self-penned effort. "That was the most natural album I ever made because I was allowed to be myself," he said. The bossa nova-flavoured "Lady Love" and the title track both found favour on US radio and earned arranger Dave Grusin Grammy nominations (for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist).

Issued in 1974, Mind's Eye repeated the feat, but a move to CBS for the albums Song For My Lady (1975) and Premonition (1976) didn't quite yield the expected dividends. Despite making guest appearances on Yesterday's Dreams, the 1976 album by the jazz-rock bassist Alphonso Johnson, and Mr. Gone, the 1978 album by the jazz-fusion supergroup Weather Report, Lucien grew increasingly disillusioned with the industry. "My frustration stemmed from being asked to be a hit-maker... do disco, country... whatever it takes to sell millions. I struggled for the executives to understand my music," he admitted. "My style, like most of the music of the Caribbean, is an amalgam of cultures, rhythms and styles. It was an uphill battle and I just thought I've gotta get out of here."

Lucien also experienced personal problems. In 1980 he lost a young daughter from his third marriage in a drowning accident and he battled with drug addiction for several years. He went back to the Virgin Islands, lived in Puerto Rico and married a fourth time in 1988. He came back and found a new US audience on the "quiet storm" urban radio format with the albums Listen Love (1991) and Mother Nature's Son (1993), while, in the UK, the rare groove scene rediscovered his early work.

In July 1996, his 17-year-old daughter Dalila was killed in a plane crash. Grief and stress took their toll and he lost the sight in his left eye. "That was a heavy lesson," he later reflected. "All that I had was my music and my prayers." The following year, he dedicated the Endless is Love album to her.

Lucien issued four more albums on his own Sugar Music label and continued performing until recently. Last month, he took part in the US Superstars of Jazz Fusion tour with Roy Ayers, Jean Carne, and Wayne Henderson.

Despite his considerable register, Lucien was never a showy singer but remained a consummate balladeer, never better than when delivering his own atmospheric compositions. "My sound is a romantic sound. It's water, it's ocean, it's tranquillity," he said. "I've experienced tragedy, had professional disappointment, loved, lost, lived. I hope to heal people who are sad and spiritually dead because, even though I don't pray in the music, the spirit is still there."

Herbie Hancock simply called him "the man with the golden throat."

Pierre Perrone

Interesting? Click here to explore further